Following Skid Steer Loader Safety Rules Is Crucial
There are some heavy equipment that are installed with safety mechanisms to keep operators from getting hurt. Skid steer loaders are manufactured with safety features to prevent unexpected or inadvertent movement of the loader arm and hydraulics when the operator is not in the cab.
Although these features are installed within the machine, there are still safety precautions to go over before operating the skid steer. In fact, safety features can be bypassed, defeated or improperly maintained which can result in serious injury or death.
Here are some safety features of the skid steer loader:
- Seatbelt Restraints: Helps the operator from being thrown around inside or falling out.
- Falling Object Protective Structure (FOPS) or Roll-Over Protective Structure (ROPS): Helps operator from falling objects and injury due to accidental rollovers.
- Control Interlock System: Activates a safety interlock system that is intended to prevent inadvertent movement of the machine’s controls when the operator is not in the proper operating position
OSHA has found that if operators don’t bypass these safety features. About 20 percent of accidents may be adverted.
Here is an actual case that occurred with a skid steer loader. If safety was on the employee’s mind, this accident could have been prevented.
An employee was working alone, operating a skid steer loader to provide the final contouring around a new home that was nearing completion. While operating the skid steer loader, one of the bucket bolt pins, which connects the loader arm to the bucket, fell out. The employee decided to dismount the vehicle while the engine was still running. He then proceeded to manually lower the lap bar safety device and operated the hydraulic controls from outside the vehicle. What the employee was trying to do was realign the loader arm hole with the bucket hole and reinsert the bucket bolt pin. Unfortunately, in the process, he became trapped between the bucket and the body of the skid steer loader and was tragically crushed.
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Tags: heavy construction, loaders, OSHA, safety, work site safety
Posted in: Loader Operations
