Heavy Equipment – Operating Safely
Safe operation of heavy equipment involves seeing the big picture. This means you must:
Have safe equipment
Have the proper training
Be aware of the jobsite activities
Be aware of the constantly changing jobsite
Be aware of other equipment
Before turning on your
heavy equipment you should always:
Observe and become aware of the terrain of the jobsite
Understand what other equipment will be working in your area
Perform a pre-operational walk around of your equipment
Perform a pre-operational in cab inspection
Overhead Lines
- Contact between large construction equipment and overhead lines is a major cause of fatal construction incidents every year in the U.S.
- All overhead lines should be treated as energized lines, no matter what
Hand Signals
- When operating cranes the signal man and the crane operator must know the hand signals required by OSHA
- (In many situations hand signals can work for the other equipment, which can create confusion between heavy equipment on the jobsite)
Barricades
- Barricades must be set up to protect employees from being struck or crushed by rotating superstructures of cranes and excavators
- (Swing Radius Barricades)
- Barricades should also be set up to warn other workers of heavy equipment operations