Good engineering and advanced technology continue to improve the safety of construction equipment and the people who work with it. However, sometimes the smartest way to prevent equipment-related accidents is to avoid potentially dangerous situations in the first place.
       One way is through lockout/tagout. By lockout/tagout, you are essentially telling other workers that a piece of equipment is too dangerous to operate in its current state.
       Tagouts are the practice of leaving a label on a machine to warn other employees not to touch the machine or start it. Lockouts are an additional step that involves creating a physical barrier to prevent machines or equipment components from starting. Both practices should be used together to ensure maximum safety.
       According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a skid steer operator died in an accident several years ago when he became trapped between the skid steer's hydraulic tilt cylinder housing and the frame. After the operator exited the skid steer, he reached for the foot pedals that controlled the loader's arms to clear snow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the operator may have mistakenly lowered the safety seat post to raise the bucket and make it easier to turn the pedals. As a result, the locking mechanism failed to engage. While clearing, the operator pressed down on the footrest, causing the lift boom to shift and crush him.
       “A lot of accidents happen because people get caught in pinch points,” said Ray Peterson, founder of Vista Training, which produces safety videos as well as videos related to lockout/tagout and other heavy equipment hazards. “For example, they’ll lift something into the air and then fail to lock it down enough to prevent it from moving, and it’ll slide or fall. You can imagine that could result in death or serious injury.”
       In many skid steers and track loaders, the locking mechanism is a seat post. When the seat post is raised, the lift arm and bucket are locked in place and cannot move. When the operator enters the cab and lowers the seat bar to his knees, the movement of the lift arm, bucket, and other moving parts is resumed. In excavators and some other heavy equipment where the operator enters the cab through a side door, some models of locking mechanisms are levers attached to the armrest. Hydraulic movement is activated when the lever is lowered and locked when the lever is in the up position.
       The vehicle's lifting arms are designed to be lowered when the cabin is empty. But during repairs, service engineers sometimes have to raise the boom. In this case, it is necessary to install a lifting arm bracket to completely prevent the lifting arm from falling.
       "You lift your hand and you see a tube running through an open hydraulic cylinder and then a pin that locks it in place," Peterson said. "Now those supports are built in, so the process is simplified."
       “I remember the engineer showing me a scar on his wrist the size of a silver dollar,” Peterson said. “His watch had shorted out a 24-volt battery, and because of the depth of the burn, he had lost some function in the fingers on one hand. All of this could have been avoided by simply disconnecting one cable.”
       On older units, "you have a cable that comes off the battery post, and there's a cover that's designed to cover it," Peterson said. "Usually it's covered by a padlock." Consult your machine's owner's manual for proper procedures.
       Some units released in recent years have built-in switches that cut off all power to the machine. Since it is activated by a key, only the owner of the key can restore power to the machine.
       For older equipment without an integral locking mechanism or for fleet managers who require additional protection, aftermarket equipment is available.
       "Most of our products are anti-theft devices," said Brian Witchey, vice president of sales and marketing for The Equipment Lock Co. "But they can also be used in conjunction with OSHA lockout and tagout safety procedures."
       The company's aftermarket locks, suitable for skid steers, excavators and other types of equipment, protect the equipment's drive controls so they cannot be stolen by thieves or used by other employees during repairs.
       But locking devices, whether built-in or secondary, are only part of the overall solution. Labeling is an important means of communication and should be used when machine use is prohibited. For example, if you are performing maintenance on a machine, you should briefly describe on the label the reason for the machine’s failure. Maintenance personnel should label areas of the machine from which parts have been removed, as well as cab doors or drive controls. When maintenance is complete, the person performing the repair should sign the tag, Peterson says.
       "Many of the locking devices on these machines also have tags that are filled out by the installer," Peterson said. "They have to be the only one with the key, and they have to sign the tag when they remove the device."
       Tags must be connected to the device using durable wires strong enough to withstand harsh, wet or dirty conditions.
       Communication is really key, Peterson said. Communication includes training and reminding operators, engineers and other fleet personnel about lockout/tagout, as well as reminding them of safety procedures. Fleet employees are often familiar with lockout/tagout, but sometimes they can get a false sense of security when the work becomes routine.
       “Lockout and tagging are actually pretty simple,” Peterson said. The hard part is making these safety measures an integral part of the company culture.