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814 Heavy Equipment Safety
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Working Around Heavy Equipment

Safety is a collective effort. The on-foot workers working around the equipment should also be trained for safe working practices and avoiding potential hazards and resulting injuries.

Workers working around heavy equipment
Operators should always know exactly where all on-foot workers are located.

Several kinds of potentially hazardous interactions occur with the equipment in the work area.

Effective communication between operators and other workers is essential. The operators and the signal person should use a standardized set of hand signals. Operators should always know exactly where all on-foot workers are located, and the wearing of high visibility vests will help the operator to locate them quickly.

The equipment should have a back-up warning alarm that can be heard by all nearby workers. Two-way radios are also very useful communication tools.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

4-4. What should the operators and the signal person use to communicate with each other?