How Well Do You Handle the Change of Seasons?

The change of seasons means significant changes to your equipment. Lawnmowers, loaders, tractors, and dump trucks alike all have a changing role. To get them functional for the new season, you have a lot of accessories that need to be changed out.

How you handle this changeover is either exposing workers to some serious material handing exposures and awkward body postures, or it can be a non-event.   

Some things I would like you to consider are as follows: 

1. Are storage areas clear of other equipment and items, or does it take days of clearing paths through a bunch of “stuff” to get to the equipment?
2. Are you manhandling the equipment manually, or moving it mechanically?
3. Do you have to manually push/pull or lift/lower this equipment at all, or can you do it totally hands-free? 
4. Do you have a formal plan to make sure the needed equipment is operating correctly prior to the start of the changeover? 
5. Have you identified your greatest exposure(s) for completing all these tasks, and do you have a plan in place to reduce this exposure with a planned equipment purchase (overhead hoist, forks for the loader, etc.)?

If you think you have a good method for the changeover madness, share your thoughts or your plan of attack.

What’s your city’s method? Let us know.

by Andy Miller