Skid Steer Safe Operation

Why it matters

The skid steer is small enough that people stop respecting it, and that is how it hurts them: crushed between the bucket and the frame, run over on a tight site, or thrown from the cab operating without the seat bar down. It turns in place with zero warning and carries loads that block the view. Today we cover the rules for operators and, just as important, for everyone on foot around one.

Hazards

• ⚠ Caught between the lift arms and the frame reaching into the cab area
• ⚠ Entering or exiting under raised, unsupported arms
• ⚠ Runover during spins and reverses in tight areas
• ⚠ Tipping on slopes, curbs, and loading ramps with a raised bucket
• ⚠ Loads carried high blocking sight lines
• ⚠ Bypassed seat bars and interlocks

Controls and safe practices

• ✓ Enter and exit only when the bucket is flat on the ground and the arms are down or on the approved supports.
• ✓ Never reach into the lift arm path, and never bypass the seat bar or interlocks.
• ✓ Operate from the seat only, belt on, arms and legs inside.
• ✓ Travel with the bucket low; load, carry, and turn with the load close to the ground.
• ✓ Give it room: workers on foot stay out of the swing and travel zone, and make eye contact before approaching.
• ✓ Slopes: heavy end uphill, no sidehill turns with a raised load.
• ✓ Walk-around inspection each shift: controls, interlocks, backup alarm, and hydraulics.

What OSHA says

Exact words from the official text, with a link to each paragraph.

By the numbers

• NIOSH's FACE program identified 37 work-related deaths involving skid-steer loaders from 1992 through 1997. In 29 of them (78%), the worker was pinned between the bucket and the frame or between a lift arm and the frame. (NIOSH Alert: Preventing Injuries and Deaths from Skid-Steer Loaders, Publication No. 2011-128)

Site check before the talk

Walk the site and tick each line. Each line comes from the text quoted above.

• ☐Only workers qualified by training or experience run the skid steer. (29 CFR 1926.20(b)(4))
• ☐Get in and out only with the bucket flat on the ground or the lift-arm support in place. (NIOSH Publication No. 2011-128)
• ☐Seat belt fastened and restraint bar down whenever the machine is running. (NIOSH Publication No. 2011-128)
• ☐Bystanders stay out of the work area, no riders, and no safety device is ever bypassed. (NIOSH Publication No. 2011-128)
• ☐On slopes, go straight up or down with the heavy end pointed uphill. (NIOSH Publication No. 2011-128)

Quotes checked word for word against the official OSHA text on October 5, 2026. This is a summary for a crew talk, not legal advice; the full official text governs. How we check

Crew discussion questions

1. Who is authorized to run the skid steer on this crew?
2. Where are our tightest operating spots, and how do we keep people out of them?
3. What is our rule for approaching the machine while it is running?
4. When did we last check the seat bar and backup alarm actually work?

Applicable OSHA standards

29 CFR 1926.20, 29 CFR 1926.21

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Safety documents

Site-specific safety plan, $49JHA, $29Written safety program, $149