Three points of contact on equipment

Nobody here has been hurt operating a machine this year. The injuries we have had were people getting off one.

The points

• Mounting and dismounting equipment causes more injuries than most people expect, and almost all of them are preventable.
• Two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, on the machine at all times.
• Face the machine going up and coming down. Never jump off the last step.
• Clean mud and ice off your boots and the steps before you climb.
• Never carry anything in your hands while mounting. Set it down, climb up, then pull it up.

Why it goes wrong

The last step off a machine is usually eighteen inches to three feet. That doesn't sound like much until you land wrong on uneven ground with a tool in one hand. Ankle and knee injuries from dismounts put people on light duty for weeks.

Wet steel, diesel, and mud make steps slick. If the equipment has been sitting in the weather, assume the steps are worse than they look.

Three points of contact works because it leaves you a recovery. With two hands and a foot on the machine, a slip costs you a scare; with one hand on a grab bar and a toolbox in the other, the same slip has nothing to catch it. That is the entire reason nothing goes up in your hands.

The reason this is so often overlooked is that it happens dozens of times a day and almost always ends fine. Repetition builds a habit of stepping down without looking, and the one time the step is greasy or the ground has changed, the habit is already running.

Questions for the crew

1. When was the last time you jumped down off a machine instead of climbing?
2. Which piece of equipment on this job has the worst steps or handholds?
3. What are you carrying up with you that could go in a bucket or a belt instead?

To close

Climb down facing the machine today. Do not take the last step as a jump.