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Regarding safety measures when using heavy construction equipment on your site

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Working in the construction sector is not the safest type of job. Working in dangerous environments with heavy, and sometimes dangerous, materials while surrounded my heavy machinery is commonplace for people working in the construction industry. There's no way of making working around or in heavy construction equipment completely safe, but to avoid unnecessary risks while working as a civil constructor, there are some things you can think about.

Using a spotter

One thing that can help increase safety on the site of construction, in many instances, is to use a spotter. As civil construction often is a business performed in quite public areas, people that are not a part of the team can flood the work site; the spotter can help prevent injury among them. Utilise one of the junior members of the team for this task, as it needs to be a full time chore when using heavy machinery in certain environments. The task of a spotter is simply to be on the lookout for people who are in danger of being harmed by the machine. If a large group of civilians has gathered to watch the construction work, just honking the horn probably won't get them to move out of the way. A spotter can tell them to move, as they know about what kind of work you are performing and how much space the operator needs to use the machine. When backing, swinging the equipment around, or just operating in an area where there are a lot of people, use a spotter in high-visibility clothing to help guide the operator of the vehicle and clear the area of potential victims to avoid an injury.

Safety accessories to your equipment

For heavy equipment operators, it's very important that the machine is equipped with all the appropriate safety measures. One very important thing is to make sure it's easy to get in and out of the vehicle. All machines need to be equipped with proper ladders. It's not always sufficient to use the accessories that are already on the vehicle. Install extra handlebars and steps if the operator finds it necessary to get in and out of the vehicle safely. Other equipment you might need to add to the machine is devices to make backing safer. Even if you are using a spotter on the work site, the operator also needs to feel secure when moving the vehicle backwards. Installing extra wide angled rear view mirrors can help the operator back more safely. To further add to the safety, you might also want to have rear-mounted cameras or sensors installed. This can be of extra importance for smaller, more mobile equipment like tractors. These types of machines don't just go around the work site, but also in civil environments where a lot of people can end up behind the vehicle. 


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