This past week we had an accident at one of the clubs in my territory. Not to go too deep into the details but the operator was hospitalized and the piece of equipment was destroyed. When investigators arrived their first question was were all the safety switches on the mower operational. Luckily they have a very good technician and everything was to factory spec.
Now we all know that sometimes these switches are overridden to save down time. I started to think about how often is this done and does it ever get fixed? Years ago we changed our policy in the shop that units had to be returned after a repair with all safety features up to date. The big thing was the chute on side discharge decks that seemed to disappear. At first there was some push back but customers realized that this was a necessity.
I would suggest you look at your fleet a little closer. Is your equipment up to spec? Have you ever done an audit of your fleet's safety features? Do you have any records to back up your safety reviews? Everyone has had to keep equipment for more seasons than they originally planned and we all get caught up in the day to day grind and take some things for granted. Hopefully a major accident NEVER happens but if it did are you and your club protected? In today's litigious world, you can't just hope that everything will be OK.
But in the end, isn't it about the safety of the guys who work so hard for you?
No comments:
Post a Comment