The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has published a safety notice aimed at excavator operators, slingers and anyone working near them*.
HSE warns of the risk of injury to others if the operator does not use the safety control lever or isolation device correctly.
If there are people in the operational arc of an excavator or similar mobile plant, the safety control lever should be applied, or other methods used, to isolate the machine, while it is at rest (ticking over), the HSE warns.
Research shows unintended movements of plant occur, but use of a safety control lever or isolation device can prevent this.
The warning follows a recent site fatality. During a lifting operation, a slinger was fatally crushed between the quick hitch and a fixed structure. The excavator operator was leaning out of his cab to communicate with the slinger when he inadvertently made contact with the left-hand joystick, causing the excavator to slew. The safety control lever had not been applied to isolate the machine.
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