Safety
DANGER
Theremaybeburiedutilitylinesinthework
area.Diggingintothemmaycauseashock
oranexplosion.
Havethepropertyorworkareamarkedfor
buriedlinesanddonotdiginmarkedareas.
Contactyourlocalmarkingserviceorutility
companytohavethepropertymarked(for
example,intheUS,call811orinAustralia,
call1100forthenationwidemarkingservice).
GeneralSafety
Alwaysfollowallsafetyinstructionstoavoidserious
injuryordeath.
•Donottransportanattachmentwiththearms
raised.Alwaystransporttheattachmentcloseto
theground;refertoTransportPosition(page9).
•Havethepropertyorworkareamarkedforburied
linesandotherobjects,anddonotdiginmarked
areas.
•ReadandunderstandthecontentofthisOperator’s
Manualbeforestartingtheengine.
•Useyourfullattentionwhileoperatingthe
machine.Donotengageinanyactivitythat
causesdistractions;otherwise,injuryorproperty
damagemayoccur.
•Neverallowchildrenoruntrainedpeopleto
operatethemachine.
•Keepyourhandsandfeetawayfromthemoving
componentsandattachments.
•Donotoperatethemachinewithouttheguards
andothersafetyprotectivedevicesinplaceand
workingonthemachine.
•Keepbystandersandpetsawayfromthemachine.
•Stopthemachine,shutofftheengine,andremove
thekeybeforeservicing,fueling,orunclogging
themachine.
Improperlyusingormaintainingthismachinecan
resultininjury.Toreducethepotentialforinjury,
complywiththesesafetyinstructionsandalways
payattentiontothesafety-alertsymbol
,which
meansCaution,Warning,orDanger—personalsafety
instruction.Failuretocomplywiththeseinstructions
mayresultinpersonalinjuryordeath.
SlopeSafety
•Operatethemachineupanddownslopeswith
theheavyendofthemachineuphill.Weight
distributionchangeswithattachments.Anempty
load-bearingattachmentmakestherearofthe
machinetheheavyend,andafullload-bearing
attachmentmakesthefrontofthemachinethe
heavyend.Mostotherattachmentsmakethefront
ofmachinetheheavyend.
•Keeptheattachmentintheloweredposition
whenonslopes.Raisingtheattachmentona
slopeaffectsthestabilityofthemachine.
•Slopesareamajorfactorrelatedtolossofcontrol
andtip-overaccidents,whichcanresultinsevere
injuryordeath.Operatingthemachineonany
slopeoruneventerrainrequiresextracaution.
•Establishyourownproceduresandrulesfor
operatingonslopes.Theseproceduresmust
includesurveyingthesitetodeterminewhich
slopesaresafeformachineoperation.Always
usecommonsenseandgoodjudgmentwhen
performingthissurvey.
•Slowdownanduseextracareonhillsides.Ground
conditionscanaffectthestabilityofthemachine.
•Avoidstartingorstoppingonaslope.Ifthe
machinelosestraction,proceedslowly,straight
downtheslope.
•Avoidturningonslopes.Ifyoumustturn,turn
slowlyandkeeptheheavyendofthemachine
uphill.
•Keepallmovementsonslopesslowandgradual.
Donotmakesuddenchangesinspeedor
direction.
•Ifyoufeeluneasyoperatingthemachineona
slope,donotdoit.
•Watchforholes,ruts,orbumps,asuneventerrain
couldoverturnthemachine.Tallgrasscanhide
obstacles.
•Usecautionwhenoperatingonwetsurfaces.
Reducedtractioncouldcausesliding.
•Evaluatetheareatoensurethatthegroundis
stableenoughtosupportthemachine.
•Usecautionwhenoperatingthemachinenearthe
following:
–Drop-offs
–Ditches
–Embankments
–Bodiesofwater
Themachinecouldsuddenlyrolloverifatrack
goesovertheedgeortheedgecavesin.Maintain
asafedistancebetweenthemachineandany
hazard.
•Donotremoveoraddattachmentsonaslope.
•Donotparkthemachineonahillsideorslope.
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