Equipment Safety & Operation

Module 1: Pre-Operation Inspection

Every machine gets walked before it runs. Not glanced at from the cab — walked.

THE WALKAROUND:
• Fluid levels: engine oil, hydraulic, coolant, fuel
• Leaks: look at the ground under the machine as well as at the machine
• Tires or tracks: condition, pressure, track tension
• Guards and shields: present and secured — a missing guard is the direct cause of most caught-in injuries
• Lights, horn, backup alarm: tested, not assumed
• ROPS/FOPS structure: no cracks, no unauthorised modifications, no welding on the structure
• Seat belt: present and functional
• Steps and handholds: clean enough to use safely
• Fire extinguisher: present, charged, in date

HYDRAULIC LEAK WARNING: never search for a hydraulic leak with your hand. Hydraulic fluid escaping under pressure can penetrate skin and cause a severe injection injury that looks like a pinprick and can cost the limb. Use cardboard or paper to trace a leak, and treat any suspected injection injury as an immediate surgical emergency.

DEFECT REPORTING: if a machine has a safety defect, tag it and take it out of service. An operator who reports a defect is doing the job right.

MOUNTING AND DISMOUNTING: three points of contact at all times, face the machine, and never jump down. Slip-and-fall from equipment steps is one of the most common injuries on a paving crew and is entirely preventable.

STARTUP: seat belt on before starting, controls in neutral, sound the horn before starting and before moving, and confirm nobody is in the machine's path.

Module 2: Rollers and Compaction Equipment

Rollers are heavy, quiet from behind, and have severe blind spots. They kill ground crew.

OPERATING RULES:
• Know where every person on foot is before moving, every time
• Sound the horn before starting movement and before changing direction
• Never allow anyone to ride on the machine unless it has a seat designed for a passenger
• Keep clear of the pinch point between the roller and the paver — this space closes without warning
• Never stop on hot mat; it leaves a permanent depression
• Reverse gradually — abrupt changes shove the mat and destabilise the machine

SLOPES AND EDGES: rollers can roll over. Operate up and down a slope rather than across it where possible, and stay well back from unsupported edges. The edge of a fresh mat over a soft shoulder will give way under a roller. Working near an excavation or embankment demands a spotter and a defined stand-off distance.

DRUM WATER: keep the drum wetted enough to prevent pickup. Check the water system and spray bars during the walkaround; a failed spray bar mid-mat forces a stop at the worst time.

BLIND SPOTS: the operator cannot see directly behind or immediately alongside the drums. Never assume you have been seen. Make eye contact before entering the machine's path, and if you cannot see the operator's face, the operator cannot see you.

SHUTDOWN: park on level ground, lower any raised components, apply the brake, and remove the key. Never leave a machine running unattended.

HEARING: rollers and pavers routinely exceed the level at which hearing protection is required. Hearing loss is cumulative and permanent, and it is the injury crews notice twenty years too late.

Module 3: Pavers and Hot Asphalt

The paver is the centre of the operation and the most dangerous machine on the job for the ground crew working around it.

HOT ASPHALT causes immediate, severe, full-thickness burns. Mix arrives hot enough that contact is not a matter of degree — it is an emergency.

PPE for anyone working around hot mix:
• Long sleeves and long pants — no shorts, no cut-off sleeves, ever
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Boots rated for hot asphalt contact, laced tight with pants outside the boot so material cannot get in
• Eye protection

BURN RESPONSE: cool the area with cool water. Do NOT attempt to peel hardened asphalt off skin — it takes the skin with it and turns a burn into a much worse wound. Cool it, cover it, and get the person to medical care. Removal is done by medical staff.

AUGER AND HOPPER: never reach into the auger chamber, the hopper, or the conveyor while the machine is running. These are the caught-in points that take hands and arms. If material must be cleared, the machine is shut down first.

HOPPER WINGS: folding the wings sends material forward and can splash hot mix. Ensure nobody is in the splash zone, and never fold wings to clear the hopper between trucks — running the hopper empty causes segregation and puts crew in the hazard area for no reason.

TRUCK EXCHANGE: the highest-risk repeating moment of the day. The truck backs to the paver with crew working around both machines. A spotter directs; the paver operator and truck driver must have a clear, agreed signal; and no one stands between the truck and the paver.

FUMES: asphalt fumes are an irritant, and exposure increases in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas. Work upwind where possible. In confined or enclosed placement, respiratory protection and a written program may be required.

SCREED HEAT: screeds are heated. Burns from contact with a hot screed are common and preventable — treat the screed as hot at all times.

Module 4: Skid Steers, Loaders and Excavators

Skid steers cause a disproportionate number of construction fatalities relative to their size, mostly from crushing between the lift arms and the frame, and from bypassing the interlocks.

SKID STEER SPECIFICS:
• Enter and exit only through the front, with the bucket flat on the ground and the arms DOWN — never climb in or out under raised lift arms
• Never bypass the seat bar, seat switch, or any interlock. Those interlocks exist because people have been crushed. Defeating one is a firing-level decision, not a shortcut.
• Keep the load low while travelling — a raised load raises the centre of gravity and tips the machine
• Travel up and down slopes with the heavy end uphill; on a loaded bucket that means bucket uphill
• Never lift a person in a bucket or on the forks
• Never work under a raised attachment unless it is on a positive mechanical support, not hydraulics alone

ATTACHMENTS: confirm the attachment is fully locked before use. An attachment that separates while loaded becomes a projectile. Check the pins visually every time, not by feel.

EXCAVATORS AND SWING RADIUS: the counterweight swing area is a crush zone. Establish and mark the swing radius, and keep everyone out of it. Never position yourself between a swinging machine and a fixed object such as a wall, truck or trench box.

OVERHEAD POWER LINES: electrocution is one of the Fatal Four. Maintain the required clearance distance from energised lines for the voltage present, use a dedicated spotter when operating near lines, and treat every line as energised. Contact with an overhead line is frequently fatal, and the ground around the machine becomes energised as well — if a machine contacts a line, the operator generally stays in the cab.

UNDERGROUND UTILITIES: call 811 before any digging. Struck gas and electrical services kill crews and shut down neighbourhoods.

LOAD CHARTS: every lifting machine has a rated capacity that varies with reach and configuration. Exceeding it tips the machine. Know the chart for the machine you are running.

Module 5: Lockout/Tagout and Maintenance

Most machine maintenance injuries happen because a machine started, moved, or released stored energy while someone was in it.

HAZARDOUS ENERGY is not just electrical. On paving equipment it includes:
• Hydraulic pressure held in cylinders and accumulators
• Gravity — raised lift arms, beds, screeds and buckets
• Stored mechanical energy in springs
• Thermal energy in hot components and fluids
• Pneumatic pressure in air systems

THE BASIC SEQUENCE before servicing:
1. Notify affected workers
2. Shut down the machine using its normal stopping procedure
3. Isolate the energy source
4. Apply lock and tag — the person doing the work applies their own lock and keeps the key
5. Release or restrain stored energy — lower raised components onto blocks or a positive mechanical support, relieve hydraulic pressure, allow hot components to cool
6. Verify zero energy by attempting a normal start with controls

ONE LOCK PER PERSON: every worker servicing the machine applies their own lock. Nobody removes another person's lock. If multiple crews are involved, a group lockout device is used.

RAISED COMPONENTS: never work under a raised bed, bucket, arm or screed supported only by hydraulics. A hose can fail or a valve can drift. Use the manufacturer's mechanical lock, a safety prop, or cribbing rated for the load.

TIRE SERVICING on split-rim and multi-piece wheels is a specialised hazard with its own requirements — these components have killed people during inflation. Use a restraining device and trained personnel.

JUMP STARTING and battery work: batteries produce explosive hydrogen gas. Eye protection is required, and connections are made in the correct order with the final connection away from the battery.

RETURNING TO SERVICE: confirm tools and parts are removed, guards are reinstalled, everyone is clear, then remove locks — each person removing their own — and restore energy. Guards left off after maintenance are how the next person gets hurt.