The Delaware T2 /LTAP Center is always looking for innovative ways to deliver training and present concepts related to infrastructure and safety. Just such an opportunity presented itself when the Delaware Department of Transportation was developing its spring safety training and they were looking for something 
related to runover and backover risks. In response, we developed the Equipment Blind Spot Exercise. Well, we “borrowed” the idea and then evolved it.
Fatal work-related injuries at road construction sites averaged nearly 120 per year between 2003 and 2014. In 48% of worker fatalities, runover or backover was the primary cause, most commonly by a dump truck.
Inspired by Emmett Russell (American Road and Transportation Builders Association, ARTBA), the Delaware T2 /LTAP Center developed a field exercise to demonstrate the dangers of equipment blind spots. We have led a number of these events with DelDOT and local agency personnel to elevate their awareness of how large these limited visibility areas can be for typical equipment they use and how easily they can lead to injuries and fatalities.
NIOSH provides blind spot diagrams for 43 different types of construction equipment, from dump trucks to loaders to pavers to motor graders and more.
The exercise has proven to be more impactful than classroom-only instruction. Operators take turns in the cabin guiding the location of drums to denote the limits where they can see while other crew members are guided around the equipment and talk about ground activities that might place them in these blind spots. At the end of the exercise, the crew is challenged to squeeze into the rear blind spot (reminiscent of the 1960s telephone booth stuffing rage) so they can visualize how large an area the operator cannot see. Excerpts of an example exercise can be viewed here.
The entire exercise can be completed in 25-35 minutes and fits well as part of a larger training session or as a standalone exercise. It could even take the place of a tailgate safety meeting, albeit requiring a bit of a time extension. The Delaware T2 /LTAP Center is happy to come to your location and present the exercise. Contact our Municipal Engineering Circuit Rider, Matt Carter, at matheu@udel.edu or (302) 831-7236 and we will set something up.
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