Reversing and vehicle moving alarms

[Squizzy246B]

I got this in one of our regular newsletters. I have had some minor dealings with this company:


Friday, May 12, 2006

A CONSTRUCTION company working south of Perth has been fined $12,000 for failing to provide a safe workplace after a worker was struck and injured by a reversing grader in May 2002.

Busselton-based Cowara Contractors pleaded guilty and was convicted and fined in the Busselton Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when an employee directing trucks to offload limestone road base, which was then being spread by a grader onto the sub-base, was struck by a reversing grader, sustaining several injuries.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said today the incident highlighted how much care must be taken when work involves plant such as graders operating with workers in the surrounding vicinity.

“There are some very specific safe practices associated with this type of work, and it is clear that some of these safe work practices had not been put into place by this company,†Lyhne said.

“The grader involved was not fitted with reversing beepers, and the injured employee did not see or hear it coming.

“The employees working near the machinery were not wearing the reflective vests they had been provided with, and were not using radio communication between the grader operator and those working on the ground.â€

Lyhne also said no spotter was being used at the time of the incident, and there were no exclusion zones to keep workers a specified distance from the mobile plant.

“There were 18 deaths in WA involving these machines between 2000-01 and 2004-05, and mobile plant incidents result in around 880 injuries in WA each year that are serious enough for the worker to need at least a day off work,†Lyhne said.

“There have been several serious injuries this year involving mobile plant, and this case is a timely reminder of the risks involved if safe work practices are not in place.â€

Lyhne said that in addition to the safe work practices that were not in place on the Cowara Contractors site, companies should also ensure workers adhered to the following safe practices when dealing with mobile plant:


Initiate job safety analyses, pre-start meetings and toolbox meetings;

Use appropriate ground speed for the conditions;

Ensure one-way circuits to eliminate the need for reversing; and

Fit machines with revolving flashing lights, mirrors and audible reversing alarm.

The Commission for Occupational Safety and Health has published a guidance note, the Safe Movement of Vehicles at Workplaces, which is available at www.worksafe.wa.gov.au.

I do find it unusual that the grader had no reversing alarm in this day and age but here is what "I" believe is an issue: (without knowing the full circumstances of this particular incident)

the guy has dump trucks reversing up...Beep Beep Beep

a grader is reversing up...Beep Beep Beep
somewhere else on site a loader is on the move...Beep Beep Beep

Hi-Vis jacket may have saved the guy but I reckon we go deaf to reversing alarms on some sites, thats no excuse but I reckon that happens...just MHO...what say you??

Oh..and WA mentioned in the report is Western Australia...not Washington or ....whatever

 

[CT18fireman]

I have been at sitea, with multiple alarms going and most people do not react (look up) when one starts.

I also now a lot of contractors (various kinds) who disconnect the alarm on there 1 ton size dumps. I know this is illegal on large trucks not sure of the ramifications on smaller trucks.

I had a switch on mine, so that I could turn it off when plowing at night so that I would not wake up people.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Jesse, we often have homeowners come out and ask us to turn off our alarms but that is against the law here and I ask them if they are going to pay the fine and my legal costs.

 

[Grader4me]

Squizzy, I have to hand it to you for keeping these forums alive and well!
Again a very interesting topic. As you note in the report is that the Grader was not fitted with a back up alarm as this was determined in the investigation.
Also the worker was not wearing his PPE that was available. Also there was no spotter or radio communication.
Working on a site that is active with graders, rollers, trucks etc. can be very dangerous. Proper job site planning is a must. Communication between everyone on site is the key to prevent accidents.
What I am reading into this report is that this company had the perfect recipe for this type of accident to happen.

 

[JimBruce42]

From the sounds of it, there were multiple errors on this site that led to the unfortunate event. Between no alarm on the grader, no PPE on the signal man, it begs to ask where the guy was standing and if the grader operator could see him (or if he was looking) when he started to back up.

The company I work for has two things every operator must check before operating, their seatbelt and back up alarm, if they don't work, then the machine doesn't either. I do agree that on jobsites with multiple pieces of equipment backing up a reverse alarm can be droned out, but the location on most machines is such that if you are behind it when it is backing up it will be much louder. At least that's been my experience, everyone on the job has to be aware and constantly on guard so things like this don't happen.:thumbsup

-Jim

 

[Squizzy246B]

I do agree that on jobsites with multiple pieces of equipment backing up a reverse alarm can be droned out, but the location on most machines is such that if you are behind it when it is backing up it will be much louder. At least that's been my experience, everyone on the job has to be aware and constantly on guard so things like this don't happen.:thumbsup

-Jim

I think you summed it up very neatly Jim.

 

[tylermckee]

Our excavators have buttons in the cab to turn the travel alarm on or off. would we be fined for not having it turned on if someone was injured as a result? If so,why would hyundai have make it an option to have it on or off.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Our excavators have buttons in the cab to turn the travel alarm on or off. would we be fined for not having it turned on if someone was injured as a result? If so,why would hyundai have make it an option to have it on or off.

Down here, if the manufacturer deems it an appropriate safety device (as mandatory on union sites) and the manufacturer deems it also appropriate the operator can turn it off: then its the operators responsibility. If the device does not have an on/off switch and some silly bugger pulls the fuse then you could be in big trouble should an accident occur. All new machines here must have them with no switch. No rotating beacon, no reversing alarm = no entry to site

 

[Grader4me]

Our excavators have buttons in the cab to turn the travel alarm on or off. would we be fined for not having it turned on if someone was injured as a result? If so,why would hyundai have make it an option to have it on or off.

In my part of the world it states in the OHSA that "powered mobile equipment shall be equipped with an "audible back up alarm" so I wouldn't want to be caught without one.
"Audible" means that it must be heard above the noise of the machine. We have rented equipment and have sent it back because the alarm was not loud enough.
In answer to your question... an excavators backup alarm is activated in both directions, as would only make sense as it swings all the way around. So I would guess and this is only a guess....when you are going forward in your direction of travel, you have the option to turn it off.
Would this make sense or am I way off base?

 

[tylermckee]

In my part of the world it states in the OHSA that "powered mobile equipment shall be equipped with an "audible back up alarm" so I wouldn't want to be caught without one.
"Audible" means that it must be heard above the noise of the machine. We have rented equipment and have sent it back because the alarm was not loud enough.
In answer to your question... an excavators backup alarm is activated in both directions, as would only make sense as it swings all the way around. So I would guess and this is only a guess....when you are going forward in your direction of travel, you have the option to turn it off.
Would this make sense or am I way off base?

I guess that would make sense, because on an excavator you have the ability to swing around and always technically be headed forward. Then having the option to turn it on in situations where you are cant swing so you have to reverse.

 

[Squizzy246B]

At the risk of hi-jacking my own thread I have ordered one of these for next week;

http://www.mucktruck.com.au/

Do you think it needs a reversing alarm?

 

[Squizzy246B]

I guess that would make sense, because on an excavator you have the ability to swing around and always technically be headed forward. Then having the option to turn it on in situations where you are cant swing so you have to reverse.

Our Kubota KX 161-3 has no travel alarms but the 301.8 does and its loud.

Jim's point about the alarm being louder is pertinent as the 938G (of some discussion) we rented was very loud from behind but could hardly be heard above the noise of the machine in front. The side of the hill we were digging into had a caravan park....ahhh...(trailer park for you guys) above it and some of the residents asked us if we could turn it off. I still think that on construction sites in the city, down at the foundation level all you can hear is reverberating alarms and nobody seems to pay as much attention as they should.

 

[Wulf]

I guess that would make sense, because on an excavator you have the ability to swing around and always technically be headed forward. Then having the option to turn it on in situations where you are cant swing so you have to reverse.

On most Japanese excavators the system is described as a travel motion alarm (either direction) On many Japanese excavators there is also a swing alarm with a flashing light... that's why grey machinery owners talk about having all the bells and whistles!

I would never disconnect a travel alarm EVER... I know that when machines go in the shop some techs disconnect them for a bit of peace and quiet but it's dangerous as they may forget to reconnect.

 

[JimBruce42]

Our excavators have buttons in the cab to turn the travel alarm on or off. would we be fined for not having it turned on if someone was injured as a result? If so,why would hyundai have make it an option to have it on or off.

Most OEM's have that feature on their excavators, some automatically reset to ON as soon as the machine stops, others (like Volvo I believe) will stay off until you hit on. It's my belief that, as others have said, excavators have this on/off switch for the travel alarm because backwards on an excavator is not always reverse, so if you are simply traveling "forward" across the site you can turn it off. Your visibility is well enough that you'd see most potential problems and just blare the horn.:yup This is what I typically would do, the only time I think I've ever seen someone run with the alarm active as they were just traveling (outside of our school) was when a crew I was with was walking a PC228 about a mile on a public road.:Cowboy

-Jim

 

[Ford LT-9000]

One site I was working on there was vehicals constantly coming and going from the site and trades people wandering around the site. The operator of the machine has to be aware of his or her suroundings. When I was running rubber tired hoe on the site I aways looked before I started backing up. The backhoe had a backup beeper nobody paid attention to it. So I unpluged it so I could have the rear window open.

On gov't jobs you have to wear hard hat and high vis on regular jobs its not needed. In the forest industry its required to wear a vest but now there are high vis shirts etc its easy to put them on you wear it like a regular shirt no vest to hook on things.

Like I meantioned people have to be aware of their suroundings what they are doing don't be in la la land.

With excavators you have to be carefull of your tailswing especially for operators that are used to operating zero tail swing machines that get on a conventional counter weight machine.

The GOAL principal works with machines too Get Out And Look only takes a second and it prevents a crunch or OH xxxxx :yup

 

[digger242j]

In October of 2004 there was an accident near here that claimed two lives. A Dump truck backed over two men.


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04288/395695.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04289/396240.stm

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04294/398672.stm

In case the links don't work, or you don't care to read the entire articles, here are some pertinant quotes:
_________________________________
"...a construction inspector for GAI Consultants, and ..., an employee of Pittsburgh-based Mosites Construction, the general contractor for the road repair project, were facing away from the truck as they observed part of the site, ..."
_____________________________________
"You have a lot of noise at a construction site. You get immune to it." Pallante said. "I think it was just a tragic accident."
___________________________________________
"Several witnesses told Aliquippa police investigators that the truck's warning beeper was working at the time of the accident, Chief Ralph Pallante said."

Those investigators then tested the vehicle at the scene and had mixed results.

"We tried it four times," Pallante said. "It worked twice, and it didn't work twice."....
______________________________________
"The back-up alarms go off all day. You hear them so much, sometimes you don't pay attention."
________________________________________
"The warning beeper on a tri-axle dump truck that killed two construction workers in Aliquippa when it backed over them functioned properly during testing by state police experts..."
__________________________________________
"Some witnesses told Aliquippa police that the warning signal was working at the time of the accident; others said they could not remember hearing it. No one, however, told investigators that the warning signal was definitely not working, Pallante said.

As part of their investigation, Aliquippa police at the accident site watched as a construction worker tested the audible reverse signal by backing up. Pallante said it did not sound the first time, but it did during a second attempt. The same thing happened when another construction worker backed up the truck so it could be towed, he said."
_____________________________________________________

So, either the backup alarm was working, or it wasn't. Either way, the two victims were not watching for the truck.

I agree with those who say the alarms just become part of the background noise after a while. I always make it a point to lecture new people on the job that it's as much their responsibility to not get run over, as it is mine not to run over them. (And that if they do get run over, it's me that'll have to live with that.) I make a particular point of being sure that they make eye contact with me before moving into any area that my machine might be moving in, or through, and I make sure they know that there are blind spots that the operator cannot see.

Yes, backup alarms add a measure of protection, but they are not absolute protection. Moving equipment is noisy in and of itself. If the guy on the ground is not paying attention to the equipment that's moving around him, he is at least partly to blame.

As for turning off, or otherwise intentionally disabling saftey devices--you gotta be nuts! (And, no, I'm not going to claim that I'm anywhere near perfect in this or any other regard, but, "Do as I say, not as I do." :wink2 )

Saftey people are already of the mindset that here is no such thing as an accident--only unsafe actions. If you intentionally disable a saftey device, and somebody gets hurt, whether or not it's due to the lack of that saftey device, they will rightly point out your concious disregard of saftey. I'm not even comfortable with the idea of an on/off switch--how do you prove you had it "on" when you had the accident?

 

[Grader4me]

Digger...very well said.:notworthy This is what I like about this forum...good advice from experienced people.
A person should never take shortcuts when it comes to safety.

 

[Steve Frazier]

I can't imagine the liability exposure you'd have with a disabled back-up alarm. I'd be much more concerned with lawsuits as the result of an accident than a fine, it could put you out of business in a heartbeat. A true accident can be turned in to negligence just by having a mechanical deficiency.

 

[Dozerboy]

I have disabled back up alarms, in times I deemed appropriate like I was the only person on the job. IMO if you get ran over 80% of the time it is your own fault, that is part of your job as being on the ground is to pay attention. I grew up farming and doing construction and in my mind have never had a time that I was almost hit, because I pay attention. I'm hard on operators too I have sent several guys home for not watching there mirror or looking there they're going, and have fired one labor after warning him not to turn his back to a piece of equipment or truck coming by him. My opinion may be harsh, and I'm sure some don't agree with it, but it hasn't failed me yet.

 

[Ford LT-9000]

Like I said if your in la la land you shouldn't be on the site it only takes a split second for a accident to happen. If your around a machine you have to keep a distance away if you can't see the operator you should move.

The biggest place to get hurt is when your digging utility lines where your the person in the trench you have to pay attention and the operator in the machine has to pay attention.

Having back up beepers on equipment is just to cover the azz of the insurance companies. A back up beeper does no beeping good if the operator isn't paying attention.