Safety resource 14 / 15
Heavy Equipment and Struck-By Hazards
Most heavy equipment injuries happen in the space around the machine: the swing radius, the blind spots and the haul route.
Four equipment cues to recognize
Quick-reference overview. The actual project scope, site conditions, qualified evaluations and applicable requirements control.
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The full reach of the boom and the counterweight is barricaded. No one enters without eye contact and a signal from the operator.
No one stands beside or under a truck while it is being loaded.
Where the driver can’t see behind the truck, a spotter directs the backing and stays in view. Lose the spotter, stop.
Trucks follow one route in and out, with a flagger where the route crosses the public walkway.
Clearance is confirmed with the utility before a boom goes up near a power line.
Fencing keeps the public separated from equipment and trucks.
Project planning snapshot
- KnowSite layout, haul route, overhead and underground utilities and the adjacent public.
- VerifyOperator qualifications, working alarms and horns, and daily equipment inspection.
- ControlExclusion zones, spotters, a traffic plan and eye contact before approach.
- RecordEquipment inspections, traffic plan, toolbox talks and utility locates.
Fun facts
Three details worth remembering
- Alarms fade into the background
Crews get used to back-up alarms, so exclusion zones and spotters carry most of the protection.
- Lose the spotter, stop
A driver who loses sight of the spotter stops backing until contact is back.
- Loading is a struck-by zone
No one stands beside or under a truck while it is being loaded.
Read the detailed planning guidanceConcise, source-grounded project considerations
Lay out the site
Plan staging, haul routes and truck turnarounds before mobilization. Keep traffic one-way where possible, and separate it from pedestrians and the public with fencing and barriers.
Control the swing and line of fire
Barricade the swing radius of excavators and other rotating equipment. No one enters the zone without eye contact and a signal from the operator, and people stay out of the load path and the debris fall zone during mechanical demolition.
Manage backing and hauling
Haul trucks carry automatic back-up alarms. Where rear view is blocked and workers are on foot, use a spotter in clear view of the operator with agreed hand signals. Cameras and proximity sensors add a layer but do not replace a spotter.
Check utilities, operators and equipment
Call DigAlert before digging and confirm overhead line clearances with the utility before booms go up. Use qualified operators, inspect equipment before each shift and set attachments on the ground when the machine is parked.
Primary references
Requirements can depend on the task, employer, location, project documents and actual field conditions.
SoCal Removal is a licensed demolition and environmental contractor—not an industrial hygienist, testing laboratory, engineer, attorney or regulatory agency.
Tight site or live campus? Plan the traffic first.
Staging, haul routes and pedestrian separation shape which equipment fits and how it moves.
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- Site plan and access points
- Adjacent occupancy and pedestrian routes
- Known overhead and underground utilities
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- Staging and haul route
- Exclusion zones and spotters
- Equipment size for the access