VIDEO: How N.B. West Created Award-Winning Paver Operator Safety Cages

Date Posted: May 28, 2025

Posted In: Organizations, People, Workforce,

After a paver operator was struck by a dump truck’s mirror on a rural road project, N.B. West Contracting Co. explored ways to avoid future mishaps.

This lead to a new invention — a safety cage, which currently has a patent pending. The innovation earned West the 2024 Asphalt Operations Safety Innovations Award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA), and an additional award from Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association (MAPA).

This video, produced by  West, shows how safety team members worked together to develop the protective cage, which shields paver operators from exposure to passing trucks and improves visibility of operators to motorists.

“I believe in the human performance model where we create barriers, Tim Swaringam. director of safety and risk management, said.

“We’re all human and we’re all going to make mistakes. Drivers especially are going to make mistakes. The cage provides protection for the operator’s upper torso.”

A reflective triangle on the back of the cage provides increased operator visibility.