Documenting Construction Worker Knowledge and Attitude Around Reversing Aids and Visibility Policies

Accidents and fatalities related to reversing machinery continue to be a large issue and are very costly to the industrial sector. Even with the policies and legislation efforts established on worksites that aim to reduce the number of equipment-human interactions, these accidents and fatalities continue to occur. This can be attributed to the dynamic environment of worksites and, at times, confined spaces in which workers are required to perform tasks. The most common contributing causes to struck-by accidents have been found to be human factors involving misjudgment of a hazardous situation, as well as large blind spots. Even with current precautions such as spotters, back up alarms, PPE in place, these incidences still manage to occur. Therefore, efforts have been made to improve operator’s situational awareness and line of sight to blind areas around the machine.

In Ontario, it is mandated that a dump truck must have an automatic audible alarm that alerts individuals when it the truck is reversing (s.105). The constant beeping is often considered a nuisance noise; and operators reportedly disable these alarms. In fact, in 56 out of 69 fatalities using heavy machinery reviewed by Hinze and Teizer, the back-up alarms were disabled or non-functional. Using a spotter for reversing maneuvers may also help to reduce pedestrian-equipment interactions but one study found that unqualified individuals often attempt to work as a signaller to accelerate worksite operations. The use of back-up cameras and other proximity awareness technology (PAT) has begun to creep onto worksites but is not routinely found. The goal of this work was to document construction worker knowledge and attitude towards back-up policies and technologies.