Ok random question on the topic. New to the forum by the way. So in say a John Deere 544J wheel loader would placing your bucket on the ground give the lightning a means of travel to ground to maybe bypass the occupant? Possibly try electronics and blow fuses...but maybe save a life?
On a rubber-tyred machine placing the bucket on the ground would give the energy a clear path to ground instead of it having to find its way through tyres (think steel cords) and/or jump to ground from the machine frame
For machines with no cab or an open ROPS all bets are off, but our machines were all equipped with cabs & aircons, so the SOP was always - stop work, ground the work tool or equipment, close all windows, leave the engine running for the aircon, and sit tight until the all clear sounds (if your work site has a lightning alert system) or until the storm has moved away (if it doesn't) ...........
As someone else pointed out earlier, Google "Faraday Cage" because that's exactly what the cab of a machine is. So in that respect remaining inside the machine cab is safe, being inside the work truck cab is safe, but it's the bit in between that'll get you every time. I understand Queenslander's point that it appears counter-intuitive to sit tight inside tons of metal as opposed to jump and run, but lightning travels at (unsurprisingly) the speed of light and there ain't no human being born yet that can move that fast.........
In mining work simply continued as normal during thunderstorms, the only time it stopped was if the rain got so heavy that roads or haul truck operator visibility became compromised.
