Heavy Equipment Blind Spots Toolbox Talk

Project: ____________ · Date: ____________ · Led by: ____________

From the seat of an excavator or a dump truck, there are zones where a standing adult simply disappears — sometimes within a few feet of the machine. Most workers struck by equipment were inside a blind spot and assumed they'd been seen.

Why it matters

Operators are managing the load, the ground, the swing, and the plan — not scanning for you. The person on foot is the only one who knows where they are, so the person on foot carries the rule: no eye contact, no approach.

Key points — cover all of these

1. Learn the blind zones of the machines on this site — directly behind, close in front of the tracks or hood, and the offside. Assume they're bigger than you think.
2. No approach without acknowledgment: eye contact, a horn signal back, or radio confirmation. Every time, even with operators you work with daily.
3. Backing equipment gets a spotter when vision is obstructed. One spotter, agreed signals, and the operator stops the moment they lose sight of them.
4. Stay outside swing radius of excavators and cranes — the counterweight kills at the back, not just the bucket at the front.
5. Hi-vis on, phone away in equipment zones. Earbuds that block backup alarms have no place near operating machines.
6. Operators: walk around your machine before mounting, and honk before moving or swinging in congested areas.

Ask the crew

The answers are the point — this is where today's real hazards surface.

• Which machine on this site has the worst visibility, and who works near it?
• Do we have agreed hand signals between our spotters and operators — would a new hire know them?
• Where do our walking paths cross equipment routes, and can we separate them today?

The one thing today

Nobody walks behind operating equipment today without a signal back from the operator.

Reference: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.601 (motor vehicles); 1926.604

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