By Joe Moreno

16 Years Experience

In my many years with Florida Coast Equipment, I’ve held a few different positions ranging from inside sales to IT to Management. And the one thing no one really wants to talk about is safety. Working on and around heavy machinery can be dangerous. Our team at Florida Coast has taken serious measures to train and continues to train, our entire team from sales to service to parts.

Top 3 safety issues in the heavy equipment industry

Training

Operators need to be fully trained and certified on the operation of the equipment prior to use. This would include OSHA training and forklift training as applicable.

 Stay out of the line of fire

This refers to every place around a piece of equipment where a worker can be run over, be caught in between the machine and another object, or hit by a mobile object. There must be effective communication between the machine operator and the workers around them. Workers also need safe access to and from a particular point to prevent unsafe access around the machinery paths. Utilize spotters to help provide safety guidance and communication between the equipment operator and nearby workers or pedestrians.

Injuries from the equipment

This includes moving parts of the machine that can reach people such as rotating shafts, colliding surfaces, scissor or shearing actions, sharp edges, or detachable connections. Risks associated with these conditions could be entanglement, crushing, severing, cutting, puncturing as well as slips and falls from dodging.

Wear seat belts when operating equipment as well as using personal protective equipment as applicable. All ROPS/FOPS equipment on the equipment must be in place and in good condition.

Conduct regular equipment inspections and perform routine maintenance. Utilize lockout/tag-out procedures as required.