What are the different kinds of hazards to be expected in a mobile plant?
- 22:25
- By Amelia Varley
- 0 Comments
A mobile plant is any machinery, tool or appliance that is fitted with some self-propulsion, as defined by the Work Health and Safety regulation. Such a plant is under the direct control of the operator. Examples of a mobile plant are cranes, forklifts, excavators, bulldozers, forklifts, concrete pumping trucks, tractors, draglines, and the like.
Mobile plants are used extensively in the Australian industry. The fundamental mobility of the plant presents workplace hazards. Let’s look at the different kinds of mobile plant risk that can befall a mobile plant.
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| Mobile Plant Risk Assessment |
Work Organization
Due to the lack of supervision at the plant, miscommunication due to misunderstanding or noise, etc., are responsible for hazards. Sometimes, failure to communicate at the right time leads to potentially dangerous circumstances. Working under time pressures makes mobile plants susceptible to dangers. If the planning and design of the workplace, or the task, or the plant is faulty, risks may arise.
Machinery
Hazards may arise due to a wrong selection of the mobile plant, lack of proper maintenance, or less than satisfactory maintenance. At times, manufacturing or design faults are also to blame. Inhospitable terrain may lead to damage to the plant and dangers to the operator and those close by.
Procedures and regulations
Standard operating procedures are designed with foresight and caution to prevent hazards and avoidable risks. Lack of procedures, failure to adhere to the laid down rules and regulations, etc., may lead to threats at the workplace. Sometimes, due to lax supervision, an unauthorized person may operate the plant or even maintain. Such situations add to the risk of hazards.
Staff
If the staff is not adequately trained in the use, operation, and maintenance of the plant, then this has the potential to create hazardous situations. Proper knowledge and experience with the working of the plant is, therefore, a must. Care should be taken to ensure that no unauthorized person gains access to the plant with the intention of sabotage or mischief. Hazards and dangerous situations may also arise due to a lapse in concentration of the operator of the plant.
Work environment
Inadequate work environment, which could be created due to less than sufficient light, bad weather, or congested working space is potentially hazardous.
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| Mobile Plant Risk Assessment |
Lack of safety measures
At times, due to human error, the operator of the plant may neglect to follow proper safety procedure, and adopt the necessary measure. This might give rise to hazardous situations.
- Unstable Loads: A potentially hazardous situation might arise if the load on the plant is unstable or more than the prescribed limit.
- Hazardous environs: If the atmosphere in which the mobile plant is operating has hazardous substances, which may be flammable, or contain explosive vapour, then dangers may arise.
- Unstable Base: The base on which the plant operates may be unstable or unsecured due to slippage, collapse or subsidence.
- Control Measures: Operators and managers can use a hierarchy of controls to understand what level of control is needed to manage the mobile plant risk assessment associated with the plant well.
- Elimination: This involves attempting to eliminate risks in planning the design stage. A good example is eliminating pedestrian injuries by making sure that the plant and pedestrians are not in the same area.
- Substitution: Instead of ICE, an electrical plant can be used to remove the chance of toxic emissions.
- Engineering: This is regulated through legal provisions and specific design standards like insulation for engine noise, guarding against moving parts, etc.
- Administration: This is the production of safe work method statements, training programs, checking for proper licensing, and implementation of traffic management plans.
- Protective Equipment: Wearing high visibility clothing, hard hat and protective footwear can also control hazards.
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