Every course we teach includes a section that refers to safety on site, and it is something that is incredibly important for every heavy equipment operator, every day. However, part of that dedication to safety includes the clothes we wear, but what do you need to look out for to get the right safety clothing when on-site?

Boots

Having good boots is important, not only for protection but for comfort too, there is nothing worse than a pair of boots that hurt when you have a long day ahead of you. Steel-toed boots are of course essential, but also look for quality leather that will wear in and provide real comfort, good grippy soles are important too, and always ensure that the lacing is strong and sturdy too.

Gloves

The right gloves are a balance between protection and flexibility, you don’t want gloves that get in the way too much, as they just become annoying after a while, but very thin gloves don’t really offer enough protection. For winter, insulated gloves, especially those that use effective but light insulation such as Thinsulate, are a wise choice, and for all seasons, goatskin gloves provide strength and abrasion resistance without adding weight.

Safety Glasses

Glasses should be of the right kind, for instance, made specifically to fit over your ordinary glasses if you wear them. All glasses should conform to government safety standards.

Hard Hat

There are two things you need from your hard hat, that they conform to safety standards, and that they fit well. Fit is a personal thing, but make sure it’s comfortable to wear, it can become really annoying over a long period if it’s not.

Hearing protection

Again, make sure yours complies with regulations, and today many incorporate radio systems so that you can stay in contact with site supervisors.

High-Visibility Clothes

Having a high-visibility jacket is essential on most sites today, and it is something you shouldn’t ignore. It can be the difference maker and save you from disaster, especially on sites with multiple pieces of heavy equipment operating at the same time.

Finally, think about the rest of your clothing, you want to avoid anything particularly loose, as that has the potential to get caught in mechanisms, and make sure in the winter that you have appropriate warm clothing as needed. It may not always seem too cold, but after a day on-site it can creep up on you.

For the last couple of months there has been a lot of interest in the events involving the miners trapped in Chile. It’s these types of events that bring home the real need for workplace safety. Heavy equipment safety goes beyond simple workplace safety – the equipment itself is a deadly tool if not operated within limits. Did you notice what they used to raise and lower the ‘Phoenix’ rescue capsule? It was a large mobile crane. What probably hasn’t registered with most people who followed these events was the safety aspect of that crane.

Having drilled through to the trapped miners, rather than plowing ahead and trying to free them, they tested every safety aspect possible. The crane double and triple checked to ensure it was on a stable footing. The crane was positioned precisely so that it could raise and lower the rescue capsule with ease. In fact, they practiced the raising and lowering dozens of times before they were happy to perform the rescue. Did you watch the rescue? If you did you will have seen the speed of the cable constantly changing – this was at the instruction of the rescue foreman. This means their communications were spot on as well.

This is a rare and unusual situation. However, the rescue itself, from the crane operator’s perspective, was just another job (albeit with half the world watching and men’s lives at risk). That operator’s training, together with the training of those on ground, was integral to the success of that rescue. For most heavy equipment operators, the job is far more mundane than rescuing people. However, the heavy equipment safety that is required is no less. When looking at heavy equipment training, don’t forget the events of Chile – be sure your training has a strong safety aspect to it.