Productivity and safety should always be a top priority with equipment owners. Becoming a proficient operator takes knowledge, skill, and good judgment. Whether you’re operating equipment or in charge of training others to use it, understanding and practicing equipment safety helps everyone work safer, faster, and more efficiently on the jobsite. Workplace safety can lead to better overall performance and project profitability, and most importantly, it reduces the risk of injury to you and other workers or damage to the equipment or other property.
Let’s have a look at universal safety guidelines for compact equipment here to minimize the risk of accidents:
To help you avoid injury or death, here are 6 safety tips withreal accident reports to show how accidents have happened on the job and how they can be prevented.
Table of Contents
#1 Take Control of Your Own Safety
Skid steer loaders can be dangerous if you do not observe certain safety precautions. Injuries and death are preventable. The most commonly reported causes of serious injury and death using skid steer loaders are:
- Crushed by moving parts
Never leave the operator’s station when the engine is running or the lift arms are raised.
- Rollover Accidents
When operated improperly, skid steer loaders can overturn, especially handling heavy loads or operating on uneven ground.
#2 Prepare for Safe Operation
Identify and locate safety-related features you must check each day before start-up.
#3 Don’t Get Crushed by Moving Parts
Never operate a skid steer loader from outside the cab.
How To Avoid Being Crushed
- Never enter or exit under a raised attachment because it could fall on you.
- Never start the engine or operate controls from outside of the cab. The loader or lift arm attachments can move and crush you when the controls are engaged.
- Always fasten your safety belt and lower the safety bar when you are in the operator’s seat so you stay securely in the cab, protected from being crushed.
- Never climb into or out of the cab while the engine is running. You can be crushed if you bump the controls.
- Never lean out of the cab while the engine is running. Keep your head, arms, and legs inside or you can be crushed by moving lift arms or attachments.
- Never lift an attachment above a person. Loads can shift or fall out, or the attachment can drop unexpectedly, crushing anyone under it.
- Never lift loads so high or roll attachments back so far that material dumps into the cab, landing on you.
- Never work under a raised attachment, unless the lift arms are secured in the “up” position using approved lift arm supports. Contact the manufacturer for information if your loader does not have lift arm supports.
- Whenever possible, perform maintenance work with the engine off, key removed, parking brake set, wheels blocked and attachments lowered or supported by an approved lift arm support.
#4 Prevent Rollover Accidents
Stay away from steep edges when operating a skid steer loader.
How to avoid Rollover Accidents
- Don’t overload the attachment. Check the capacity label, data plate, or operator’s manual for the maximum load limit. Exceeding that limit (RATED OPERATING CAPACITY – ROC) may cause the loader to become unstable and roll over.
- Evenly distribute the load on the attachment so the loader doesn’t tip over.
- Secure unstable loads so they won’t shift or fall. When securing is necessary, lower the lift arms, shut off the engine, climb out, chain the load in place, climb back in the cab, start the loader and proceed with the job.
- Lift loads slowly and evenly to keep the loader stable.
- Carry loads close to the ground, yet high enough to clear obstacles. When a load is carried too high, skid steer loaders are more likely to tip. It is especially important to carry the load as low as possible when turning, carrying a heavy load, traveling on a slope, or operating on rough surfaces.
- Keep the attachment level while moving lift arms or driving up and down hills, otherwise, the load could shift and make the loader out of balance.
- Operate at a speed that is appropriate for conditions so you don’t lose control of the loader.
- Operate the controls smoothly to prevent jerking or bucking.
- Operate on level, stable surfaces. Load, unload, and turn on solid, level ground.
- Drive up and down hills, not across them. Drive slowly on slopes.
- Keep the heavy end of the loader pointed uphill. When fully loaded, skid steer loaders should be driven with the load uphill. When unloaded, the rear of the loader is heavier, so the back of an empty loader should be pointed uphill. If you are not sure which end is heaviest because of added attachments, check the operator’s manual.
- Do not make sharp turns on hills or the loader may roll over. Stay away from steep hills entirely. The operator’s manual de- fines the maximum slope for your loader.
- Avoid holes, large bumps, soft spots, and weak floors. All can make the loader unstable.
- If you must cross railroad tracks, ditches, curbs, or similar rough surfaces, cross at an angle and drive slowly.
- Stay away from steep edges on loading docks, ramps, ditches, retaining walls, and near trenches; otherwise, you could fall over the edge, or the bank could cave in.
#5 Other Operational Hazards
Deadly accidents involving skid steer loaders are not limited to crushing and rollovers. Other dangers include: running over yourself or others, running into obstacles, traffic accidents, electrocution, and poisoning caused by carbon monoxide, fuels, or fluids.
Steer Clear of Runover Accidents
- Wear your safety belt and use the safety bar so you stay safely inside the cab.
- Know where your coworkers are. Check all around before moving the loader. Keep other people away while you are operating and never let anyone get close enough to be crushed by unexpected loader movements.
- Drive forward when you are on level ground unless the load blocks your view or the attachment is designed to be used with the loader in reverse. When a load blocks your view, either drive in reverse (if the loader is designed so you can see behind) or have a coworker guide you. Work out hand signals in advance. Make sure your coworker stays a safe distance from the loader.
- Watch for traffic and pedestrians when crossing or working near roads, driveways, parking lots, building corners, shrubs, trees, and other blind spots. People, animals, and traffic move quickly and may not realize they are in the path of danger. Be aware of your surroundings at all times.
- Look in the direction you are driving.
- Operate the loader smoothly to maintain control so you don’t injure yourself or others nearby.
- Don’t ram the attachment into materials. You might:
- Run into an object hidden by the material.
- Run through the pile and hit someone or something on the other side.
- Lose control of the loader.
- Never allow riders. The cab is built for one person and attachments are not for carrying people.
- Prevent the loader from moving unexpectedly during maintenance.
- Park on a level surface.
- Lower the attachment(s).
- Place the controls in neutral.
- Set the parking brake.
- Turn the engine off.
- Cycle through the controls to relieve hydraulic pressure.
- Follow safe shut down procedures so controls are locked.
- Block the wheels so that loader will not roll.
Stay Away from Obstacles
- Check the work area before you start. Note all potential obstacles–tree branches, pipes, or any object that could come through the cab. Make sure you have adequate clearance through aisles, doorways, and other openings.
- Maintain a clear line of sight. Keep the windshield and the back window clean, if the loader has them.
- Keep attachments and loads as close to the ground as possible so they don’t block your view.
- Use extra caution indoors. Loaders respond quickly to their controls. It’s easy to run into walls, overhead doors, or pipes.
#6 Environmental Hazards
You can become seriously ill or die if you do not take the proper precautions while working in high temperatures and humidity. Heat can reduce physical performance, as well as mental alertness, causing more accidents.
Designed to improve safety and productivity, you can watch the safety videos from Bobcat or Gehl as below:
Skid steer loaders can be dangerous. Safe work habits before, during, and after the operation are important to prevent accidents on the job. At Mayon Machinery, you have been presented with checklists, safety tips, and exercises designed to help you avoid the most commonly reported causes of skid steer loader operation deaths. Contact us today to keep your work experience safe.