Unload Safely TRAINING

BY SANDY LENDER

Acontractor in the Midwest found its crew faced with building multiple starter pads against decorative walls and garage doors. The workers performed an enormous amount of handwork to prepare a series of driveways be placed with a commercial paver—screed extended to get each driveway in one pass. At the end of each driveway, the crew performed more handwork after a concrete sidewalk “interruption” to meet the residential street where a full-size haul truck sat with its bed full of hot-mix asphalt (HMA).

As you can see in the problematic picture below, the crew used a skid steer to gather material out of the haul truck bed. This may be an accepted practice on many hurried projects, but it’s not the safest way to fill the skid steer bucket for transferring material to the crewmembers or paver. It sets the crew up for a whole new experience with end of load segregation.

Instead, choose the right haul truck for the job. The truck delivering to a project that demands a skid steer carry material to multiple locations throughout the day should have a special tailgate that allows the skid steer operator to fill the bucket without performing gymnastics.

In the picture above, the team at Bow Paving of Bow, New Hampshire, demonstrates the best practice for handling material when you can’t back the truck to the paver on the homeowner’s driveway. They use a haul truck with a special tailgate that incorporates three lockable chutes across the width of the truck bed.

When the crew is ready for mix, the skid steer operator positions the bucket beneath the center chute and the driver releases a set amount. Paving Consultant John Ball, Manchester, New Hampshire, reminded readers, you want to ensure the chute’s door is well greased and well maintained to prevent sticks and starts; you want it to open and close smoothly, delivering a cascade of material to the bucket.

For the next bucketful, the skid steer operator will position the bucket beneath one of the side chutes. For the third bucketful, he will position the bucket beneath the other side chute. In this staggered manner of collecting material, both skid steer operator and haul truck driver ensure an even and non-segregated delivery of mix for the handwork and paver hopper nearby, Ball said.

What ideas can you share for safe and efficient transfer of material on a tight project? Share your ideas with one another on the AsphaltPro Facebook page when this article goes live in March and help keep colleagues safe.

While the skid steer operator can set the locks on his brakes to prevent tipping over in this situation, it’s not the ideal way to ensure his safety. Notice the haul truck’s tailgate has been chained to prevent a serious accident. But when the operator lifts the bucket to back out, a slip in concentration as he lowers the machine could cause the bucket to snap back and throw hot material onto his windshield. Due to the questionable nature of this practice, both contractor and photographer will remain anonymous.