INFORMATION ON SAFETY 1.2 INFORMATION ON SAFETY Many accidents are caused by insufficient knowledge of and failure to comply with the safety regulations pre- scribed for the maintenance and operations of the machine. In order to avoid accidents, before starting work and before carrying out any maintenance operation, carefully read and be sure to understand all the information and warnings contained in this manual and given on the labels ap- plied onto the machine. To identify the messages regarding safety that are included in this manual and written on the machine labels, the following words have been used.
DANGER This word is used on safety messages and safety labels where there is a high probability of serious injury or death if the hazard is not avoided. These safety messages or labels usually describe precautions that must be taken to avoid the hazard. Failure to avoid this hazard may also result in serious damage to the ma- chine. WARNING This word is used on safety messages and safety labels where there is a poten- tially dangerous situation which could result in serious injury or death if the haz- ard is not avoided. These safety messages or labels usually describe precautions that must be taken to avoid the hazard.
Failure to avoid this hazard may also re- sult in serious damage to the machine. CAUTION This word is used on safety messages and safety labels for hazards which could result in minor or moderate injury if the hazard is not avoided. Failure to follow caution may also result in damage to the machine. IMPORTANT This word is used when precautions are indicated, which must be taken to avoid actions that may shorten the life of the machine.
Komatsu cannot reasonably predict every circumstance that might involve a potential hazard during the operation or maintenance of the machine; for this reason, the safety messages included in this manual and applied onto the machine may not include all possible safety precautions. If any procedures or actions not specifically recommended or allowed in this manual are used, you must be sure that you and others can do such procedures and actions safely and without damaging the machine. In case of doubt regarding the safety measures necessary for some procedures, contact your local Komatsu dealer.
DANGER Before starting any maintenance operation, position the machine on a firm and level surface, lower the equipment to the ground, engage the safety locks of the equipment and of the controls and stop the en- gine. WARNING To make the information clearer, some illustrations in this manual represent the machine without safety guards. Do not use the machine without guards and do not start the engine when the engine protection casing is open, if this is not expressly prescribed for some specific maintenance operations. 2