Where to Put Mirrors on Your Paver for Optimal Safety
BY John Ball
One way to increase visibility on any piece of heavy equipment is with mirrors. These are absolutely vital for equipment that will be backing or that has blind spots where ground personnel enter and work.
A.Here you see the side of the mirror, set on top of the hopper just for this picture. This lets you see how the rod attaches to the magnet with a nut and bolt, and to the back of the mirror. You wouldn’t leave the mirror here, of course, as it’s not providing the best view for workers, and folding the hopper wings could knock it off.
For one paving crew, the use of a convex mirror on the paver’s tractor offered the paver and screed operators a better view of the endgates, the head of material reaching the endgates, and the side of the paver. They placed an 8-inch convex mirror on a rod with a round, 60-pound magnet on the tractor. This gave the paver operator more visibility without causing him to strain his back or neck while looking at the areas that are important for quality paving. It’s a safety feature the crew has added.
B.Here you see the mirror attached to the side of the paver by its magnet and rod. Notice that the rod is attached just loosely enough with the bolt to the magnet that the mirror can be positioned for best visibility.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have caught onto how important it is to have movable, convex mirrors, too. Some roller OEMs provide these as standard equipment on the front and/or back drums. Some OEMs offer convex mirrors as options in a more robust safety package.
The roller operator should use convex mirrors to see ground personnel or other pieces of equipment in his blind spots, and not position them for monitoring spray bars. Avoiding injury is the more important function.
However you get the mirrors onto your equipment, it’s a good idea to consider.
This material transfer vehicle operator has several convex mirrors positioned around his platform so he can see objects or persons in the blind spots around the machine.
John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving & Training, Manchester, New Hampshire. He provides personal, on-site paving consulting services around the United States and into Canada. For more information, contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@yahoo.com.