Winter is a lovely time in Australia to get on with chores outside the house. The weather is sunny but cool, so you can landscape or excavate for a new pool without breaking a sweat. As someone who wants to hire an excavator to do landscaping work around the home this winter, it is important you are aware of how to safely operate your excavator when the weather changes and rain sets in. By knowing these safety tips in advance, you ensure you get the work done without putting your health at risk.

Wear The Seatbelt

Seatbelts in a car are there to make sure you don't get violently ejected from the vehicle if it comes to a sudden stop when travelling at speed. While excavators don't move as fast as a car, they can jolt violently or move unexpectedly when travelling over the wet ground in the rain. If an excavator starts to uncontrollably slip, or even worse roll, a seatbelt is going to protect your head from meeting the ceiling of the cab. Always click in the seatbelt before you start operating the excavator.

Avoid Flooded Pits

If you have been working on an area of the garden, and the hole becomes flooded with water, don't drive the excavator into this area until after the water drains away. Heavy amounts of rain can waterlog the soil making it unpredictable and slushy. This can cause the dirt to cave in around the tracks of the excavator which would lead to the machine getting stuck. You don't want to pay the extra expense of getting the excavator towed out of a mud pit.

Be Aware Of Weight

When you hire the excavator, you will be given instruction about how much weight you can move using the excavator. Operators are advised to adhere to these weight restrictions because trying to move items above the excavator's weight capability cause it to tip over. In the same vein of thought, when the tracks of the excavator or the excavator's bucket are covered with wet, sticky mud, this adds weight to the machine and therefore reduces the amount of weight you can now pick up. When the excavator gets overly clogged with wet dirt, take the time to scrape it off regularly.

Following these operating tips for wet conditions will help to ensure you get your landscaping chores done safely and quickly. Talk to the excavator hire company if you have any other concerns about operating the machine in bad weather conditions.