My two bobs worth.....btw thanks for putting me onto this thread, digger.
I agree with all of the above comments. All of our equipment is fitted with working alarms. No alarms=no go! Again, with multiple equipment on site it is up to the operator and ground crew to be 'situation aware'. We cannot wrap everybody up in bubblewrap.
Now after saying this and listening to these bloody beepers going off for twelve hours a day at work, for anything up to three weeks at a time. I arrive home and what do I find? A bloody deveopment going on behind my house and it has been happening for the last eight months. So every time I'm home on R&R I again have to listen to these bloody things. :Banghead
I too have phoned the contractors and got the 'we have to have them etc blah blah because Worksafe blah blah'. I then tell them what my position is in the industry and to stop telling 'grandma, (or should that read grandpa) how to suck eggs' Most machines have a two pitched beeper and yes, they can be turned down. They have since complied with my request.
Whilst on this subject, I have been reliably informed that due to the annoyance factor of these beepers a new stipulation has been introduced in the UK. They now have a beeper that can only be heard within, I believe, approximately 10 metres of the machine. It works to a different audible level. I will try and find out more and then again, I might see if I can get myself appointed their Australian agent. :wink2
TDU