One of the issues that can stop your productivity in its tracks is the neglecting of site-specific safety, health environmental or quality factors, especially as they are laid down by companies to which you might be subcontracted to.

Amongst the common practices to be aware of – and prepared for – are:
• operators medical certificates declaring them to be fit for the tasks for which they are employed – these are of limited duration and medical examinations must be undertaken regularly;

• a prison record, or record of criminal convictions will, for instance, disallow operators to work on some mines and places like Sasol and Iscor

• operators are also required to have competency certificates issued by recognised training institutions declaring them trained to operate the machine/s in question and should not be too out-of-date – it is also not a bad idea to regularly provide workers with in-house refresher training on machine handling and good safety practices

• machines need to have safety guards in order to prevent serious injuries to workers and a checklist must be obtained/compiled to ensure all safety features/hazards are checked – this is usually done on a daily basis and sometimes includes detail such as the correct way to mount/dismount machines

• most sites will insist on personal protective equipment (PPE) – hard hat, reflector vest, overalls (reflector/fire retardant), safety boots, sometimes goggles, dust masks and gloves – vibrationary machinery sometimes requires a kidney support belt

• some sites will require a method statement or work procedure for your machine, no matter how simple the task it performs

• at the other end of the scale, some construction sites and industrial operations will require you to have a complete safety file – SHEQ policy and plan, the works

Construction Equipment South Africa

A good place to start is with the regulations that govern health and safety practice – safety personnel wield an enormous amount of power on construction/industrial sites and can close you down for infringement

Having invested significantly in a quality machine from Johnson Taylor, it would be a pity if a technicality – let alone a casualty – were to mar that experience.