Is Your Equipment Secure?

Editor’s note: Editor’s note: Andrew Greess, a pest control equipment expert and president of equipment website Qspray.com, submitted this feature on the importance of backing up your critical equipment.

Keeping your pest control equipment in excellent condition it tough enough without creating additional problems.  Our repair shop sees numerous issues with damaged sprayers that were not properly secured in the truck. 

Unsecured equipment is a bigger issue than equipment damage.

Loose equipment can damage the driver, the vehicle or others on the road.  In the event of an accident, unsecured equipment can fly out of your vehicle at 60 miles.  Can you say lawsuit?

Here are some key points to keep in mind:

(1)  Just because it is in the truck, don’t assume it is secure!

(2) Just because it was secured five years ago when you installed it, doesn’t mean it is secure today.

(3) Just because it is secure at 25 miles per hour under normal driving conditions doesn’t mean it will be secure in an emergency situation.  Examples of emergency situations:
a. Collisions
b. Hard stops
c. Evasive maneuvers to avoid accidents

(4) Train technicians to check their load BEFORE starting their route.  A minute or two spent this way can save money, and prevent injuries, downtime and lawsuits.

(5) Small equipment (backpack sprayers, compressed air hand sprayers, etc.) should be checked by the technician every day to ensure they are safe and secure.

(6) Small equipment should be placed in security racks or otherwise secured.  These racks can help prevent theft.  We don’t recommend bungee cords but they are better than nothing.  Just cramming stuff together is not securing it.  

(7) Check power sprayer hose reels to ensure they are locked and/or the spray gun is secured.  We have seen spray guns that have bounced out of the vehicle and were dragged behind the vehicle down the road. This is expensive, avoidable damage and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

(8)  Large equipment (power spray rigs, toolboxes, etc.) should be checked periodically.

Safety is not just a good idea; it’s a great investment.  Inattention to safety has huge financial implications: increased expenses (workers comp, clean ups, medical bills, lawsuits, repairs, etc.), lost productivity, employee turnover, customer impacts, bad publicity, etc.  

We never expect problems to occur, but they do.  Be prepared.  Conduct these inspections periodically to ensure you and your employees are being as safe as possible to protect your business. 

Andrew Greess is a pest control equipment expert and president of equipment website Qspray.com.  Contact him at Andrew@Qspray.com.