7. PRECAUTIONS DURING OPERATION WARNING: For reasons of safety, always follow these safety precautions. 1-14 PRECAUTIONS WHEN OPERATING ‡ Be careful not to approach too close to the edge of cliffs. When making embankments or landfills, or when dropping soil over a cliff, dump one pile, then use the next pile of soil to push the first pile. ‡ The load suddenly becomes lighter when the soil is pushed over a cliff or when the machine reaches the top of a slope. When this happens, there is danger that the travel speed will suddenly increase, so be sure to reduce the speed. ‡ When the bucket is fully loaded, never start, turn, or stop the machine suddenly.
‡ When handling unstable loads, such as round or cylindrical objects, or piled sheets, if the work equipment is raised high, there is danger that the load may fall on top of the operator’s compartment and cause serious injury or damage. ‡ When handling unstable loads, be careful not to raise the work equipment too high or tip the bucket back too much. ‡ If the work equipment is suddenly lowered or suddenly stopped, the reaction may cause the machine to tip over. Particularly when carrying a load, be sure to operate the work equipment carefully. ‡ Do not use the bucket or lift arm for crane work. ‡ Carry out only work that is specified as the purpose of the machine.
Carrying out other operations will cause breakdowns. Specified operations © See “12.10 WORK POSSIBLE USING WHEEL LOADER”. ‡ Do the following to ensure good visibility. ‡ When operating in dark places, turn on the working lamps and front lamps, and install lighting at the jobsite if necessary. ‡ Do not carry out operations in fog, mist, snow, or heavy rain, or other conditions where the visibility is poor. Wait for the weather to clear so that visibility is sufficient to carry out work. ‡ Always do the following to prevent the work equipment from hitting other objects.
• When operating in tunnels, under bridges, under electric wires, or other places where the height is limited, be extremely careful not to let the bucket hit anything. • When loading dump trucks, check that there is no one in the area around the machine and be careful not to let the bucket hit the operator’s compartment of the dump truck. • To prevent accidents caused by hitting other objects, always operate the machine at a speed which is safe for operation, particularly in confined spaces, indoors, and in places where there are other machines.