The Australian Turntable Company (ATC) is increasing the safety and productivity associated with loading and unloading haul trucks at mines thanks to an innovative product developed and produced in Victoria, Australia.

ATC has developed a relocatable truck turntable that can be used below or above ground, eliminating the need to reverse vehicles in confined spaces, it says.

According to ATC Executive and Founder, Paul Chapman, the truck turntable reduces the path travelled when hauling materials and makes unloading vehicles about 30% faster, increasing efficiency.

“In some instances, the equivalent production can be achieved by a smaller fleet,” he said.

By using a turntable, the reversing procedure is eliminated, resulting in improved driver vision with no blind spots. Chapman says driver fatigue is also reduced, increasing safety for miners.

“We came up with idea during a trip to Chile where we saw the bottleneck created as big trucks queued to unload,” he explained.

Two turntables are operating at Western Australia maintenance facilities and one 20 m diameter truck turntable has been installed at a Colombia cement quarry, the company said.

“Testimonials from Colombia indicate that large truck movements on-site have increased by 300%,” Chapman said.

Sites with space constraints, like many mines in South America and India, stand to benefit most from the truck turntable, according to Chapman.

“We hope to install the turntable at mines across the globe in the next few years and we’ll be focusing on markets in India, Chile, Colombia and the US at IMARC,” he said.

ATC is presenting the relocatable truck turntable on the Victorian Government’s virtual booth at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) Online this week.