Your Guide to Preventing Injuries When Operating Construction Equipment

Unfortunately, accidents at construction sites are more common than you might think. You will want to be cautious about hazards like rollovers, collisions, backovers, and side-tipping when working around heavy machinery. These incidents can occur due to negligence on the operator’s part or neglected issues with your machines. We often recommend that our customers take all possible measures to ensure they follow safety guidelines on their worksites, and we also suggest you follow them on your job site. Don’t worry if you are unsure where to begin—our guide has you covered.

Read on to learn more about preventing injuries when operating construction machinery, and for more information, contact Crownstone Equipment.

Provide Training to Operators

You will want to provide your staff with detailed and regular equipment operation training to avoid worksite accidents and prevent injuries. Your employees must know how to operate all pieces of machinery on your construction site and spot mechanical issues before they get worse. This will help minimize errors and prevent incidents from taking place.

Make sure that your standard training sessions include teaching your staff to:

• Turn the equipment on and off
• Enter and exit the cab correctly
• Inspect the given machine before each use
• Attach, detach, and use implements with caution

We suggest you plan these training sessions every six months and reschedule them to educate new employees joining your crew.

Maintain Your Equipment

As stated earlier, you will want to inspect your construction machinery before starting them every day. In addition, you must create a maintenance plan to service your machines proactively and regularly. Well-maintained equipment is less prone to breaking down or creating hazards, and you can rest easy knowing you will experience less downtime.

Purchase Safety Gear

Another way to prevent injuries when handling construction equipment is to wear safety gear. Ensure that each worker wears protective outerwear or orange safety vest, a hard hat, and steel-toed shoes when working around heavy machinery. They must also wear eye protection and heavy work gloves.

You will also want to encourage your staff working near heavy machines to dress suitably, even if they aren’t operating the equipment directly.

4. Create a Safe Working Environment

The effort to prevent worksite injuries is an ongoing process, and you will want your staff to work as a team to minimize the hazards. Make sure that:

• All loose materials and debris are moved away from around your construction equipment.
• There is proper lighting for working in low-light conditions.
• You disallow your employees from working in extreme weather conditions.
• Your workers avoid exceeding their physical and emotional limits.

More importantly, you will want to ensure that your workers work in a calm and optimistic environment. This will help them focus on work and avoid making poor judgment calls, which cause injuries at your worksite. If you need more advice, swing by Crownstone Equipment for a friendly chat with our staff. We are at multiple locations throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland, so reach out today.