Tag Archives: construction safety

Heavy equipment safety topics

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Since we consider heavy equipment to be the most important tool in the construction business, we should also give some importance to the safety of this equipment. It is undoubtedly because of these equipment that the construction industry is able to make so much money. Hence, they must ensure that they keep the machines healthy, secure and safe from any sort of hazard. Big construction companies have adopted a number of measures for the safety of their heavy equipment. The mid-size and small companies are also doing their bit in make sure that their machines are always in order.

Few very basic yet important things that can be done to keep the machines safe are discussed herein.

Machines do fall sick if not checked in time:-

Heavy equipment like humans may fall sick if they are not checked at regular intervals. They do give signs of not feeling well. It is just that the one who is operating the machine should be able to catch those signs and treat it well. Signs like too much noise from the engine are clear indication that the health of the machine is deteriorating and it needs to be checked as soon as possible. Ideally once should make sure that he services the equipment at regular interval and while the machine is being given for servicing, the mechanic should inform the owner if he finds any part of the machine as faulty. Then it becomes the call of the owner to replace the faulty part at that point in time or during the next servicing.

The mechanic should reveal how urgent it is (if at all it is) to change the part. Just in case if it needs urgent attention of the owner, then that should be communicated and needs to be replaced immediately.

An expert mechanic should be the one working on your machine:-

Always try to ensure that you get your machine checked by an expert mechanic who has loads of experience in servicing as well as repairing machines like yours. A newbie will definitely take more time to repair the stuff and there are high chances of him doing a blunder which may not happen if it is worked by the expert guy. You can generate a good rapport with the mechanic so that every time you have him working on your equipment.

Take necessary steps to keep the equipment safe from extreme weather conditions:-

Extreme weather is another cause of worry that many heavy equipment owners have. They need to treat their machines differently at different weathers. Like during summer, they need to ensure that the engine of the machine remains cool and ensure that it does not get overheated. During monsoon, they need to check that the machine is cleaned regularly or else there are high chances of huge portion of dirt making its way to the interiors of the machine causing wreckage. Winters are again a headache. Due to huge blocks of snow all over the road, it becomes almost impossible to work at a site. There the heavy equipment owners should make it a regular business of checking if the machine is in order and if there are any issues that needs to be sorted with immediate effect.

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Heavy Equipment safety topics

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Heavy equipment is considered as one of the most important component in the construction industry. It not only termed to be important because of its utility in the construction arena but also it is far safer than the traditional ways of working in a construction site. When we talk about safety, there are 2 types of safety that comes in our mind. Firstly, the safety to the equipment and the second is safety to the people around. A construction company does not want to take any sort of risk on the site pertaining to the safety of the people and also wants the machines to work without any glitches.

We would be talking about what are the general steps that a company or an individual can take to ensure that the machine is in order.

Maintenance is the key:-

You just can’t expect the equipment to work all day for you without you bothering to service them once in a month. There are lot of things that needs to be checked in a machine every day before you start your work. There are some very basic things that you need to pay attention. Things like if the brakes are functioning properly, check the levers are in order, check if the engine is making noise before it starts and things thereon. Apart from that, you also need to keep a note on when was the last time you gave the machine for maintenance. Check if the engine oil was changed then and if all the parts were well lubricated. These are again few basic things that you need to keep in record while dealing with the safety of the machine.

Hire experienced operators:-

If you are a novice and are required to operate a machine which you do not understand a thing, please do not lay your hands on it. It is recommended that you hire an experienced operator who understands the equipment and can get the work done for you. If at all you feel that you know how the machine works but need little guidance, then you can always refer to the training guide that will direct you to use the machine properly. Don’t hire operators who are not confident with the equipment or have never operated on the machine before.

Wear safety accessories before you start your work:-

Many people simply skip wearing their safety accessories. They find it to be unnecessary and endanger their lives. Fatality does not knock the door before arriving and you can’t be so sure that you won’t commit any mistake that will lead to an accident. The safety accessories are a must to the operators. They should wear things like work gloves, sturdy shirt trousers and footwear that is primarily meant for doing such work, reflective vests etc.

Hand signals are a must:-

This is applicable when there are ground workers on the site. Extreme care needs to be taken to ensure that you do not bump off with any worker on site. Therefore, the operator as well as the worker should know the hand signals.

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Employ Parking Brake for Safety of Your Heavy Equipment

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Often, many of us think that a parking brake is used only for parking the vehicle on hilly roads or when the heavy construction equipment is mechanical or manual. This concept is entirely wrong, as parking brake is the most essential part of your heavy equipment whether you are running it on the hilly area or on the flat region.

In the bulky equipment manufacturing industry, this brake is recognized in the name of parking brake because it is chiefly applied to park the heavy equipment. Weighty machinery is held in parking condition with the help of the device, parking pawl. This machine is placed inside the transmission to break or extricate the vehicle so as to roll away it.  The parking brake has the ability to hold the heavy equipment in its parking place and assists in protecting its transmission, constant velocity joints and transaxle.

Overview of Parking Brake

In construction manufacturing industry, parking brake is the essential part of every type of heavy equipment that is also known as e-brake, emergency brake, or hand brake. It is a bolting brake which is basically applied for keeping the vehicle at a standstill position. Sometimes, it is also employed by the drivers to prevent the equipment from rolling situation when they required both throttle pedals and clutch to operate it. Generally, this sort of hand is brake available with the wire. This cable is joined to the brake mechanism on one side and to the foot pedal or lever on another side. This brake is also called as emergency brake because it acts as a saviour of the heavy equipment during the poor performance of the foot brake.

Most of the parking brakes are available in the market with the hand-operated lever function that is located in the middle of the console. The capacity of the parking brake not only confined to put the heavy vehicle in motionless state but also provides stability and reduces the danger of undulating away. The drivers place the parking braking by pulling the lever on the upward direction. And when they want to release the e-brake, they press the end key of the brake handle to lowering down the lever.

Procedure to Park Heavy Vehicle in an Angled Parking Area

  • The first thing the drivers should do is to place their bulky equipment far from the other vehicles at least maintaining the gap of five to six feet.
  • It is advisable to the heavy equipment operators to run their vehicle in the forward direction until they reach the middle of the parking zone.
  • When the operators see the middle of the parking area, they should turn the helm brusquely and proceed unhurriedly in to the space.
  • As the operators settle the heavy equipment to its suitable position, then they are required to align the wheels so as to run the vehicle in backward direction during the time of exit.

In conclusion, it can be said that braking system is one of the vital part of any sort of heavy equipment. There are some regulations regarding this parking brake that every heavy equipment operators should keep in mind. If you are operating a large material handling equipment or an earthy equipment, you should know the laws related to its parking brake part.

 

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Compromising On Safety Standards Can Risk The Life Of Your Employees

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A construction site is never meant for children. The reason is that these sites are full of dangers. Dangers that we can’t foresee and they can come upon at any time from any corner of the site if things are left in a haphazard manner. Though all construction sites are meant to follow some safety parameters, accidents happen when they fail to follow those parameters and take an unwanted risk, which leads to untoward incidents. Well, it is very critical to first understand the value of a human life and once that is realized things will start falling in place. Other than that, workers should also understand the importance of safety measures in a work environment like this. The workers during many instances have to work very high above the ground and it is during such instances, if they do not take proper safety precautions, things may turn dangerous for them.

So how can one incur the practice of following the safety measures at all times in the construction premises? Firstly, the employees should be given proper training and must be made aware of the importance of the training. The employees should take the training very seriously and that can happen only when they understand how crucial the training is to them. Show them videos where employees in a construction site are wearing all the required accessories that will help them to remain safe. Also train them on first aid facilities and what they should do prima facie when an accident occurs. Overall, you would be gearing them up with all the required information that will help them to save someone’s life.

Working under an experienced person will prove to be very beneficial to the newbie. They may not have the experience to deal with situations. Given required training will let them know what to do but if they have someone experienced by their side, it always make things easier. More to this, the experienced guy may also share his experiences with them which will be a good learning to them.

New safety devices are the need of the hour. You can’t hold on to the same old stuff which was being used a decade ago. There are new things coming up in the market which can give better protection to your employees from any eventuality and incorporating those things will definitely not harm the finances your business in any manner.

Implementing stringent rules are a must in this form of an industry. Be it construction or mining industry, safety of the employees come first. Therefore, it becomes the onus of the company to ensure that all the employees are rigorously following the safety guidelines while they are at work. If required, you can ask their supervisors to check if all the workers have worn their safety stuffs before starting their work.

It’s better to be safe rather than being sorry about things that were well in your control. Compromising on safety measures can cost you big time.