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HazardProof combines electrical engineering and hazardous area expertise to keep critical infrastructure aligned with evolving requirements on mine sites.
It was during a cruise trip in 2024 that Chris and Olivia Mapleson first discussed an idea that would later become HazardProof, an electrical engineering services company.
Before the ship even docked, the pair had turned the idea into a plan.
“We decided that we were going to start HazardProof and the next day we registered the business,” Chris said.
As the co-founder, Chris had spent almost 20 years working across metalliferous and underground coal mining, progressing through electrical supervision, engineering management, electrical equipment in hazardous areas and project management roles.
He later joined an engineering firm to support a major underground project before moving into business development; a subsequent hazardous area project drew Chris back towards technical work.
Shortly after, he gained his accreditation as a Hazardous Area Auditor, and with fellow founder Olivia’s marketing background in the mining and tunnelling sectors, the stage was set for HazardProof.
“I have the marketing background, and Chris has the technical knowledge, so we’ve got two skill sets that we’ve brought together,” Olivia said.
The company was registered in April 2024, bringing together decades of experience both above and below ground. That experience underpins HazardProof’s role as an engineering partner, helping mining operations keep electrical systems, hazardous area controls and documentation aligned with the changing conditions of a mine site.
HazardProof’s current project revolves around supporting the design of a mine ventilation fan shaft, and given that represents critical mine infrastructure, the scope extends from electrical design and equipment integration to functional safety and hazardous area classification.
“We’re not just doing standard procedures, we’re doing an end-to-end process,” Chris said.
HazardProof’s electrical engineering services include design reviews, switchboard upgrades, generator integration, power system modelling, earthing studies, compliance auditing and the development of site electrical standards.
Its engineers also provide project delivery support, taking work from the design stage through to execution and handover.
“We tend to do more electrical work than hazardous area work,” Chris said.
“But once it blends into those hazardous areas, it’s easy for us to integrate everything into a single package.”
In this case, power system modelling can form one of the first stages of an upgrade, establishing whether a site has sufficient electrical capacity before detailed design work begins.
At that stage, HazardProof can support the design and delivery of the project while incorporating any hazardous area requirements that arise.
From the Maplesons’ perspective, the project encapsulates the role HazardProof plays across the Australian mining industry by bringing the different parts of an electrical project together and ensuring the finished system reflects the conditions under which it will operate.
With this mantra and its overall expertise, the couple – alongside their seasoned team – have established a strong reputation of reliability and detailed workmanship in the field.
A recent interaction with a former colleague served as the perfect example of HazardProof’s growing scope, where, upon learning of its electrical engineering capabilities, the former peer had a “light bulb moment” realising he could have been sourcing HazardProof’s capabilities all along.
This intersection of the company’s two workstreams played an important role during a borehole project connecting surface infrastructure to an underground pumping installation.
The company designed the surface works, determined what equipment was required underground and incorporated the relevant hazardous area requirements into the wider electrical design.
As a result, HazardProof said the ability to look at the complete system is integral and will continue to play an important role as operational sites evolve.
This evolution can see equipment being relocated, switchboards upgraded, ventilation altered or processes changed; and even where the physical work has been completed correctly, the site’s hazardous area classification and supporting records may no longer reflect what is actually installed.
Chris said in this context, verification dossiers containing these changes are among the areas most likely to develop gaps over time, adding that “they may not always be maintained to the required standard” on sites.
“We find that there is documentation missing and also many things that have changed over the years that haven’t been kept up to date,” he said.
However, he and the entire HazardProof team understand that these gaps seldom appear through one major oversight, instead accumulating gradually as equipment is added, drawings become outdated, calculations go missing, and completed inspections are not incorporated into the site’s records.
To address this, HazardProof approaches much of its mining audit work as a gap analysis, reviewing the dossier and physical installation before helping the client prioritise its response.
Depending on the site’s requirements, the company can also complete missing calculations, update documentation and support the close-out of identified issues.
In response, change management is central to preventing those gaps, which means that when equipment, layouts, ventilation or operating processes change, the relevant classification and documentation should be reviewed as part of the project.
“What you generally find is that the last thing that is thought about is the classification, which actually should be the first thing that should be done,” Chris said.
“Sometimes modifications are being done [to the site], so that will be flagged as part of the installation program. But a lot of these installation teams aren’t necessarily hazardous areas specialists.”
The HazardProof approach, focusing on practical and educational practices, also forms the foundation of its growth strategy.
Olivia said that since its inception, the business had concentrated on its hazardous areas expertise, but as the demands and operational needs of modern mine sites continue to change, there is also a greater need for HazardProof’s electrical engineering expertise.
Olivia is also completing a Master of Data Science, building on the company’s focus on practical, efficient ways of working.
She expects the skills she develops through her studies to help HazardProof refine its internal systems, manage client information more effectively and make better use of digital tools as the business evolves.
HazardProof now has about nine people across its team, including specialist subcontractors, with further recruitment planned.
“We want to grow sustainably. We want to keep a core team, where clients can talk to engineers when we’re doing the work for them,” Olivia said.
In the eyes of the Maplesons, preserving that direct relationship is central to HazardProof’s future and a key part of its growth strategy.
This considered approach allows the HazardProof’s engineers to understand each operation, work closely with the people responsible for it and develop solutions grounded in the realities of the site.
“Hazard Proof is a knowledgeable electrical engineering firm,” they said.
“We want to be an extension of the clients’ team.”
This feature appeared in the November 2026 edition of Australian Mining.