27 September 2016
 Categories: , Blog

Most of the preparation and remedial activities in your construction site require lots of excavation.  This makes excavators possibly the most visible equipment on your construction site, not just because of their size but because of the amount of work that they do. When using them, safety is a key consideration that you must keep in mind to prevent fatalities to the workers and other occupants. Particularly, long reach excavators pose an even greater danger because of their long booms arms that can extend as far as twenty feet or beyond. The long arms affect many operational dynamics of the longreach excavators, unlike the ordinary ones. When hiring a long reach excavator for your site, here's s everything you need to know about safety:

Select the Right Tool for Your Application

Just like other activities in the site, selecting the right tool for the job is key to efficiency, speed and optimal safety in your construction site. A common mistake that you are likely to make is with an excavator, whose attachment isn't sized appropriately for your project in terms of the reach of the machine. For instance, a machine with a maximum reach of twenty-five feet should not be used for a thirty-five-foot passage. You are bound to make up for the extra feet by configuring the machine dangerously or applying other risky ideas such as attaching stick extensions. Preferably, you should have your service provider visit the site for reconnaissance to determine the appropriate excavator for your project.

Stabilise the Base

Stabilising the base for the operation of the excavator is an important step to guaranteeing safety when work is in progress. Notably, the long boom arm attached to the longreach excavator raises the centre of gravity, making it easy for the machine to lose balance quite easily on unstable ground. Basically, a longreach excavator exerts its weight on the ground at an angle, meaning that you should avoid using the machine close to the edges of trenches or slopes. Moreover, carry out some assessment on the soil profile of the site to determine if it is strong enough to stand up to the weight of the excavator. This is very important when you are working on landfills as the soil may need some compaction.

Maintenance Checklist

Before paying for the excavator, make sure that your vendor provides you with maintenance records of the longreach excavator. Look out for consistent replacement of the hydraulic fluid and other fluids that wear out over time such as diesel oil. This will help you avoid unprecedented mechanical failures that can lead to injuries.