Dynamic Brake Testing – Australian Standard 2958.1-1995

There is an alarming number of mobile plant machinery being operated throughout Australia today that have had their brakes tested using a methodology that simply DOES NOT COMPLY with the Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation nor the Australian Standard 2958.1-1995 – Earth-moving machinery – Safety – Wheeled machines – Brakes.

The most shocking outcome of this ineffectiveness is that at this very moment there are a multitude of vehicles in operation all around Australia that have ‘passed’ inadequate brake tests and have been sent back into production with substandard or faulty brakes. At the helm of these vehicles are our Mothers, Fathers, Grand Parents & Children who are innocently subjecting themselves and the organisation to an unacceptable level of risk.

Brake testing has grown throughout the decades in its instrumentation – from a distance measurement, to a Tapley Meter, to highly advanced portable electronic instruments. The issue with the numerous methods is precisely that – the procedures used today vary greatly and quite frankly, while some excel at returning accurate and credible results, others could be categorised as useless and deadly.

Sam Lichos has conducted numerous brake tests and audits in recent years in work areas such as coal mines, hard rock mines, underground mines, quarries, councils and transport companies. During these audits it became blatantly evident is that there is no uniformity in the way testing is carried out and that the operators testing the equipment used what ever method they thought was right. In an overwhelming number of situations the testing operator had little knowledge of what they were testing, what the parameters were and in some cases, the operators were not even competent in setting up the testing instruments. On the completion of tests, some of the testers would transfer the inaccurate information to the mandatory brake test sheets and then allow the machinery to return to production even though the results indicated that the machine DID NOT passes the brake test. It goes without saying that the mandatory brake test sheets lacked credibility and accuracy.

To put it simply – lives are at risk every day throughout Australia and the reality for the companies involved is that they simply would not withstand the scrutiny of litigation should an incident transpire because these brake tests were NOT COMPLIANT with The Australian Standard AS 2958.1-1995 and The Coal Mining Safety and Health Regulation.