Working Around Heavy Equipment
10/19/2020
Working around heavy equipment has its challenges. Indeed, ensuring these pieces of yellow iron are properly maintained and that the work environment is adequate for their proper operation is essential. Poor maintenance and inadequate space for these pieces of equipment to maneuver can result in significant contact with other equipment or materials as well as causing personal injury. Any one of these scenarios can stop a project on a moment’s notice. Such delays can seriously impact the success of a project – and yes – should an injury occur, no matter how much of a financial success or an on-time or on-budget performance may result, the project can never be perceived as a success. It would be like touting the successful construction of one of the famous Hotel/Casinos in Las Vegas that was completed within the allotted timeframe and budget; however, there were four fatalities during its construction. That’s nothing to be proud about.
One of the leading causes of work-related deaths is contact with objects. This could include:
- Struck against an object
- Struck by an object
- Caught in an object or equipment
- Caught in collapsing material
Objects that fall, roll, fly, slide, slip and swing can do serious damage to a person. Construction workers hit by building materials, vehicles slipping off of jacks, loggers struck by trees – all have a high fatality rate. Yet all are preventable.
According to OSHA statistics, “Struck-by” fatalities that involve heavy equipment account for 75% of all deaths within this category and includes trucks, cranes, and drill rigs. At the DOE Savanah River site, their 15,000,000 hours of no lost time events ended abruptly as the result of a worker fatality (not just an injury) when a truck tipped onto a worker employed by a lower-tier subcontractor.
Of course, company management has a responsibility to provide a safe work environment for its employees. And that includes compliance with OSHA regulations and providing safety training and making safety a top priority. But there are things workers in the field can do to ensure their personal safety.
As discussed in last weeks’ Safety Message, there are several mindsets that can lead to our inattention to the surroundings of our work environment due to being distracted, thereby resulting in serious injuries. Yes, there are other precursors that can cause the same consequences, such as faulty equipment, lack of proper training, and a lack of workplace assessments. So, when we, as individuals, can control workplace hazards, or, at least minimize the consequences, it is to everyone’s benefit, that such precautions are taken.
Complacency is one of those mindsets that can lead to an unfortunate circumstance. Complacency is defined as self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. This type of mindset typically happens when someone has been performing a specific task to the point that he/she ceases to think about their task and now performs the operation out of habit. It is one thing to let your focus diminish when performing a manual task, but when machines are involved, the consequence can be devastating, as the power associated is tremendous. Indeed, a mistake around a drill rig or a front-end loader can be unforgiving (this includes tools in a machine shop such as lathes, saws, and punch presses).
Complacency can not only impact the equipment operator, but those working within close proximity. This can happen when personnel decide that their focus can be placed on completing paper work or some other activity and do not believe heavy equipment presents a danger as the operator has repeatedly taken precautions throughout the entire shift, and therefore, has assumed the operator will continue to look out for workers in the area. Thus, workers have developed a false sense of security and therefore, lowered their level of awareness presented by the nearby front-end loader or water truck or excavator.
Sometimes taking a break can be beneficial, not just because we can take a few moments to relax, but also to break up the monotony of performing a repetitious task and thereby help to regain our focus.
If we should ever see one of our coworkers falling into the mental trap of complacency, speak up and either switch job tasks or call for a break. This is an excellent example of how we can demonstrate our commitment to worker S&H.
Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half