Blog - Month: March 2024
Safe and Sound: Safety Tips for Heavy Equipment Operation
A jobsite crawling with bulldozers, cranes, scrapers and tractors can sometimes feel like a danger zone. However, with the proper heavy equipment safety guidelines in place, you can reduce risk and ensure your workers head home unscathed every day.
There are three main ingredients to safe heavy equipment operation: safe equipment, proper training and a safe attitude, and constant awareness of all jobsite activities.
If heavy equipment operators are armed with these three tools, they’ll have no problem playing it safe. Read on to learn more about these and other essential safety factors for operating heavy equipment on the worksite.
Use dependable equipment
OSHA puts a heavy emphasis on the safety features of heavy equipment. But, there’s much more to keeping equipment safe than just inspecting the machine’s safety features. After all, countless things can go wrong with this complex equipment, and these problems can lead to some major risks on the jobsite.
It’s extremely important to create customized inspection checklists for each unique piece of equipment. Safety experts recommend that heavy equipment operators conduct a pre-operational walk around and pre-start-up (in-cab) inspection before starting work to ensure the following are all working properly:
- Service, emergency and parking brakes
- Headlights
- Taillights and backup lights
- The horn.
Of course, these are just a few of the items that should be included on the checklist. You should create customized checklists for each piece of equipment based on both OSHA guidelines and the information provided in the equipment operating manual.
Steer clear of jobsite dangers
Heavy equipment operators should be aware of all jobsite activities so they can avoid potential dangers. That’s why it’s critical for equipment operators to walk through site activity checklists each day.
Here are a few obstacles and activities for operators to stay on the lookout for:
- Overhead lines: Many fatal occupational injuries occur due to contact between large jobsite equipment and overhead lines. That’s why equipment operators must exercise extreme caution when working near overhead power lines.
Workers should assume that all overhead lines are energized unless electrical utility authorities have indicated otherwise, and that they are visibly grounded and appropriately marked. OSHA provides specific requirements for the safe use of equipment near overhead lines.
- Barricades: Barricades must be used on any worksite where heavy equipment is in operation. These barricades help to notify workers where equipment is in use so that they can stay out of the area and avoid serious injury.
- Hand signals: If a crane is operation on a jobsite, the crane operator and the signaler must know the hand signals that are required by OSHA. These hand signals can be used for other types of equipment, as well.
Ensure safety with well-trained workers
A jobsite is only as safe as its workers. That’s why it’s so important to employ only well-trained, safety-conscious workers for work at a heavy equipment site. You should also conduct regular training, such as tailgate sessions before a shift starts.
According to OSHA requirements, jobsites, materials and equipment should undergo frequent and regular inspections by “competent persons” designated by the employer. It takes training to be a competent worker.
It’s important to train your employees on proper equipment inspection and operation safety. After all, your workers’ lives could depend on it. For more information, visit the OSHA website at www.osha.gov.
Getting Buy-in from Managers on Workplace Safety Programs
One of the keys to instituting a good safety program is to get management and supervisor buy-in.
You need their support and belief in the system if you are to convince your employees to embrace your safety regimen. If your managers don’t believe in the safety plans you have put together, it will show through when they try to sell them to your staff.
If you don’t have buy-in from your managers, the chances are slim to none that your employees will embrace the changes you are proposing. Managers play a crucial role in getting employees on board with safety.
If you are serious about preventing injuries and want to keep your workers’ comp X-Mod low, the role of your management team is crucial.
You will often encounter a few different personality types among your managers and they need to be convinced of the importance of workplace safety in different ways.
- The excuse-makers: They are the ones that blame external factors that are out of their control for safety lapses, and they may pooh-pooh the harm that a high X-Mod has. They may talk the talk on safety, but they don’t walk the walk.
- Half-hearted bosses: These managers may actually buy into the safety program, but they are unable to show their commitment in ways that make an impression on the rank and file.
- Committed: These managers are fully committed and enthusiastically embrace your safety plans and discuss them with staff with exuberance.
You’ll need a different approach with each personality type to get them to embrace the concept. Once they do, they can effectively convey the urgency and importance of workplace safety to the rank and file.
Constructor Magazine recently had these recommendations for getting management buy-in:
Select the right leaders – Choose managers who are firm, yet fair with a passion for the safety of the workforce. They should have a track record of success so that they can be an inspiration to their teams. Also, they should not be afraid to get their hands dirty to make a point or demonstrate how something is done.
Talk about risk management holistically – Every facet of your operation needs to be addressed if you want a comprehensive global risk management culture to exist.
Executives can influence this by extending discussions of risk management beyond the worksite to help managers see the bigger picture of why safety matters.
Assessing the risk associated with every task, purchase order, estimate or piece of equipment used will reinforce the notion that risk management is a company-wide function and not only in the sphere that the manager is responsible for.
Make periodic site visits – Top leadership should make a point to get on the floor and visit various departments to watch the workflow and reinforce the importance of safety to the workers. They should make these visits with the manager who has been put in charge of safety for that department.
At the same time, they should not arrive and start nitpicking and being enforcers of safety policy. Instead, their role should be to start conversations with the workers about safety challenges and asking for advice and ideas to make the operation safer.
They can use these visits to also celebrate successes and challenge the team to do better and always look for issues that could lead to injuries.
Is Your Business Doing Enough to Prevent Workplace Violence?
Violence in the workplace is a growing problem for which many U.S. employers are unprepared.
Business owners may believe that their workforces are like families and that a violent outburst could never happen at work. They may also think that they have adequate security in place to stop an outsider from launching an attack or that their business would never be a target. These assumptions are probably mistaken.
Violence can take many forms and result in injuries or death, and employers are increasingly advised to put in place security and workplace violence prevention measures. Besides the human toll, a number of insurance policies may come into play after an incident.
In 2020, 20,050 workers in private U.S. businesses suffered non-fatal workplace violence trauma. Another 392 workers were killed. While three-quarters of the non-fatal victims worked in health care, more than 30% of those killed worked in retail. Employees at gas stations and convenience stores were particularly at risk.
Government is starting to address the problem. A California law taking effect July 1, 2024 will require employers to implement written workplace violence prevention plans. These must include annual workplace violence prevention training, incident logs and other recordkeeping.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration created guidance for health care employers about workplace violence prevention. It cited several hospital systems in 2023 for failure to provide safe workplaces.
Insurance
Companies that have suffered a workplace incident can turn to several insurance policies,
including:
- Workers’ compensation, for injuries suffered by employees or their deaths. One workers’ comp insurer has reported that the rate of workplace violence injuries has quadrupled over the past 25 years and the cost of those claims has doubled.
- Commercial general liability insurance, for injuries and property damage suffered by members of the public on the business’s premises at the time of the incident.
- Employment practices liability insurance, for employees who were not injured but were nevertheless traumatized from witnessing the incident.
- Commercial property insurance, which may cover damage done to the business’s building and personal property. For example, gunshots may damage walls, windows and equipment.
In addition, relatively new types of insurance such as workplace violence and active-assailant policies may cover expenses that traditional policies do not. These might include employee counseling, changes to undamaged parts of the building to make it more secure, and public relations efforts to repair a damaged reputation.
Prevention steps
While workplace violence that results in deaths often makes the news, the majority of incidents are smaller, such as an isolated attack by someone who has been fired. A business cannot absolutely prevent a workplace violence incident, but you can take steps to make it less likely. These include:
- Establishing and enforcing a “zero tolerance” policy for bullying, harassment of any kind, discrimination or intimidation.
- Modifying employer policies about sexual harassment to encompass all kinds of workplace violence.
- Making violence prevention a regular agenda item at employee meetings.
- Having procedures in place for reacting to any incidents that do occur, including assignment of responsibility for executing the procedures to specific individuals.
- Setting up a mechanism for employees to report any threats of violence towards them or co-workers.
There have always been violent incidents in workplaces, but they are becoming more common. Preventing them helps workplace morale and employee retention, protects your reputation —
and helps keep the workplace a pleasant and productive place for everyone.
Changes Coming to Electronics, Dual-Wage Class Codes
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California will recommend changes to class codes for some electronics manufacturing sectors, as well as increases to the wage thresholds for construction industry dual classifications.
The move comes after the Rating Bureau’s governing committee unanimously approved proposed changes, which will be sent in March to the state insurance commissioner for approval. If approved, the changes will take effect Sept. 1, 2024. Here’s what’s on tap:
Electronics manufacturing industry
One of the proposed changes would link two more classes to the 8874 companion classification, which was created in September 2022 to cover certain low-risk classes in the electronics industry group.
Currently, 8874 is a companion class that covers payroll for lower-risk jobs in hardware and software design and development, computer-aided design, clerical and outside sales operations for two electronics industry classes — 3681 (manufacturing operations for electronic instruments, computer peripherals, telecommunications equipment) and 4112 (integrated circuit and semiconductor wafer manufacturing).
The new proposal would move to 8874 similar low-risk white-collar personnel currently assigned to class 3572 (medical instrument manufacturing) and 3682 (non-electric instrument manufacturing).
The Rating Bureau is also recommending merging class code 3070 (computer memory disk manufacturing) with 3681(2) (computer or computer peripheral equipment manufacturing).
If this recommendation is okayed, the higher pure premium rate of $0.46 per $100 of payroll for class code 3681 will apply to the new combined code. Class 3070 currently has a pure premium rate of $0.25 per $100 of payroll and the new rate would be phased in at 25% per year until class 3070 is eliminated and all employers are moved to class 3681.
Dual-wage increases
The Rating Bureau will also recommend increasing the thresholds that separate high- and low-wage earners in 16 dual-wage construction classes.
These class codes have vastly different pure premium rates for workers above and below a certain threshold as the lower-wage workers have historically filed more workers’ comp claims. Rates for lower-wage workers are often double the rates for higher-wage workers.
The following illustrates the changes:
| Classification | Current threshold | Recommended threshold for 9/1 |
| 5207/5028 Masonry | $32 | $35 |
| 5190/5140 Electrical Wiring | $34 | $36 |
| 5183/5187 Plumbing | $31 | $32 |
| 5185/5186 Automatic Sprinkler Installation | $32 | $33 |
| 5201/5205 Concrete or Cement Work | $32 | $33 |
| 5403/5432 Carpentry | $39 | $41 |
| 5446/5447 Wallboard Installation | $38 | $41 |
| 5467/5470 Glaziers | $36 | $39 |
| 5474/5482 Painting/ Waterproofing | $31 | $32 |
| 5484/5485 Plastering or Stucco Work | $36 | $38 |
| 5538/5542 Sheet Metal Work | $29 | $33 |
| 5552/5553 Roofing | $29 | $31 |
| 5632/5633 Steel Framing | $39 | $41 |
| 6218/6220 Excavation/ Grading/Land Leveling | $38 | $40 |
| 6307/6308 Sewer Construction | $38 | $40 |
| 6315/6316 Water/Gas Mains | $38 | $40 |