Mining operations are tough on people and machines. Nowhere is this more evident than inside the cab of heavy mobile equipment, where operators often spend 12-hour shifts surrounded by airborne hazards like respirable crystalline silica (RCS), diesel particulate matter and other harmful contaminants.
These risks are well known – and increasingly addressed through various regulations and standards. Many mine sites have begun investing in advanced air quality systems to protect their operators. That’s a step in the right direction — but one that often creates a false sense of security.
Because the truth is, buying the right air quality system is only the beginning. Effective air quality management isn’t reducible to choosing good hardware. Its foundation is good implementation. Even world-class equipment won’t meet its full potential if it isn’t installed, maintained and integrated properly.
Fail-safe implementation means avoiding key pitfalls that undermine your solution. Five commonly overlooked – and critical – problems can, if left unchecked, undermine efforts to create safe cab environments.
1. Cab sealing: The foundation of performance
The best filtration system in the world can’t compensate for a poorly sealed cab. Proper sealing is the foundation of cab pressurisation and contaminant exclusion, but seldom does it get the attention it deserves.
It’s easy to underestimate the difficulty of achieving a proper seal, especially on older equipment.
Even minor issues like worn door gaskets, cracked glass or bent frames (often the result of equipment misuse) can prevent a proper seal.
And ironically, attempts to seal a cab without the right expertise can sometimes make things worse. A cab that looks fine to the naked eye may still leak enough to dramatically undermine an air quality management system’s efficacy.
You can’t control cab air quality without first controlling the cab environment. That starts with expert sealing – no shortcuts.
2. Installation: Get it right the first time
Installation isn’t just bolting on a unit and walking away. Poor component placement limiting access to filters and incorrect electrical connections can create safety issues and electrical malfunctions, increasing downtime.
Too often, air quality management companies ship out DIY kits and leave the burden of installation to the mine site, assuming they’ll figure it out.
That’s an unfair gamble to a mining operation, which has dozens of other pressing priorities on its plate. Typically, it’s easier in the long run to find a partner who works directly with mining operations to ensure that installation of solutions are done correctly the first time.
The standard is simple: systems should perform as designed and not come back off the line for costly rework. Every hour your machine is offline costs you. Invest in a proper installation once to avoid downtime twice.
3. Operator education: The invisible variable
Another advantage of a professional installation is the immediate and lasting impact on the operator. Stepping into a cab that allows operators to breathe clean air can be a truly transformative change.
Often, this positive change encourages them to quickly take ownership of this improved environment and become active advocates for its upkeep.
This support is critical: without operator ownership, the efficacy of the air quality system will be questionable. Actions as simple as propping open doors to rolling down windows will dramatically undermine an air quality system.
Ideally, organisations will have certified occupational hygienists on staff to ensure air quality management systems stay functional and that operators are educated and empowered to keep them working effectively.
Technology protects no one unless people use it right. Equip your operators with the ‘why’, not just the ‘how’.
4. Certification is not the destination
Certification matters, but don’t mistake it for the end of the air quality journey.
Remember, even certification for a standard like AS/NZS ISO 23875:2023 is simply a snapshot in time, it reflects the safety of a cab at a single moment.
If a cab door gets bent, or a window cracked or a filter swapped, compliance can evaporate. Retesting and recertifying after major changes (or even better, as part of a maintenance routine) is essential.
Many sites ‘check the box’ for certification and move on, but the real goal cannot be a certification — it’s ongoing compliance which provides protection and safety.
Keeping this real goal top of mind will help mine sites stay compliant, and more importantly safe, between certifications.
5. Organisational culture: Safety is everyone’s job
Education doesn’t end with operators. Sustained cab safety requires more than a one-off initiative. It demands an organisational culture where air quality is part of the holistic maintenance routine, not an afterthought.
Making this shift includes simple things like routine filter checks, but it also comprises deeper habits – such as ensuring the right filters get installed as well as regular cab cleaning to remove embedded particulates from ducts and vents.
In building this organisational culture, occupational hygienists play a critical part. They work closely with all stakeholders to uphold regulatory or company-mandated air quality standards, directing maintenance, certification testing and routine sampling.
That said, the full weight of cab safety can’t fall on their shoulders alone. When maintenance, hygiene, safety and operations all treat safety as shared turf, it succeeds. It fails whenever it becomes ‘someone else’s problem’.
The takeaway? A cab is safest when companies embrace standards like AS/NZS ISO 23875:2023 as holistic initiatives, integrating requirements across procurement, operation, maintenance and occupational health systems.
A test of collective action
To achieve safety goals and cultural change in the interest of worker health, organisational cooperation is key.
Whether you’re an operator behind the controls, a maintenance lead under pressure to minimise downtime or an executive tasked with setting standards across global operations, the goal is the same: to protect the people who keep your mine running.
That protection hinges on implementation. Not just the equipment you choose, but also how it’s installed, maintained and supported over time.
There’s a world of difference between when implementation is treated as an afterthought versus a core competency. If clean air and operator safety matters, then implementation must matter equally.
This editorial was developed in partnership with Sy-Klone executive vice president Jeff Moredock.
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