Citation

Pazell S, Burgess-Limerick R, Horberry TJ, Davidson P. J. Health Saf. Res. Pract. 2016; 8(1): 3-14.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Safety Institute of Australia, Publisher LexisNexis Media)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Productivity, fatality, injury and health risks are associated with the operation and maintenance of mobile plant in road construction. Unwanted events include: slips, trips and falls from ground or at height; exposure to hazardous manual tasks, pinch points, heat, noxious chemicals and whole body vibration; low levels of distributed situation awareness; fatigue; vehicle roll overs; and collisions. It may be possible to remove or reduce the risk of these events through improved design of the equipment.

The Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMERST) -Design Evaluation for Earth Moving Equipment Procurement (EDEEP) method was adapted for road construction equipment. Six field visits were undertaken to review an asphalt job truck. A task-based risk assessment process identified 15 design issues contributing to hazards associated with the equipment. Many of these issues had not previously been captured during routine reporting processes. Design parameters were established to inform procurement regarding preferred specifications for future job truck purchases.

Language: en