Why Chinese goods cost less...

A new drinking game - how many OSHA violations can you spot.

On the not-so-OSHA compliant side

He isn’t wearing a seat belt (because he can’t reach the pedals if he sits down); for that matter, he can’t reach both control pedals at the same time (his approaches would be smoother if he could). He does however have his seat adjusted properly (to function as a back rest).



No head protection.
No hearing protection.
No eye protection.
No respiratory protection (it is a sand and gravel plant).
No gloves.
They probably don’t make boots small enough for this little guy, he’ll have to wait until he’s ten or eleven for that.
He’s task oriented and concentrating on what he’s doing, but
he sure as hell isn’t looking behind to see if there are any obstructions or PEOPLE. (A moot point, he more than likely can’;t see out the back glass anyway.

The camera man isn’t too sharp either… hanging onto a moving loader with one hand while it’s working.

On the positive side, he’s not doing too bad … considering he has to extend his body each time he moves from accelerator to brake. If they could kid-size his controls he’d be world class by the time he’s seven.

He’s learned to utilize his momentum when approaching the stock pile
He’s guaranteeing a full bucket load by “curling” the bucket back as he lifts the scoop out of the stock pile.
He’s optimizing his motions by lifting the load while in transit to the waiting hopper (while grabbing a hand full of sec ond gear to shorten his transit time).
He’s optimizing his time by backing away from the hopper (a lot of operators would waste time by turning around).
He isn’t spinning his tires to the extent that I’ve seen other operators which means he understands his tractive effort.

Judging by the nonchalant attitude of the plant operator (in the red shirt) on the catwalk above, and the lack of “excited-ness” on the part of the kid to be “playing” with this machine, to say nothing of his practiced motions, I’d say this is an everyday occurrence on this job site.

So, how do I know these things to be true … ?
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Your humble Moderator.