NTRO's Safer Smarter Infrastructure Transport Safety Team recently returned from an international project, collaborating with a major mine site in regional British Columbia, Canada.
The project, focused on improving the safety of mine roads, saw NTRO’s David McTiernan and Elliott Tang conduct a review of the mine haul road operations across the site, and hold meetings with operations staff and management involved in planning, design, construction, and maintenance of their mine haul road network. 
During the site visit, the team gathered operational information and made first-hand observations about the management of haul truck traffic and interactions with other vehicles, pedestrians and site operations. The insights gained from the visit formed a report to mine management with key recommendations being provided about how to improve road and intersection design, and the separation of light and heavy vehicles to address gaps in safety.
"The site currently operates both operator and autonomous driven Caterpiller 793 mine haul trucks with a dedicated Autonomous Operating Zone (AOZ) presenting its own challenges to road managers." said David.
"As a road engineer keen to explore ways of making roads safer, the opportunity to drive around in a haul truck that's the size of a two-storey house and weighs almost 400 tons, was unique in my career so far." said Elliott. "I certainly have a different perspective on the capabilities and limitations for these types of road operations." he added.
The project builds on NTRO's previous works with the mining sector in Australia and internationally. The Road Design Guide and Traffic Management Plan developed by NTRO with provided a foundation for this latest visit. 
This collaboration addresses challenges at the intersection of road safety, traffic engineering, and mining operations. It demonstrates NTRO's ability to apply its transport knowledge to specialised industrial settings, contributing to safer operations beyond traditional road networks. As NTRO continues to expand its global footprint, projects like this pave the way for safer transport solutions worldwide.