Continuous attention to safety reduces risks. 'Working safely pays off, in every way' 

Safety certainly remains an important issue in construction. "There are always risks in equipment use in construction. If people make modifications to machines themselves, it becomes unsafe." Speaking is Jan Hommes, director of BMWT; the trade association of suppliers of construction machinery, warehouse equipment, road building machinery and transport equipment.

For dangerous machines to be used in Europe, they must meet a variety of technical requirements. "In Dutch law, the European rules have been translated into the Arbo regulations. Employers are obliged to make safe machines available. They must be able to demonstrate that periodic maintenance is taking place and have the machines inspected annually by an expert," Hommes said. It is up to the employer to appoint that expert.

Years ago, BMWT set up the BMWT seal of approval. Thus, the organization monitors the quality of machines with certified inspectors and fixed inspection lists. "An important advantage for the user is that the inspector is guaranteed expert. In addition, the Labor Inspectorate also relies on this system."

Instructions and training

There is another important safety factor: the person operating the machine. "That person must have had sufficient instruction to operate the machine safely. This too is the responsibility of the employer. For certain jobs, there are legal requirements for the operator. But for many machines, such as excavators, this is not the case," Hommes said. Then the employer can offer the employee operator training or operator training, for example. Hommes: "But it is important to keep paying attention to this. So don't think: this employee meets the requirements and then don't look back. Does an incident occur? Then the Labour Inspectorate checks whether the duty of care has been fulfilled. Has the machine been inspected, was the operator competent?"

Often an incident occurs because of unforeseen circumstances. By continuously addressing safety at meetings, recurrent training and performance reviews, employers can demonstrate that they are fulfilling their duty of care. "This seems complicated and tedious, but experience shows that when you work more safely, it also improves productivity. You gain tremendously from that. Besides, it's a big cost if work is stopped after an incident. So working safely pays off, in every way."

Preservation

The construction equipment sector also faces a huge challenge in terms of sustainability. The goal is to operate completely emission-free by 2030. "But that is not so easy yet. On the face of it, switching to electric machines seems to be happening fast, but in practice it is still only happening sparsely. It takes time, especially for the larger machines. And so we must remain realistic: for the larger machines there are also opportunities to reduce emissions, for example with newer, cleaner diesel machines. My appeal to the sector: also look at the practical possibilities that already exist." 

Wanting to change too quickly also creates risks. For example, Hommes observes that companies themselves are converting existing machines to electrical ones. "Is that machine still sufficiently safe? What happens to the electric motor if the machine slides into a ditch? Don't get me wrong: you can convert machines. But have that done by a party that can do it well and be aware that the converted machine has to be re-certified."