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Council Street Banners Made Safer: A Flagtrax Case Study from the City of Mount Gambier
Oct
In Mount Gambier, South Australia, one of the first things visitors see as they drive into town is a row of street banners showing what’s on. The City of Mount Gambier changes these council street banners regularly to promote local events and destinations.
“We have entrance banners into our city that we change on a regular basis that promote our events and our destinations from a tourist perspective,” the council’s team explains.
Keeping them up to date used to be a big job. Here’s how the council made every banner changeover safer, quicker and simpler with Flagtrax.
At a glance
- Four banner sites at the entrances to the city
- Changeover time: from around two days to around four hours
- People needed: from up to six to one
- Working at heights: removed
- Winner of the 2020 LGAWCS WHS Best Practice Award (Major Regional)
What was the problem with changing council street banners?
Mount Gambier’s original banners were vinyl and sat high up on the poles, so every change meant working at heights. That meant booking cherry pickers, organising traffic management plans and bringing in extra staff.
Across the council’s four banner sites, one changeover was spread over around two days, with anywhere from two to six workers involved.
There was real risk to manage, too. Falls from height were the second-largest cause of worker deaths in Australia in 2024, according to Safe Work Australia.
How did the council find a better way?
The project started as a collaboration between the council’s depot team and its events team. They wanted a way to change banners that was easier, more cost-effective and less time-consuming for everyone.
They found it in Flagtrax, a street banner system that fits to the pole. A concealed track and a ground-level release let one person lower a banner, swap it over and raise it again, all from the footpath. A cherry picker is only needed once, to install the system.
What changed after switching to Flagtrax?
| Before | With Flagtrax | |
|---|---|---|
| Time for a four-site changeover | Around two days | Around four hours |
| People needed | Two to six | One |
| Equipment | Cherry picker | None, done from the ground |
| Working at heights | Yes | No |
“With this system, one person can safely do it from the ground,” the council’s team says. It no longer takes specialist staff either: “Anyone in the council could do it, from the office staff, anyone.”
The banners still do the job they’re there for. They stay bright and visible to people driving into town, so visitors can see what’s on as soon as they arrive.
In 2020, the City of Mount Gambier’s use of Flagtrax won the LGAWCS WHS Best Practice Award (Major Regional) for eliminating a high-risk working-at-heights task.
What can other councils learn from Mount Gambier?
Most councils run street banner programs for events, tourism and seasonal campaigns, and many face the same problem Mount Gambier did. When every banner changeover needs a cherry picker and a crew, banners often stay up longer than they should.
With Flagtrax, changing banners becomes a simple job for one person. That makes it easier to keep banners fresh for every festival and season, and it takes a working-at-heights task off your WHS register. Flagtrax fits new or existing poles, lamp posts and walls, and most councils don’t need a traffic management plan for routine changes.
You can also see how Flagtrax works at a busy sporting venue in our Allianz Stadium article.
Watch the Mount Gambier case study
Ready to make your banner changes easier?
If your council runs a street banner program, our team can help you plan the right Flagtrax setup. Find out more about Flagtrax or get in touch for a quote.
