A robotic lawn mower is being used to tackle grass growth on steep dam walls at a number of Coliban Water reservoirs.
Manager Community Operations Mick Dunne said the remote mower technology eliminates the risk of a staff member tipping over on a traditional ride-on style mower when maintaining reservoir grounds.
“We identified a risk, and took subsequent steps to take control of the situation. We first trialled the robotic mower at our Malmsbury Reservoir and we were all very impressed,” Mr Dunne said.
It is now used at Malmsbury, Barkers Creek, Upper Coliban, Lauriston and McCay reservoirs.
“The remote control mower takes a little bit longer than the manned mower, but it only requires one operator due to the diminished risk,” he said.
“We hire the mower depending on grass growth and how much rain there’s been. It takes about three and half days to mow all of our grassed slopes.”
The remote mower also runs on ‘soft tracks’ which are less likely to damage the grass as it runs over them.
“This is important as damaged grass or bare patches on a grassed slope can lead to erosion of the dam wall,” Mr Dunne said.
General Manager People and Safety Gretel Bowman-Farr said the safety of Coliban Water employees and its contractors is a top priority, especially for field staff.
“We are always seeking opportunities to improve the safety of our business practices and where possible eliminate hazards. Adopting this type of technology enables us to remove many of the risks associated with the activity and allows us to protect our most important asset - our people.
“Safety remains a priority across all levels of our organisation and features on the agenda of every Board meeting, weekly Leadership Team meeting and weekly staff meeting. Our staff are encouraged to not only to report incidents and hazards but to contribute to ‘safety shares’ and continuously seek improvements to make our workplace safer,” Ms Bowman-Farr said.
Last updated on 09 Jul 2019