Excavators are one of the most common pieces of machinery on all sorts of jobs, from construction and demolition sites to road work to agricultural and forestry work to mining, and more. Of course, among their many possible applications, digging is the most common. So, along with these tips for excavator safety, make sure you’re familiar with safety tips for working around trenches too.
All heavy equipment poses serious—even potentially fatal—risks to operators and people working in the vicinity. The relatively quick and far-reaching motion of the boom, dipper, and bucket on an excavator is a particular source of danger. Bucket loads are too, as they are lifted, maneuvered, and dumped.
The following tips for excavator safety are essential to minimizing the risk of injuries, death, and damaged equipment at the job site.
Excavator Safety Tips
- Anyone who operates an excavator must be trained to do so and have access to the operator’s manual
- Always perform pre- and post-operation inspections on the excavator
- Don’t operate an excavator that has signs of damaged components, malfunctioning controls or safety features, or other problems
- Cabs are made for one operator only, so no additional people in there
- Operators should always buckle their seat belt
- Use a reliable communication system between the operator and ground crew
- Always stay clear of the articulated arm and bucket’s span and swing radius
- Never stand beneath the arm of the excavator or an elevated load
- Nobody should ever ride in the bucket; nobody should ever ride on or hang from the arm
- Know the weight limit for bucket loads and don’t ever exceed it
- Don’t lift the bucket higher than necessary
- Never dig beneath the machine
- Reduce speed on rough ground conditions and in crowded areas
- Turn the excavator slowly and gradually
- When going up an incline, extend the arm and carry the bucket close to the ground and rolled out
- When going down a slope, carry the bucket low and with its bottom parallel to the ground
- Level the machine when excavating a trench
- Keep the machine as far as possible from the edge of an excavation
- Work with the propel motors to the rear of the excavator for increased stability
- Dump loads as far from excavation sites as possible to reduce the risk of cave-ins
- When unloading into a truck, refrain from swinging the bucket over the truck’s cab
- Park the excavator on a level surface with the bucket close to the ground
- Make sure all excavator preventive maintenance and repairs are performed on schedule and by qualified technicians
