Dump trucks are an essential tool for many heavy equipment contractors. Whether you’re transporting a large amount of backfill or stone, your dump truck is the key to your operation. However, when it comes to keeping your employees safe, you want to ensure that they practice the following safety tips while working around your dump trucks.
Use a Tarping System
Tarping systems are an integral part of transporting loose material, such as gravel. With a tarp, any loose stone could easily cause a slide of material off of the dump truck. Anyone standing close by or even on the roadway behind the dump truck could get injured when this happens. Having a working tarping system and employees who regularly use it are the keys to keeping everyone safe while working around dump trucks.
Make PPE Mandatory
Personal protection equipment, known as PPE for short, is a broad term used to describe items that employees should utilize to stay safe while on the job. More specifically, when it comes to working around a dump truck, there are some key PPE that all of your employees should use. These include fluorescent clothing so they’re easily seen and hard hats to protect their heads from any falling debris. Make PPE mandatory for all of your workers to ensure their utmost safety while on the job site.
Keep Worksites Clear
It’s not uncommon for worksites to create a lot of debris, such as extra or even scrap materials. If these are just left lying around the job site, it can be very dangerous for your employees and equipment alike. Not only can it be more challenging for dump truck drivers to try and maneuver their equipment around the debris, but workers can trip over the debris and not be seen by the drivers. It’s a good rule of thumb to pick a location where all of the debris from the job site goes so that it’s clear from any roadways or main travelways for your dump trucks.
Designate Walkways
On high-traffic construction sites, the risk of injury from a dump truck highly increases. You can help to minimize this risk by preplanning. Designating safe walkways for your employees to use will help keep every one of your staff members on the same page. Be sure to put adequate signage so that your dump truck operators know where they’re most likely to encounter other employees walking around on the job site.
Install Sensors
Sensors can be a great way to help alert drivers of potential issues before they happen. Whether it’s a pile of debris or an employee walking in a blind area, having sensors will be able to signal to the driver that they need to stop. Consider installing not just backup sensors, but side sensors as well to give your dump truck drivers the most information possible.
While dump trucks can be an invaluable piece of equipment to have on any major job site, they can also increase the risk of danger. By utilizing the many safety tips that we went over above, you can work to make your job site safer for your employees.