If you have to drive to a jobsite, the best way to start a safe day’s work is to make sure your vehicle is in good condition and has the proper equipment and storage.
Driver and Passenger Considerations
A field vehicle safety review should also consider the driver. Most insurance companies conduct annual driving record checks based on a list of employees their clients provide to them. However, many firms don’t think about employees who drive their personal vehicles for work-related tasks. Did you know that if an administrative assistant drives to the office supply store in his or her own vehicle during work hours, your company can be liable in the event of a traffic accident? Having your insurance company conduct driving record checks on all employees can provide you with valuable information on workers that have a bad driving record or maybe even no license at all. (Incidentally, your company policies should require all employees who drive during working hours to have a valid operator’s license and to use seatbelts while driving.)
A common problem encountered particularly with vans is what I call the “drywall mud bucket” issue. This situation occurs quite frequently when there are only two seats in the van and you need to transport three workers--the low person on the totem pole gets the drywall mud bucket to sit on during the trip. Variations include the concrete mix bag seat, the paint bucket seat, the wooden stake bundle seat and--if you are really uptown--the lawn chair seat. If you order your vans new, make certain that you specify a third seat. If you need to purchase a third seat separately, check out a local van conversion company. Sometimes you can purchase new seats for a cheap price.
Another issue that can become a problem is work vehicles being used to transport non-employees. Many companies allow their field vehicles to be taken home at night by the crew foreman. In some cases, limited personal use may even be permitted. But do you have restrictions on who or how many people can ride in your vehicles? Most firms wouldn’t object if a worker picked up his or her child from school using a company vehicle, but what if there were three other students who didn’t have a ride home? Would you permit employees to haul half the soccer team in the back of the van or pickup? Even the smallest of companies should have basic rules that allow some use of the vehicle but limit potential liabilities.
Safety Equipment and StorageVehicle- and work-related safety equipment should also be considered. A short list of equipment that should be in every vehicle includes a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and reflective triangles for the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle should contain basic personal protective equipment (glasses, hearing protection, possibly a dust respirator, gloves, hard hat, etc.) along with traffic control signage, safety vests and traffic cones. Make sure that you have ample supplies of each item. If multiple workers are assigned to a vehicle, then that vehicle must carry enough PPE so that each worker can be adequately protected.
While conducting safety audits on construction jobsites in the past year, I encountered multiple surveyors on the same site on several occasions. Every vehicle was short on basic items such as vests. Of course, I heard many excuses such as, “I didn’t know I would need my vest today,” “No one told me this was a hard hat jobsite,” or my favorite, “I didn’t know they had a safety inspector for this jobsite.” Your crew needs to be prepared every time they leave the office for anything they might encounter. How many times have you had to redirect a crew during the day because a client called with an “emergency”?
Also, consider how the safety gear and all of the required tools of the trade are stowed in the vehicle. For years, surveyors have used heavy plywood boxes assembled by their crews. While some of these aren’t bad, others would fall apart in the event of a serious accident. If you build your own storage containers, keep in mind that the box should be secured to the vehicle--ideally to the frame and not just to sheet metal. However the box is constructed, it should be covered to prohibit material from becoming flying objects in the event of sudden braking or a wreck. Use screws and not just nails. Rebar, wooden stakes, tripods and other equipment flying through the air at 55, 65, 70 or even 80 mph can become deadly projectiles. Some of the manufactured storage boxes and compartments offer all of this protection and are geared specifically for the surveying profession.
Explosion HazardsSpray paint and batteries often must be transported in field vehicles, but these materials can present an explosion hazard if they are not stored correctly. Keep in mind the temperature limitations of these materials. Avoid carrying excessive amounts of spray paint, and keep the cans out of direct sunlight. You should also check the warning labels on your batteries--some batteries have lower temperature safety thresholds than others.
Gasoline storage can also be a serious safety issue. The explosive potential of just one gallon of gasoline in a confined area can be equal to 100 sticks of dynamite. Storing gasoline inside a van is not safe under any conditions, and transporting a can attached to the outside of the rear door is just inviting a fire in the event of a rear-end collision. In pickup trucks, gasoline should always be inside an approved DOT- and OSHA-compliant can, which features a spring-loaded handle/cap along with an integral spark arrester. The can also needs to be secured to prevent movement in any direction and to protect it from being punctured in an accident.
Safe field vehicles are an important part of work safety. By understanding the basics, maybe we can all increase the level of vehicular safety a notch or two.
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