AgiKleen has received state-wide recognition for its innovative solution to a high risk process in the concrete industry at the recently held 2012 WorkCover NSW Safe Work Awards.
Among 40 finalists across five categories, AgiKleen took out first place in the best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue category for eliminating the risks associated with the dangerous and physically demanding method of cleaning the interiors of concrete agitator bowls.
The company, with is US partner, developed a remote controlled robotic water blasting system that effectively removes ‘dead’ concrete from within agitator barrels.
“Climbing into a concrete agitator barrel and manually removing dead concrete by jackhammer is regarded as one of the most dangerous practices in the concrete industry and one that has resulted in many serious injuries and deaths in Australia and overseas,” said AgiKleen director Michael O’Neill. “Dangers with this work include falling concrete, silicosis, jackhammer fatigue, heat stress, hearing damage, falling on sharp blades, engulfment and decapitation.
“The robotic high pressure water system is able to offer a service to clean the agitator trucks on customers’ sites and the water used is recycled to make more concrete. The three units operating in Australia have already cleaned more than 2100 trucks and removed around two million kilos of dead concrete without one lost time injury.”
AgiKleen along with the other category winners will now compete with entrants from across the country in the 2013 National Safe Work Australia Awards to be held in Canberra next April.