Heavy Equipment Safety
The power and size of heavy equipment can be awesome to behold, with towering excavators, massive trucks, and many other vehicles and machines that do hard work for us. It’s more than a good idea to treat this equipment with respect, since construction workers are but small bags of meat compared to these monstrous metal machines. At RECO Equipment, we believe a safe work environment begins and ends with understanding and respecting the power and danger present on a work site. Construction can be a dangerous business, after all, and it more than pays to be aware of some precautions you can take to stay safe. Read on for some more information or head into one of our locations in Belmont County, Ohio.
Invest Time in Training
Perhaps the most important thing you can do to ensure workplace safety around heavy equipment is to train yourself or your workers to take safety seriously. A well-trained crew will reduce the chance of an accident on all aspects of a job. If everyone is on the same page, things move around more seamlessly. Also, heavy equipment can be quite technical and might require a few specific tricks to operate correctly. Make sure that even if a worker is able to operate a piece of equipment, they also know the specific safety procedures for that equipment.
Regular Inspection and Maintenance
Equipment should be safe to operate, and equipment that isn’t going through the right kind of maintenance will not be able to be operated safely. A sudden stall or blowout or other malfunction could mean more than a piece of equipment in need of repair — it could also mean damage or injury to one of your workers. Always make sure to properly inspect your heavy equipment regularly to catch mechanical problems beforehand rather than after an incident. You should also make sure any safety features on the equipment itself are in working order, like seatbelts, fire suppression systems, and any failsafe that might be present.
Slow Down
Between deadlines and efficiency of operation, it’s always a rush to complete projects in one way or another. But when we’re looking to go fast or finish quickly, we’ll cut corners and take risks that aren’t exactly safe. This is a big cause of accidents on work sites. Fortunately all you have to do to counteract this problem is to take your time and make sure you’re being safe and smart about operating your heavy equipment. Other factors like operator condition (lack of sleep, stressed, adverse working conditions, etc.) and distractions on site can inflate the danger of working too quickly.
Make sure you and your workers stay focused on what they’re doing when operating heavy equipment. Staying on-task can save lives! It’s also important to be able to see and communicate with other workers around you. Two-way radios, flaggers, and clear signage all help to reduce the chance of accidents.
Stay vigilant when working on a construction site. There are a lot of dangers and ways you can injure yourself if you’re not paying attention, you don’t know how to operate the equipment, or you’re trying to get your work done too quickly. Pay attention and learn about your equipment to ensure you can operate your heavy equipment safely. For more heavy equipment tips, or if you’re just interested in checking out some new and pre-owned heavy equipment, head into RECO Equipment. We have locations throughout Belmont County, Ohio, and we’re proud to serve our neighbors in Pennsylvania and Indiana. Come in today and let our team of equipment experts answer all your questions and help you find what you’re looking for.