SAFETY ZONE
MOWING ACCIDENTS CAN BE PREVENTED T
Rick Cuddihe, Landscape
Industry Certified, president of
Lafayette Property Maintenance
his year OSHA has reported an uptick in deaths due to mowing accidents. Recently Eric Harbin, acting regional administrator of OSHA, re- ported three deaths this spring. In each incident, the operator was mowing too close to water. Har- bin suggests staying at least five feet away on any hill near water or two mower-lengths from water.
STEERING CHALLENGE The challenge with safely operating ZTR-type mowers, or transmission steer mid mount mow- ers, is that their steering systems are very respon- sive which means that the operator needs to be cautious on unlevel or wet turf. Simply stated, transmission steer means the mower’s direction is controlled by the independent rear drive wheels. This can confuse operators if they believe the front wheels actually steer the mower’s direction. Fast acceleration on hills or unleveled ground can lead to unsafe situations and in some cases the mower violently sliding or overturning into water or tipping over and crushing the operator. According to OSHA, when operating on slopes using this type of mower, operators should always mow up and down the slope; turning left or right when mowing parallel on a slope is very danger- ous because the rear steering drive wheels can greatly reduce the operator’s ability to control the mower. Operating on wet turf is another major challenge; operators should always reduce ground speed when the turf is wet. All too often, opera- tors in their haste to finish jobs on time, rip turf and create unsafe turning maneuvers by operating the mower aggressively. When operated proper- ly, these mowers are very productive machines; however safety training is important.
Operator mowing
too close to water.
Consultations with Sam Steel are a member benefit and are included in the cost of NALP membership. Email safetyspecialist@landscapeprofessionals. org for your free consultation.
Sponsor: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONALS 33
KEEP EQUIPMENT IN TOP SHAPE Proper machine maintenance is also important to safe operation. Operators should report any mechanical issues to supervisors and no mower should be released to crews until all mechanical issues are fixed. Transmission steer riders do not have brakes like cars or other types of equipment. It is very important to keep the neutral lockout sys- tem and parking-brake assembly in proper working order. This will keep the mower stationary, allow- ing the operator to leave the machine safely.
TRAINING STYLE IS KEY
Most contractors schedule weekly safety training sessions that focus on the various jobs their crews perform. Training is vital to safe company oper- ations, but have you considered which training style is most effective? The Learning Pyramid, cre- ated by the OSHA Alliance, NALP, and sponsored by CNA, suggests the best training technique is the “Teach Others/Immediate Use” style, which has an average information retention rate of 80% verses a lecture-style with no hands-on compo- nent which has a retention rate of just 5%. Includ- ing real-life scenarios in your teaching examples is most effective. And, of course, language compre- hension is important; if you have workers whose primary language is Spanish, then you need to do safety training in Spanish.
Making safety a priority in your company is your responsibility as a business owner and it will help your bottom line. 7
Rick Cuddihe, Landscape Industry Certified, is president of Lafayette Property Maintenance, and chairman of NALP’s Safety & Risk Manage- ment Committee.
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