Guardian Goalposts from Cubis Systems were installed at the Queensland Government’s Pacific Motorway Upgrade: M1/M3 Gateway Merge Project site. Cubis’ Guardian Goalposts were supplied to assist in the effective management of vehicles and ensure the safety of personnel working around the overhead powerlines.
The large project area with several locations required overhead powerline protection systems that could be flexibly moved to effectively accommodate changing worksite conditions throughout the project. The project stakeholders sought a purpose-built engineered solution that offered cost and time benefits as well as a flexible and sustainable system that reduced OH&S risk throughout the life of the project.
The project saw the installation of five sets of Guardian Goalposts. The lightweight and non-conductive telescopic pole system was able to provide a highly visible proximity warning of nearby overhead cables onsite, offering full height clearance adjustable up to 6m.
The simple installation of Guardian Goalposts meant that the system could be assembled and disassembled by one person in minutes, without the need to perform preliminary digging to locate existing underground services. Guardian Goalposts do not require drilling poles/holes for conduit uprights or assembling stabilising rope systems. Driving star pickets into the ground was also not required, minimising the associated OH&S risk and increasing the flexibility of use of the product.
Since the project spanned a large area with several locations requiring overhead powerline protection, Guardian Goalposts could be reused across a variety of height and site requirements and involved little to no maintenance over time. Once disassembled, the Guardian Goalposts were easily loaded into a standard car and stored onsite without the need for ample storage space.
Additionally, Guardian Goalposts offered the versatility to accommodate the changing landscape and requirements of not only the Pacific Motorway Upgrade: M1/M3 Gateway Merge Project, but also future projects of the Department of Transport and Main Roads.
By providing a product that met Australian Constructors Association guidelines and Safe Work Australia standards, Cubis was able to successfully deliver an innovative engineered solution, compared to traditional non-engineered overhead warning systems, effectively isolating hazards and visibly enforcing safety zones across the project site. This resulted in a sustainable solution that allowed for total flexibility across the life of the project, delivered a high level of OH&S management, provided both cost and time benefits, and could be re-employed on future project sites.
