Hello World! Welcome Friends! When clearing a site, building a home, adding an extension or doing landscaping work, construction and earthmoving machinery will be used on-site. These vehicles could include excavators, front-end loaders, off-road forklifts, skid steers (Bobcats), truck-mounted or mobile cranes, cherry pickers, rollers and compactors, and trucks.
As a property owner, you may want to do some of this work yourself to cut costs (make sure you have the appropriate skills and knowledge, though, such as completing an excavator course, or ensuring that you have the right type of driver license.)
The risk areas to consider are:
- Overhead
- Underground
- Other workers
- Surface
- Environmental
- Traffic
Overhead
Machinery such as cherry pickers, truck-mounted cranes or excavators are capable of lifting materials many meters into the air. They can damage trees or come into contact with overhead lines. To prepare the site, have an arborist remove any dangerous tree branches, and make the operator or driver aware of others that can’t be moved.
For overhead lines, contact the service provider, e.g. telecoms or power. They may be able to reroute the cables, or they may require you to insulate them, or to string other lower cables with bunting close to the overhead line to act as a warning for machinery.
Underground
A survey of the ground should be carried out so that machine operators know where they can and can’t dig; this service may also be available from the local council or other agency. You should consider water and wastewater pipes, gas pipes, power cables and telecommunications cables. Breaking a cable or pipe can be an expensive fix. If the cable or pipe is on public property, damaging it could wipe out services to the surrounding properties and attract a large fine for damage and remediation. Some scenarios might require a standover (a person to supervise the dig).
Soft ground can be an issue for heavy machinery as the weight of the machine on the ground can damage underground services. These areas should be bridged using an appropriate bridge plate or other reinforcing material.
Other Workers and Pedestrians
Workers on construction sites often wear hearing protection which means they might not hear approaching machinery. Clear rules need to be in place for operators of vehicles and where approved vehicle crossing points are. Workers should ideally be wearing high visibility clothing.
It’s recommended to have a toolbox meeting in the morning to make tradespeople aware of any significant site movements during the day (e.g. a crane lift or a large delivery), and whether anyone will have to down tools while that is happening.
Having separate, clearly defined walkways for pedestrians and other workers is important to help ensure separation of people and machinery. Enforcing exclusion zones is another way. An exclusion zone is an area around a machine in which people are not allowed to enter unless the machine is stopped and not operating.
Surface
Soft ground is also a risk for tipping machinery that lifts. For example, if a crane’s outrigger is placed on soft ground and it sinks in, it could move the load’s center of gravity outside the safe working limit, causing the vehicle to tip over.
Slippery ground can cause people to lose control of their vehicle. Laying temporary gravel or sand can provide grip and help stop machines getting bogged down.
Machinery should not run over electric extension cables or temporary pipework laid on the surface.
Environmental and Noise
Check your local regulations for when you can work and the maximum permitted noise level at the boundary. Restrictions might include no earthworks before 7am and after 7pm, and a certain number of decibels (dB).
When working on a slope, ensure that machines are driving on the slope safely (e.g. it’s not good to turn on a slope as you risk the machine rolling over).
If heavy rain is forecast and you have taken off surface vegetation and compacted the ground, this will create a lot of surface water runoff which could impact the site.
Traffic
A clear plan for which vehicle movements have right of way is required, including as it crosses the threshold onto the property.
Summary
Injuries on worksites are common. If it involves heavy machinery it can easily become very serious or even fatal. Creating safe interactions between people and vehicles is the number one way to reduce injuries. Knowing what’s above and below the machinery being operated is the number one way to prevent disruption and damage.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
8 Things to Consider in a Car Enthusiast’s Home
Four Improvements to Add Value to Your Property
3 New Considerations for Interior Design Success
Pros and Cons of Downsizing Your Home During the Rising Inflation
How to Improve the Efficiency of Your HVAC
How Business Storage In Calgary Ensures a Smooth Office Move Experience
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Toodles,
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