![How To Instantly Improve Site Safety with Mobile Barriers teaser]()
17 Jan 2025
Mine sites are among the most hazardous workplaces due to their mix of heavy-duty machinery, high-risk zones, and continuous movement of personnel. Ensuring safety and security on these dynamic sites is a significant challenge, especially when dealing with frequent layout changes, restricted access areas, and unpredictable hazards.
One of the most effective ways to instantly improve site safety is through mobile safety barriers. These portable, retractable solutions allow mining companies to quickly secure hazardous areas, reduce setup time, and adapt to changing site conditions. Unlike permanent barriers, mobile barriers offer flexibility, making them particularly valuable for sites with evolving workflows or harsh environments.
The team at Backsafe Australia is dedicated to transforming workplace safety, storage, workflow, and productivity through human-centred engineering. Our comprehensive range of safety barriers includes everything from posts and tape to traffic bollards, all designed for maximum visibility with bright colours and reflective strips to act as warning systems and prevent accidents. The safety barriers we stock work two-fold by reducing the risk of workplace accidents and protecting equipment or products.
In this article, we’ll explore the main safety concerns on mine sites, the simple solutions mobile barriers can deliver, and why Backsafe Australia is your trusted partner in workplace safety solutions.
The Main Safety Concerns on Mine Sites
Mining operations are high-risk environments, with heavy machinery, moving vehicles, and workers all operating in close proximity. Without proper safety measures, the chances of accidents, injuries, and fatalities significantly increase.
Did you know that more than 25% of all mining injuries are related to being hit by moving objects, vehicles, or machinery?
Key Safety Risks in Mining
- Vehicle and Machinery Hazards
- Large trucks, excavators, and drills operate alongside workers, increasing the risk of collisions and crush injuries.
- Blind spots and restricted visibility make it difficult for operators to detect workers near moving equipment.
- Pedestrian Safety
- Workers frequently move between job sites, increasing the risk of being struck by vehicles or machinery.
- Lack of proper segregation between pedestrian walkways and equipment zones increases accident risks.
- Falling Objects & Debris
- Open-pit and underground mining involve falling rock, loose materials, and debris, which can injure workers if not properly contained.
- Hazardous Work Zones
- Areas under maintenance, active drilling sites, and loading zones need temporarily restricted access to prevent unauthorised entry.
- Without clear demarcation, workers and site visitors may unknowingly enter dangerous zones.
- Limited Visibility & Harsh Environments
- Dust, poor lighting, and adverse weather conditions reduce visibility, increasing the likelihood of accidents.
- Safety solutions need to be highly visible and adaptable to harsh mining conditions.
The Challenge for Mining Companies
Despite strict workplace health and safety (WHS) regulations, mining companies struggle to implement cost-effective, adaptable, and easy-to-deploy safety solutions. Permanent barriers can be costly and inflexible, making them impractical for rapidly changing work environments. This is where mobile safety barriers become game changers for instant hazard control.
How Mobile Barriers Instantly Improve Safety
A safety barrier is a highly effective way to segregate work areas and ensure that people can perform their tasks safely and efficiently. Essential for safe workspaces on mine sites, they're also critical safety measures for everything from shopping centres and loading docks to shop fronts, warehouses and more!
These barriers provide dual protection:
- Protecting workers inside hazardous zones
- Preventing unauthorized personnel from entering high-risk areas
Additionally, they safeguard equipment and materials, ensuring better site organization and safety compliance.
Slip, trip, and fall incidents account for 21% of mining workplace injuries, many of which could be prevented with better hazard identification and marking systems.
Beyond just improving the safety of personnel, safety barriers also play a crucial role in protecting valuable equipment and materials on mine sites by creating covered and designated zones that prevent accidental damage from heavy machinery, vehicles, or unauthorized personnel.
Available in various configurations, these barriers act as physical shields, safeguarding sensitive equipment, stored materials, and high-risk areas from collisions, environmental hazards, and improper handling. This not only extends the lifespan of expensive assets but also helps ensure compliance with workplace safety regulations, reducing downtime and maintenance costs while keeping operations efficient.
Why Mobile Safety Barriers?
Unlike fixed safety barriers, mobile barriers provide instant protection with minimal setup time. Here’s how they improve safety in real-time:
1. Rapid Deployment & Adaptability
- Portable and retractable barriers can be quickly set up to cordon off high-risk areas within minutes.
- Ideal for temporary hazards, such as equipment maintenance, spills, and unexpected site changes.
- Easily moved and repositioned as site layouts evolve.
2. High Visibility for Maximum Awareness
- Bright colours and reflective strips ensure barriers are easily seen, even in low-light conditions.
- Helps workers and vehicle operators identify restricted zones instantly, preventing accidental entry.
3. Cost-Effective Safety Solution
- Eliminates the need for permanent fencing, which can be expensive and inflexible.
- Reusable and durable, making them a long-term investment for workplace safety.
- Reduces accident-related downtime and compensation claims, improving overall cost efficiency.
4. Flexible Applications for Different Work Areas
- Pedestrian Walkways: Creates temporary paths to guide workers safely through high-traffic zones.
- Vehicle & Equipment Zones: Prevents unauthorized access to moving machinery and heavy vehicles.
- Emergency Situations: Quickly blocks off hazardous areas after spills, collapses, or unexpected dangers.
- Restricted Work Areas: Secures spaces under construction, blasting, or maintenance.
Backsafe: Leaders in Safety Barriers
When you're working on remote mine sites in Australia, your safety solutions must be able to withstand dust, water, high impact, and extreme temperatures. Backsafe Australia offers durable mobile barriers built for harsh conditions, ensuring long-lasting performance and reliability in demanding worksites.
We have a variety of safety barriers that can be used temporarily or in the long term.
Our expanding crowd control barriers can be freestanding or mobile on castors.
Features include:
- Mobile barriers are mounted on 6 lockable castors for mobility
- Strong but lightweight for easy transport and storage
- Constructed with metal posts and aluminium struts for durability
- 1050mm High for effective delineation
- Ideal for both indoor and outdoor use
- Folds down to a small footprint for storage
- Opens out to a maximum length of 6m; folds down to 625mm
MOBILE BARRIER STAND
With The Lemur, you can easily create safety buffers, safe zones, isolation areas, exclusion zones, pedestrian safety paths and more in a matter of minutes. No tools or installation required. Just wheel out The Lemur, reel out your safety tape and relax.
Designed and manufactured to perform in harsh weather environments, The Lemur will stand up to wild weather and heavy handling. It holds heavy-duty safety tape reels with ease, saving you the installation time, money and the hassle of fixed reels.
Features:
- Proven performer. Tested and raved by major mine sites, workshops and beyond.
- Robust. Heavy-duty steel construction. Strong and sophisticated, The Lemur will wow your team.
- Wind resistant. Solid base plate prevents toppling, even in windy conditions.
- Sturdy. Safety tape and stand are securely bolted together.
- Magnet-free. Free from hazards of magnetic failure (i.e. magnetic stand carries risks of fallen tape reels and snapping of safety tape whilst reeling out). Safe to use on iron ore mine sites.
- Hi-vis. Powder-coated finish in safety yellow.
- Stable. The stand holds the tension of the safety reel with ease.
- Ergonomic. Swivel 180º action function using our Retractable Safety Tape Reel.
- Manoeuvrable. Large puncture-proof wheels for excellent experience on rough terrain.
- Smart. Designed to hold two safety tape reels. One stand, wide areas.
- Versatile. Create zones of any size. Easily daisy chain them together to cordon off wider areas.
- Easy. Operation in progress? No problem. Create exclusion zones instantly.
- Functional. Can be supplied with or without the Retractable Safety Tape Reel.
A go-to, Australian-made solution for creating safety boundaries, barriers or exclusion zones to keep people safe. Loading and unloading vehicles. Entrances to factories. Working machinery. Spillages or securing unsafe areas. A brilliant portable solution to practically any demarcation challenge.
Features:
- Durable. Woven nylon webbing and non-rust, UV-resistant polypropylene case.
- Tidy. Fully enclosed tape and reel mechanism.
- Safe. Comes with a stainless-steel safety catch. Alternative catches available include: magnetic, carabiner or D-clasp.
- Ready-to-go. Mounting bracket and carry handle included.
- Customisable. Need customised text? Or customised colour to match your brand/section? No problem. Chat with our friendly team today about your requirements.
The Retractable Safety Tape Reel is supplied on its own, with the option of teaming it with The Lemur: Mobile Barrier Stand for Retractable Tape Reels to create the ultimate safety combo. For a static barrier solution using your existing bollard, you can bolt this safety reel to existing bollards using The Boa bracket.
Our Delineation Kit makes it easy to set up an exclusion zone, delivery bay or safety area faster than you can say ‘human-centred engineering’.
Features:
- Timesaving. Everything you need, anywhere on site and in the field, all in one handy kit.
- Manoeuvrable. Off-road, shock-absorbent pneumatic wheels can handle rough terrain.
- User-friendly. Smart design and ergonomics make it easy to wheel out and reel out.
- Compact. For easy handling and convenient storage, wherever you need it.
- Tough. Built for harsh environments, right down to the heavy-duty mine-spec cones.
Heavy-duty Portable Concrete Base Safety Barriers with gates are designed for optimal safety and visibility in mining environments. This product provides extra stability and a robust solution for delineation and offers exceptional durability and performance in demanding industrial settings.
Features:
- Movable. The rail features a rigid structure for stability while still being movable.
- Durable. Constructed with heavy gauge galvanised steel to ensure durability and longevity in challenging environments.
- Modular. Offers a modular handrail design with gate options for added accessibility and safety features.
Why Buy BackSafe Safety Barriers?
✔ CUSTOM SOLUTIONS – Every business is different. So we focus on offering custom solutions that help our clients streamline their operational processes, improve safety and bring in cost-effective results.
✔ 12-Month Warranty – Receive a 12-month warranty on any Safety Barriers you purchased.
✔ WIDE RANGE OF PRODUCTS – We provide storage systems, material handling equipment and safety products for businesses and workplaces. We stock over 7000 products and supply over 32,000 individual inventory items.
✔ INDUSTRY-BEST QUALITY – We have been supplying outstanding products and services across Australia for over 20 years to an ever-expanding range of clients.
Transform Site Safety Today
Mobile barriers are a simple yet powerful tool to instantly enhance site safety, reduce accidents, and improve efficiency in dynamic workplaces. For any mine site, regardless of size or location, investing in flexible, highly visible mobile barriers can make a significant impact on the safety of your workers and the success of your operations.
Explore our range of safety solutions today at Backsafe Australia and take the next step in improving your site’s safety, workflow, and productivity.
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