if you fall off of this get your eyes checked>>LOL [Archive]

srs_mn

07-07-2006, 10:51 AM

Most of those railings, like on that D11, are required by the MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) - Once you get a certain distance off the ground you either have to be wearing a harness or be protected by railings. I used to think all those protective devices were a stupid nuisance, but after ending up on the ground, flat on my back, with the wind knocked out of me a couple times, I have a new outlook on them...I think this one goes a little too far, though... Also, I've never seen a railing on any machine that didn't crack whatever it was attached to in a very short time due to vibration.
I imagine the owners of the mine where that dozer is going would rather pay for the operator protection stuff before they get caught without it, and then have to pay the horrendous fines that MSHA dishes out, PLUS put the railings on after the fact... (don't ask me how I know this).
srs/mn

Countryboy

01-21-2007, 11:29 PM

Heres another one with the excessive guarding:
3391
link (http://www.my-catpower.de/index.html)

Countryboy

01-21-2007, 11:32 PM

And this is just lazy.....:bouncegri
3392

3393

3394
link (http://www.my-catpower.de/index.html)

rino1494

01-22-2007, 06:30 AM

Wow, I thought I had seen it all.

Truckie

01-22-2007, 08:01 AM

WOW. Talk about weird and interesting.

Squizzy246B

01-22-2007, 08:08 AM

They are actually fitting one of those on Jeff's truck...seeing as how he is getting so old now and he can hardly get up in the cab with all those stolen lunches :D :D :D:rolleyes:

Lashlander

01-22-2007, 09:35 AM

Do those ladders fold way up out of the way? It doesn't seem like it would last long if it didn't. I'm not sure it would last long no matter when it went if they put one on my dozer.

Dozerboy

01-22-2007, 02:32 PM

I think they flip straight up you have to work at it to rip them off.

OzDozer

01-22-2007, 08:37 PM

The steps and safety railings are a direct response to injuries in the mining industry caused by falls from machines. When an operator falls off a machine, and hurts themselves (sometimes enough to stop them from working again) .. company costs go up, as workers compensation has to paid, and insurance premiums go up.

In the old days, when a 130 HP D8 was a big tractor .. falls weren't a major problem (although, anyone who has slipped on wet shiny track shoes, and fallen a$$-up between the blade and tractor, knows, that it HURTS!) ..

However .. when the machines started becoming the huge size they are today (and you can be 4.5 to 5 metres - 14'-16' off the ground, when you're up on the operators deck) .. falling from that height, can even result in death, if you're unlucky enough to land on your head . :(

Once a serious injury results, Govt Safety Depts/OSHA start drafting more laws and recommendations, to try and prevent a repeat of the accident .. and so on it goes .. :rolleyes:

http://www.docep.wa.gov.au/ResourcesSafety/Sections/Mining_Safety/pdf_/MS%20GMP/Guidelines/MS_GMP_Guide_personalaccess.pdf

As a result, building ladder/steps on the big dozers and trucks, and putting rail guarding on the operator deck, makes sense. It's big business, now, designing up the best steps and rails, that will perform satisfactorily in an earthmoving environment.

http://www.powerstep.com.au/

99% of the step designs I've seen are retractable .. even the big trucks need retractable steps, just to reach the front bumper ..

345cl

01-22-2007, 09:07 PM

im all for safety,but those dozers are part dozer part transformer,,:eek: are you actually able to see out the windows,,geez!!wheres the red carpet,,i agree i think thats just a little over doing it,,

Countryboy

01-22-2007, 09:31 PM

Im all for safety, but those dozers are part dozer part transformer.:eek: Are you actually able to see out the windows, geez!! Wheres the red carpet. I agree I think thats just a little over doing it.

I agree, more is not always better. All those guards are taking away from visibility to make access better. So, is it actually safer? Our quarry is governed by MSHA but we have never had any problems with the OEM guarding. The only thing we usually add to all equipment is a guard for the cooling fan. I think alot of it comes down to the company making those decisions to have all those guards. Awareness of hazards goes along way to making something safer while adding a bunch of guards addresses some hazards while creating others.

Hjolli

01-24-2007, 06:20 PM

My dear lord!! And I thought that it was ridiculous with JUST those idiotic ladders. Always looking for new ways to make our lives more difficult (And inspiring me to stick to shovels!!)!

Well, apart from the platforms at the rear at least this auto-lift doesn´t obstruckt visibility as much as seen on some of the other machines.
If this was to make sense in terms of safety you would have to add videio cameras at the sides and rear. And then you would spend much of your time watching the screen:rolleyes:

Hjolli

OzDozer

01-25-2007, 10:06 PM

Hjolli - Well, actually, video cameras and others sensing devices are starting to make big inroads in the big equipment lines, to help prevent the regular accidents involing the big equipment that has limited visibility.
Komatsu are leaders in this field, and on-board cameras, with screens in the cab, are just another sensible tool to avoid collisions, running over smaller vehicles (a regular happening), and running over personnel.
Camera screens in the cab, are just another instrument to watch .. which any operator with a degree of skill can do .. and they definitely save lives and damage ..

http://mshawebapps.msha.gov/accident_prevention/newtechnologies/collisionavoidance/collision%20avoidance.asp

Countryboy

01-25-2007, 11:09 PM

All of our equipment except the smaller stuff like backhoes and skidsteers are equiped with cameras in the back. They are in the process of putting cameras on the right sides of the haul trucks too. It would still only have one monitor but it would be a split screen. They work really well. :yup

Wulf

01-25-2007, 11:20 PM

I agree, more is not always better. All those guards are taking away from visibility to make access better. So, is it actually safer? Our quarry is governed by MSHA but we have never had any problems with the OEM guarding. The only thing we usually add to all equipment is a guard for the cooling fan. I think alot of it comes down to the company making those decisions to have all those guards. Awareness of hazards goes along way to making something safer while adding a bunch of guards addresses some hazards while creating others.

I guess this stuff gets tested but I tend to agree with Countryboy that most of this guarding (as far as I know) is manufactured as aftermarket and is installed to large machines in which their structure is not really designed to support the additional weight etc. The inherent vibration when running a bulldozer over tens of thousands of hours may well result in fatigue creating, welds breaking, bolts loosening, cracking etc. resulting in an even greater risk to personnel... and I'm sure I recall one of these manlifts falling off a big shovel and seriously injuring someone recently.

Countryboy

01-26-2007, 12:42 AM

A couple sites that have those style guards and platforms. They even have them for Graders. :laugh

Hedweld.com (http://www.hedweld.com.au/PDF/!Dozer%20Service%20Platform.pdf)
Accessinnovations.com (http://www.accessinnovations.com.au/forgraders.htm)

skiggy

02-20-2007, 04:45 PM

Maybe video cameras with screens inside cab to see where you are going.

DirtDobber

02-20-2007, 09:24 PM

Wish I had a ladder !!!

Wulf

02-20-2007, 09:41 PM

...Once you get a certain distance off the ground you either have to be wearing a harness or be protected by railings...

I wonder what risk to personal safety MSHA would attach to the guys in the following story and video...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6269613.stm

They were wearing the appropriate harness I guess but it kind of puts this paranoiac personal protection in perspective in my opinion

Cat Dr.

02-20-2007, 11:07 PM

All that guarding is pretty standard in the NSW & QLD Coal Industries (But not always to the degree of a couple of those white ones but! All depends on the particular sites safety policies), At the two gold mines I worked at we had none of this crazy guarding, but in QLD coal everything has the power steps (ladders that swing down) or cherry picker baskets (mostly on graders), most of our 14 D11's have handrails and platforms around the cab and fuel tank, with safety getting to the point it is you cant work above 1.8 metres off the ground without a harness and a working at heights permit which makes every job a 2 man job, this even goes for checking the water level - the platform on the LHS of the Radiator is above 1.8 off the ground, so you need a harness, an observer to look out for you, and a attachment point strong enough to withstand 1.5 tonne falling weight, or you use a scissor lift/boom lift to check the water in your dozer!
It's getting a bit out of control but that's the way its going with Workers Comp etc.
Bit silly but you gotta play by there rules!

Dozer575

03-04-2007, 07:01 PM

Gotdirt

03-05-2007, 01:35 AM

JDOFMEMI

03-05-2007, 08:13 PM

That is the funniest thing I ever saw. I for years have been saying how dangerous it is to climb into the cab of those ridiculous hi drive Cat dozers.
Finally the proof is there in the pictures. Ha Ha Ha
And even have elevators. So what next rubber buggy baby bumpers for the tip overs? LOL

Dawn Hall, I could agree more with you. What is wrong with CAT they used to offset the operator to the left side, so he/she could see whats happening. Now they have you sitting almost in the center.
With all the automation nowdays, I suppose they are just going to have an operator there to stop the dozer is the computer gets a glitch. LOL

A simple solution for those companys would be to ask Cat to get rid of that hi sprocket and then they could lower the profile a bit, and yes move that seat over to the left side again.

D-575
How many hours do you have in the seat of a dozer?
Having operated for many years, I find the center seating, angled to the right to give a much better TOTAL view of whats going on in all directions. The low mounted offset left seating on the older Cats did give a better view to one side, at the expense of the view on the other side. I don't know about you, but I like to see both sides and the rear when I am operating.

As far as stability goes, I have put high drive Cats on just as steep of slopes as I have the ovals, and never any problem. Once you get over the perception that the tractor is higher, it is fine. The only part that is higher is the cab and hood sheet metal. The weight is still down low and stable. I have operated in some of the most demanding locations to be found, and I will say that any operator I have ever seen put a Cat on its side was because he was doing things grosly wrong. It would not matter if Cat or Komatsu, if you do stupid things, you can wreck one. :Pointhead
I have pioneered many a mile of steeeeep nasty roads in my career, and The D-8H was the best there was at it untill the D-8R. I have had the D-8R in some hairy places, and it was the best balanced, most manuverable, and most surefooted of any I have pioneered with, though I suspect that is only because I havent done any pioneering work with the new T yet.

As far as getting on and off, A 475 or 575 track frame is high enough to require fall protection from just like the Cats you are complaining about. I think the reason we don't see those ladders on the Komatsu's is that the mines running that size dozer don't buy them due to a lack of reliability and product support.

Cat Dr.

03-06-2007, 04:31 AM

when i mentioned the other day about using EWP's/boom lifts etc to check D11 water levels, just an idea of the job, I had to fill water yesterday after I changed a water pump, took 2 hours to get the permit filled out and authorised, get a boom lift to the area, barricade the area, get a spotter, get a harness, and go up and fill the water and pressure test the system, with an apprentice standing beside me on the track handing me the hose! a job that should have taken 1/2 hour max to fill and test took near two hours because some do-gooder complained about the step on the radiator having no bar to prevent you falling back, there's common sense safety which involve not risk taking and thinking your job through, then there's safety by college graduates that learnt it all from a text book and want to rubber coat everything and treat people with years of experience like pieces of dirt and tell them how to do the job that they've been doing for 20-30 years
I prob sound a bit wound up but seriously safety's not just about making sure you or your mate get home safely nowadays, it's all about saving the companies money on litigation and compo and its making the job near impossible

Dozerboy

03-06-2007, 09:31 PM

Dozer575

03-07-2007, 06:36 PM

I agree with Jerry on the seat position, but I don't like that it is angled. I get in tight quarters with lots a machines running around me and I have a hard time watching things behind me and to the left. It has also been my experience that mediocre operators tend to ware only the right side of the cutting edges a lot more with the angled seat then if it isn't. I think the only negative things about a high track is they wear more on the undercarriage, don't rip as well, and it easier to through a track on a slope.

Thanks Dozerboy, about the track wear, and easy to throw a track and don't rip as well.

How many hours do I have? Who knows I'm thinking 20,000 plus. My hobbs meter is broke. LOL
I just know if the visablity is just like it is on those D375's I have run, I don't care how the seat is situated.

Tn Bulldog

04-26-2007, 09:41 PM

And this is just lazy.....:bouncegri
3392

3393

3394
link (http://www.my-catpower.de/index.html)

:eek: Good God from Jonesboro THATS Lazy i know a few guys that would try those on a D6D ,D7G & D8K If they could get em to fit on the dozer .....lol :D

bulldog

surfer-joe

04-26-2007, 10:30 PM

Boys, falling off one of these big mutha's is no joke. It hurts you bad and it's a gift that keeps on giving for many years. As a maintenance manager, I look on all this extra guarding with a malignant eye as I know it's going to get beat up, tore off, and many times will just be in the way. On the other hand, having had my share and then some falling off, the reality is that these contraptions are a good thing. If we could just breed some operators with long tails (or trunks), we wouldn't need all this stuff.

Now as for the steps, and that hydraulic manlift, wow!!!.... I could use one of those just to get out of bed and off the crapper most mornings. I would definitely love to have one on my next dozer, no lie! The D9N I ran last summer didn't even have the pusharm step on one side. My foreman said one day that it hurt him just to watch me climb on that beast.

We had one end-dump driver in Kentucky that weighed over 400 pounds. The only cab big enough to hold him was a Wabco 85D. The ladders and steps however, couldn't carry his weight. He wasn't strong enough to lift himself up anyway. So we loaded him up every morning into the front bucket of a 555 Ford loader/sweeper and hoisted him up to his perch. He stayed there all day till the end o shift, and we took him down the same way.

All the extra cost for these huge machines is supposed to be rewarded by productivity increases and of course, in the case of the improved steps and extra guarding, lower comp and other insurance costs, not to mention eliminating a sore spot for federal and state inspectors. Comp claims alone can reach multi-million dollar ranges these days. You can buy a lot of the extras with that.

Where we are going however, shortly, is just getting the operator a Lazy-Boy recliner in a nice air conditioned room anywhere in the world (home even), with a coffee pot and a soda and snack machine just within reach, and he will run his machine entirely by remote control, with the help of computer models and GPS systems. He won't get dirty, he won't get hot or cold, and he probably won't get paid much either. Some haul trucks are already running patterns entirely with out an operator.

That is a lovely paint scheme though. Great pics pullpan!...

JDOFMEMI

04-26-2007, 10:38 PM

Where we are going however, shortly, is just getting the operator a Lazy-Boy recliner in a nice air conditioned room anywhere in the world (home even), with a coffee pot and a soda and snack machine just within reach, and he will run his machine entirely by remote control, with the help of computer models and GPS systems. He won't get dirty, he won't get hot or cold, and he probably won't get paid much either. Some haul trucks are already running patterns entirely with out an operator.

That is a lovely paint scheme though. Great pics pullpan!...

They may relegate the production operators to the LayZBoy, but the pioneering operators, and some of the finish will still be out there. And the one most important group on the job, the Mechanics and the Oilers will still have to negotiate the heights of these beasts. I think it will be a long while before they are replaced.
I will say, with the quality of help I have seen, if you put the exprienced guys on the tricky work, the production work may be in better shape with some teenagers in a chair playing videos.:D

surfer-joe

04-27-2007, 12:53 AM

Amen brother JD.

But you know, three years ago I sat thorough a demonstration at the big farm show in Visalia, California where Deere showed off a tractor (rubber-track hi-sprocket) that was completely controlled by computer and GPS. Take it to the field and stand back. It did everything else on it's own.

Watched some pull pans with a big International Quad-Trac a while back mucking out a site for some new stores. The operators were in the cabs, but they didn't have to do much besides sit there and look pretty. They were running by laser and GPS and moving right along.

Komatsu has a 155 sized electric-drive dozer that can work down to, oh I don't remember for sure, 300 feet or so in the water, and it's all controlled from the surface by remote.

At the big Cat house in Morton, machines are carried around the factory on un-manned vehicles that move sub-frames and components from station to station. If they encounter an obstacle, they stop, and politely ask you to get the hell out their way. Watching one of those maneuver an early 994 frame assembly was thought provoking. All computer controlled of course, and that was in the mid nineties. I'll bet that system is obsolete already.

There will always have to be human technicians for maintenance and repair I think, and they certainly deserve all the best that technology can provide. But even here, much of the diagnostic work is now performed by electronic means and without those tools, you're dead in the water. We are long past the stage where a wrenchbender can bypass a system and make the tractor go.

I sort of tend to agree with you on the pioneer work, maybe even some finish jobs, but I'm telling you, the way things are going, it won't be long before the machines take over everything.

I)/\\/I)

10-05-2007, 07:32 PM

I've been lurking around, assimilating knowledge, and find the dialogue informative. On this topic I can at least make a contribution!

My background includes working at Kennecott's Chino mines (near 40 years ago), when 'Lectra-Haul and Dart dump trucks were introduced (previously they were Euclids -only, if I recall) and the access/egress was a long ladder to the cab. Those ladders would be unacceptable now, unless you had a fall protection device attached as you clambered up, or had an intermediate platform.

Time marches on, and in the interim I've been a safety and risk consultant, and seen an evolution in "safe design" even as my hairline has receeded.

Now, (as Surfer Joe & others have said) product design has to follow "liability" dictates, "workers compensation" costs, and (in this case) MSHA regulations. The net long-term effect of these trends will be to eliminate to a great degree "human-exposed" operators.

Like fighter pilots, it is only a matter of time before most large equipment operators are sitting in a "virtual surround" cubicle, operating the machine while looking at a few flat screen monitors. Sad but true. :crying

wrenchbender

10-05-2007, 08:29 PM

:usa WELCOME to HEF I)/\\/I) !!!:usa

OzDozer

10-06-2007, 12:52 AM

Sorry to say, I)/\\/I) .. but remote technology has been with us, in mining, in Australia (and exported overseas) .. since the 1980's .. :)

You can have your choice of working from a distance from the equipment .. wearing a portable, shoulder mounted, RC control pack .. work from a cabin on a vehicle or trailer .. or work from a totally remote control room .. :)

Dozers - http://www.rct.net.au/PDF/Presentations/Dozer%20Remote%20Presentation.pdf

Line-of-sight remotes, range - http://www.rct.net.au/Line_of_sight_remotes.html

Remote control solutions - http://www.rct.net.au/PDF/Brochures/Control_Master/Remote_Control_Solutions_Guide.pdf

The full range - http://www.rct.net.au/Brochures_Full_List.html

biggixxerjim

10-06-2007, 10:11 AM

I dont like this crap at all. Like you said, it will soon be punk teenagers driving this equipment around from inside an air conditioned office. Wages will drop correspondingly with the new lack of tallent needed.

This all results in one thing; the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.

OzDozer

10-06-2007, 10:53 AM

I don't think any operators have too much to worry about. Remote technology is in use in many mines in Australia, and overseas .. and was introduced to reduce operator fatalities in mining .. and I've yet to see anyone suffer a wages reduction because of it.

In the Papua-New Guinea scenario, RC was introduced after a D475-1 disappeared over the edge of a waste dump, when the dump suffered a big slip .. like about 2 million tonnes took off, about 4000 feet down the mountainside.
It took rescue teams three days to recover the operators body, and they never recovered the D475. Nowadays, the operator stands back on solid ground, and operates the dozer on the waste dump from a distance.

In underground mining, where rockfalls are commonplace, when "bogging out" commences after a face is blasted .. RC is credited with saving many lives, and is pretty much "de riguer" where conditions are dangerous (unbolted roof, and monitored ground movement).

No fellas .. there isn't any need to worry about reduced wages with technology.
No matter whether operators are in the cab .. or on the ground with RC .. they still pull top money here in Oz, and we still can't get enough.
Many a teacher here in Oz, has given up teaching to become a mining equipment operator .. because they are pulling AU$100K-120K as operators .. and AU$70K as teachers .. and they don't have the hassle of putting up with a***holes of kids, and their equally lovable parents .. :(

John C.

10-06-2007, 02:35 PM

Actually the issue between operators and automation is not about wages at all. It is about removing the number of workers needed to achieve the task at hand.

The logging industry is a perfect example of mechanization and automation replacing man power. Falling trees is far safer for one man in the cab of a feller buncher than five men out doing the same job with chain saws. Computerized control of log processors has removed many men from bucking trees into logs out in the brush. Mechanized skidding has removed countless choker setters from harms way. Logs are sorted in the woods now and not at huge sorting yards at saw mills. You don't need multiple crews out scaling logs to decide which pile they go into anymore.

I'm thinking there is less than 10% of the people in the woods now than there were twenty five years ago. Look at any industry, agriculture, material handling, manufacturing and on and on. Profit is maximised by automating specific tasks and removing the number of people involved in producing a finished product.

I know for a fact that Cat and Komatsu both have been working extensively for years on automating control of open pit mining equipment. I have worked on mining shovels with automated functions to help the operator be more productive. In my opinion that is only the first step in removing the operator from the shovel in the future.

They have been able to program bombers to fly missions for years where the pilots only start the engines, line up the plane on the runway, push a buttom and sit back for the ride.

I will not be telling any kids I know to look for a future in operating heavy equipment.

LDK

10-06-2007, 09:00 PM

Everything is getting to the point of Safety is becoming unsafe. If you know what I'm saying. You almost can' do anything anymore. A bit of common sense goes a long ways, but appearantly not far enough.

I agree with you I think the way things are going is ridiculous. My opinion is that if you need all that nonsense to get on and off a dozer you should not be on it in the first place. What the hell next?

OzDozer

10-06-2007, 10:33 PM

It does seem that safety programs go over the top .. but they are driven by the community belief that regular injuries, and fatalities, should not be a part of everyday work, when using equipment.

This attitude is compounded by lawyers, and injured people, or dependants of deceased from work-related fatalities .. when they submit claims for compensation.
The compounded cost, of even small injuries adds up, to the point where companies will spend huge amounts of $$ just to ensure that injuries and fatalities are reduced to virtually nil.

Take for example, safety glasses. On minesites in Australia, you MUST wear safety glasses, in any work area, even as a visitor, just walking across a repair area.

It seems silly .. but when you find out, that an office worker walked across a workshop to hand someone a piece of paper .. and collected a sliver of steel in an eye, from a guy using a portable grinder at the far end of the huge shop.

The office worker sued .. the company lost .. the payout was large .. the insurance premiums went up .. and the rule went into mining regulations .. that not wearing safety glasses in a working environment means a sizeable fine .. and that's the way it all works.

You don't appreciate the wide-ranging effect of crippling injuries .. and the enormous losses and endless grief, caused by a fatality in your workplace .. until it happens close to you.
In the over 40 years I was in business .. I had only minor injury claims .. and only one fatality.
That fatality caused endless grief, and major cost .. and it was a simple as .. a keen young guy, not wearing a seatbelt when driving to the jobsite.
He ran off the edge of the road in a moment of inattention (simple enough, happens to most of us, every month) .. but when he went to pull back on the road, he hit a small wooden guidepost, that snapped in half with the impact.
Unbelievably, when the vehicle ran over the broken guidepost, one half stood up at angle in front of the rear (offside) tyre .. which then penetrated the tyre at 90° and virtually cut it in half.

The result was .. a simple turn of the steering wheel to get back on the highway, resulted in an immediate broadside across the highway at 90° (due to the offside rear tyre being totally deflated) .. resulting in the pickup flipping 2½ times, and the driver ejected from the passenger side window, and breaking his neck when he hit the road (he was travelling at 110 kmh - 68 mph).

I had the job of telling the family, that their only son .. in a family of six .. was dead, as result of not wearing a seatbelt.
I still regret to this day, that I was not harder on safety rules and regulations, and hammered people I found not wearing a seatbelt.
This young guy (he was not yet 21), was the finest young guy I had work for me, in a long time, and his loss was felt for years.

We all take risks everyday .. it's better if those risks are minimised, by the huge range of safety items available to us nowadays.
No-one wants to go back to the bad old days when carcasses were hauled off worksites .. on a nearly daily basis .. and everyone shrugged, and just agreed, it was all part of the job .. :(

LDK

10-07-2007, 05:45 AM

Oz Dozer, do you by any chance have links to a safety consulting or sales outfit?

OzDozer

10-07-2007, 06:13 AM

LDK - Not in the least. It's just that after so many years in the business, as an (ex) earthmoving and mining contractor .. I still see and hear of many cases of foolishness, risk taking, and general gung-ho operation of machines and equipment .. that results in injury and fatalities.

It was often discussed in the industries that I worked in, whether a zero serious injury and fatality rate was achievable. Many believed it wasn't. The fact is, there is no reason at all, why every industry can't be totally, serious injury and fatality free.

All it takes is a little care .. a little forethought at what you're about .. good maintenance practices .. good work practices .. and regular training and safety workshops.

If you wanna be a risk-taker, and dice with death every day .. it's probably better you leave the construction and/or mining industry .. and go join the military .. and get sent to Iraq or Afghanistan .. where you can get all the adrenalin-pumping you need .. :)

It has been identified, that a small % of people are born risk-takers, and are prepared to shortcut on safety procedures, and safe working methods, to get the job done faster. They're generally the ones whose obituaries you read about in the paper every week. Sadly, many of those people are older guys, who should have known better.

LDK

10-07-2007, 11:46 AM

In close to 40 years in the game I have only known 2 guys fall off a dozer. And one of those was a drunk Russian, neither one them was hurt and carried on working, yes even the drunk Russian!

OzDozer

10-07-2007, 12:29 PM

LDK - Well, you either worked with some very careful people . or you got real lucky. I consider myself a careful operator, and I have slipped and fallen off Cat D6's, D7's and D8's numerous times. I don't recall falling off any of my Komatsu D375's .. but the chance was always there.
I always trained my operators to never move around a tractor, without having a hand gripping something secure, at all times they are moving.
Morning checks, and morning greasing, when the machine is wet with heavy dew, frost, or snow, are top of the list for danger levels, in my mind.

However .. maybe, more to the point, is this following interesting report/circular .. "An Analysis of Serious Injuries to Dozer Operators in the U.S. Mining Industry" ..

The pertinent document .. http://thecommunityguide.org/niosh/mining/pubs/pdfs/2001-126.pdf

On page 8 is some very relevant information .. taken from actual dozer operation records, in the U.S. mining industry, between 1988 and 1997 .. and this paragraph stands out ..

".. Of note, "getting on and off the [dozer] equipment" accounted for the next highest category of serious injury, about 30% (875) of both the incidents and days lost (30,889) involving dozers."

Note that there were 875 recorded injury events within the stated time frame .. involving operators "getting on and off the machine" ..

Of course .. once the total numbers involved in operators getting on and off machines in that period, is taken into account .. the % of movements, on and off machines, resulting in accidents is fairly low. However, it is still an accident cause, that needs to be reduced .. and which can be reduced.
As I previously stated .. as machines get bigger all the time, and distances to the ground get larger .. so does the potential for injury increase.

No-one in the building industry nowadays, operates without scaffolding, fall protection and guard railing, once they commence operations on buildings over a single storey .. except in 3rd world countries of course .. and it makes good sense to protect equipment operators, from falls and serious injuries .. from heights on modern mining machines, that are similar to working on the second storey of buildings.

We can argue forever about the BS associated with what appears to be unnecessary safety "red tape" (and I hate it as much as anybody) .. but the bottom line is .. any improvment in accident events has to be a step in the right direction.

In conclusion .. well run companies should always be open to suggestions from operators, about keeping BS safety requirements to a minimum .. without reducing the safety angle.

Countryboy

10-09-2007, 08:34 PM

Welcome to HEF I)/\\/I)! :drinkup

jamesbrokman

12-04-2007, 08:19 PM

yeah that ladder wouldnt last long

thejdman04

12-04-2007, 09:20 PM

if you cant climb in and out, shouldnt run it

Northart

12-05-2007, 12:19 AM

This has been an interesting read, for me. Every bit of 50,000 + hrs plus in the construction industry.

I like the comments about, if you can't climb, on and off , then it's time to give up the game. ;)

This means you are too old and weak, or out of shape physically, or ill, or otherwise handicapped by previous injuries, or whatever.

Lot of companies are finally recognizing , what it means to be physically fit for the job. Pre job, drug and alcohol screening tests, physical tests, (based on age).

The physical tests check for vision,hearing, strength, ability to perform a variety of bends, manuevers, checking out for weakness's or hidden injuries(Back and Heart troubles) that might prevent an adequate performance on the job. This weeds out the ??? questionable people that might have an accident or contribute to one.

Being mentally (sober and drug free) and physically fit for work is an important part of safety. ;)

bobcat ron

12-05-2007, 10:55 AM

Those safety ladders and cat walks are darn good idea for those heights, I've never operated anything bigger than a Cat 330, and even climbing up behind the cab to switch the ISO/SAE valve was scary on a windy day.

But then again, I can even fall off the ground. :drinkup

alross

07-22-2008, 11:33 PM

and they say that msha is there for our safety, not to make us that much lazier.

Countryboy

07-22-2008, 11:41 PM

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums alross! :drinkup

Farmer

08-13-2008, 11:23 PM

All that and no ROPS/FOPS??????
Or is the cab a ROPS too

catchick

08-14-2008, 01:04 AM

I could totally fall off of that dozer:p

EZ TRBO

08-14-2008, 06:15 AM

I could totally fall off of that dozer:p

You got the pics to prove you can do it don't ya Catchick.(well least on a 850).

Trbo

OilFieldHand

08-16-2008, 08:34 PM

I agree with Jerry on the seat position, but I don't like that it is angled. I get in tight quarters with lots a machines running around me and I have a hard time watching things behind me and to the left. It has also been my experience that mediocre operators tend to ware only the right side of the cutting edges a lot more with the angled seat then if it isn't. I think the only negative things about a high track is they wear more on the undercarriage, don't rip as well, and it easier to through a track on a slope.Dont rip well? easy to slip tracks and more undercarriage wear? Dont know what you smoke but Id stay off it. :confused:
I dont like this crap at all. Like you said, it will soon be punk teenagers driving this equipment around from inside an air conditioned office. Wages will drop correspondingly with the new lack of tallent needed.This all results in one thing; the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.wow, sounds like you were never the young dumb punk...we are all there at one point or another. get over it