MELBOURNE, September 6, 2024 – In a world first, the Australian-built Automated Cone Truck has successfully completed a 12-month real-life implementation as part of the Eastern Freeway Upgrades with significant results.

The muti-billion-dollar Eastern Freeway Upgrades, delivered by Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), is part of the largest investment in Melbourne’s north eastern suburbs, connecting the Eastern Freeway to the North East Link tunnels.

The Automated Cone Truck (ACT) was developed by Brisbane’s Arrowes Roading Safety as a much-needed solution to the alarming number of fatalities and serious injuries faced by traffic controllers on Australian roads.

Around 100 traffic controllers are injured each year, requiring medical treatment or time off work, and at least one traffic controller is killed annually.

The implementation was a collaboration between Arrowes Roading Safety, Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Burke to Tram Alliance, Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), and KPI Construction Services and highlights a significant advancement in road safety and productivity in the roads and infrastructure sector.

Lea Ea, Executive Director of Arrowes, said the ACT’s design allows for the safe and efficient deployment of cones, which can deploy one cone every seven seconds and be placed at intervals of 12 to 24 metres while travelling at speeds of up to 16 km/h.

“Road construction and maintenance workers are among the most likely to be involved in a workplace incident in Australia,” Ms Ea said.

“Research by Safe Work Australia found 63 per cent of fatalities on worksites were caused by being hit by moving vehicles.

“Every life lost is one life too many. The consequences are devastating, with estimates that each fatality results in a social cost of $7.8 million, not to mention the emotional toll on their loved ones.

“We were committed to finding a commercially viable solution to reduce the risk of fatality and injury among traffic workers, while also reducing manual handling and traffic set-up times. After five years of rigorous testing and research and development, I’m proud to see the ACT on Australian roads recording such strong results.”

Stuart Dangerfield, Safety Manager on the Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Burke to Tram, first trialled the ACT in 2021 on the M80 Upgrade between Sydney Road and Edgars Road.

“The safety of our people and the community is at the forefront of everything we do, so we were excited to be the first to trial the ACT three years ago,” Mr Dangerfield said.

“Since this initial trial, we’ve seen the innovation refined and improved, which has resulted in safer and efficient use of this technology on the Eastern Freeway Upgrade from Burke Road to Tram Road.

“We know manually deploying and collecting cones can expose our crews to some of the highest risk zones on a road worksite. Using the ACT on our Eastern Freeway Upgrades has further reduced the need for workers to interact with live traffic conditions.”

Adam Mullens, Traffic Superintendent on the Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Burke to Tram Alliance, has worked in the construction and traffic management industry for more than 20 years.

He said the use of the ACT means he can sleep easier at night as he knows his workers are safely going home to their families. He said he has found the general public, overall, are unaware of the dangers faced by traffic controllers every day.

“It is a dangerous job where professionals are putting themselves in the line of fire. Innovations like the ACT are vital for the industry moving forward, but also to ensure we protect our workers from being seriously injured, or worse, killed,” Mr Mullens said.

Mr Mullens added that the ACT also avoids the need for repetitive movement, pointing out while it keeps the crew safe it also cuts out a large amount of manual handling.

“A bollard can weigh anywhere between 5 to 8 kgs and if you are placing up to 100 a night it can cause repetitive injuries,” he said.

Aaron Ramsay, Managing Director of KPI Construction, who is delivering traffic management and planning services to the project, said the use of the ACT had not only safeguarded the lives of his workers by minimising exposure to high-risk environments but has also enhanced work productivity by over 150 hours, thanks to the quicker setup and pack-up times.

“The integration of the ACT has been a pivotal asset over the past year, deploying and collecting traffic cones on 188 occasions across 564 kilometres of lane closures,”
Mr Ramsay said.

“ACT placed and collected 65,000 cones, eliminating the need for over 1,200 tonnes of manual handling and reducing worker exposure to live traffic by approximately 500 hours.

“We’ve been using the ACT every night for a year now, and we’ve had no incidents during this period. It is a lifesaving innovation which ensures our team return home to their families safe every day.”

The Automated Cone Truck won the Victorian Major Transport Infrastructure Authority’s award for innovation and the Director General Award for Safety innovations in 2022 and the National Safety Award (NSCA) in 2023. The ACT is also a finalist in Moreton Bay City Council Business & Innovations Awards for 2024.

The results of the 12-month real-life implementation of ACT on the Eastern Freeway Upgrades – Burke to Tram Alliance, and other new smart road safety technologies, were revealed on Thursday September 5 at the SmartRoad Safety Symposium in Nunawading, Victoria. These advancements aim to further elevate safety standards and operational efficiency.