WorldWide Drilling Resource

Australian Innovation with Worldwide Application Adapted from Information Provided by Spinflector Industries South Australia’s mine sites may become significantly safer thanks to an innovation called the Spinflector. Pro- duced by Trampas Cutler, the Spinflector is a new device designed to clean reflectors on delineator posts, solving an all-too- common safety problem by maintaining visibility for machine operators. For five months, the Spinflector was used successfully at an iron ore mine in South Australia’s Iron Triangle. At most mine sites, teams of workers spend valu- able time traveling almost weekly along major thoroughfares with the sole pur- pose of manually cleaning dust and grime from the reflectors. Along with resulting in a loss of productivity and a hike in labor costs, serious safety concerns cropped up on the route. “It’s an endless job as the reflectors get dirtied with grime over and over again,” said Cutler, the Spinflector Industries founding director. “That interrupts production because they have to put signage in place, they have to have clear radio communi- cations with the trucks to tell them to slow down when they drive past, and the massive safety issue of them being run over by a machine.” So how does it work? The Spinflector is built to mount on a PVC delineator post with either a small amount of PVC glue or with self-tapping screws, sporting a series of brushes to clean mud and debris from reflectors. The brushes are powered by a built-in wind vane, requiring no electricity or water to work. According to Cutler, the device only needs to rotate about half a dozen times in a 48-hour period to be effective, simply not allowing a dangerous build up of dirt. The product is constructed of durable materials intended to withstand harsh conditions, and there are also mounting solutions available for delineators built to different specifications. The Spinflector harnesses wind power to provide safer working conditions at min- ing sites. 30 FEBRUARY 2017 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Alaska Miners Association Phone: 907-563-9229 Fax: 907-563-9225 ama@alaskaminers.org www.alaskaminers.org Alberta Water Well Drilling Association Tel: 780-386-2335 awwda@xplornet.com American Exploration and Mining Assn. Phone: 509-624-1158 Fax: 509-623-1241 info@miningamerica.org www.miningamerica.org Atlantic Water Well Association Tel: 888-242-4440 Fax: 902-435-0089 nsgwa@ns.aliantzinc.ca • www.nsgwa.ca WorldWide Drilling Resource ® is a proud member of these associations: Australian Drilling Industry Association adia@adia.com.au Black Hills Chapter of the ISEE President: Doug Hoy www.bitwconference.org British Columbia Ground Water Assn. Tel: 604-530-8934 Fax: 604-530-8934 secretary@bcgwa.org • www.bcgwa.org National Drilling Association Tel: 877-632-4748 Fax: 216-803-9900 www.nda4u.com New Zealand Drillers Federation, Inc. www.nzdrillersfederation.co.nz Northern Plains Chapter of the ISEE President: Billy Obermire Tel: 307-689-0050 www.bitwconference.org Nova Scotia Ground Water Association Tel: 888-242-4440 Fax: 902-435-0089 nsgwa@ns.aliantzinc.ca • www.nsgwa.ca Ontario Groundwater Association Tel: 519-245-7194 Fax: 519-245-7196 ogwa@ogwa.ca • www.ogwa.ca Women In Mining 866-537-9694 wim@womeninmining.org www.womeninmining.org