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Work platform width
- Thread starter Speedpup
- Start date
Framer
Well-Known Member
I have a 4' x 12' made by star industries. Bought it a few years ago. Checked their website this morning and the widest I find is 9'6" . Don't know why they don't sell 12' anymore. Also you can't find one that goes past 4' out, thats legal at least.
Speedpup
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Here in US 12' is illegal but I see some still being sold and advertised as OSHA compliant.
JLG sells nothing more than a 8' wide and I am sure they have a good handle on it. Few months ago I wanted to buy one and they had none to sell. Not sure if it is legal to make one or where I would find the rules & reg's. I'll scope out a JLG and copy it if I make one, Looks like I will have plenty of time soon.:Banghead
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Framer
Well-Known Member
I'm allowed to fall 8ft of the top of a wall, but if I jump on a piece of plywood on the forks 5ft up i'm doing something illegal. The intent of the laws are good but they seem to be more based on a manlift. I can go up a ladder to install a window, but if I go up on my illegal manbasket it's not ok. I feel more comfortable installing a window 25 feet of the ground on a forklift rather than any ladder. But gotta have a rail in front of me.
Speedpup
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yep any scaffold over 6' and I need top rail, mid rail, toe boards :Banghead but I can send a guy up a20' step ladder with nothing. Go down to the train station and the track is 4-5 feet down, 3rd rail and trains pass you at 65 mph and it's OK :beatsme
and trains pass you at 65 mph and it's OK :beatsmeWork Platform
Per the MIOSHA website in Michigan...
The platform cannot extend more than 10" on either side of the tires.
If the machine is 8' (typical, some are 8'6"), you are "legally" permitted a platform width of 116". There are a host of other reqirements.
Check out your local OSHA site. It may be listed under fork lift scaffolds.
Per the MIOSHA website in Michigan...
The platform cannot extend more than 10" on either side of the tires.
If the machine is 8' (typical, some are 8'6"), you are "legally" permitted a platform width of 116". There are a host of other reqirements.
Check out your local OSHA site. It may be listed under fork lift scaffolds.
Work Platform
This may be WAY more than you want to know about platforms.
OR it may save you a bundle by not making one that isn't legal.
Big PDF file from OSHA site. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/CIS_WSH_part12c_37717_7.pdf
On the other hand, I've got extras I could sell you.
www.aeroliftusa.com
This may be WAY more than you want to know about platforms.
OR it may save you a bundle by not making one that isn't legal.
Big PDF file from OSHA site. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/CIS_WSH_part12c_37717_7.pdf
On the other hand, I've got extras I could sell you.
www.aeroliftusa.com
Speedpup
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I had to remove some of the words to post it here, Full text here http://www.constructionequipment.com/article/CA6578277.html
Link from CEwriter
Certified for each brand your run?:beatsme Never heard that.
16' platform is illegal :beatsme
There is always an alternative to a platform on a telehandler.:beatsme So how can it ever be legal?
Since when does OSHA certify anything?
July 1, 2008
By Larry Stewart, Senior Editor
Today's jumbo work platforms will extend the telehandler's effective turn radius.
In this story:
* Study the load chart
* In the platform
Work platforms mounted on telehandlers offer an option for giving workers access to elevated tasks, but using the platform safely and productively is largely a matter of remembering the many things this equipment combination cannot do. Because they're not designed with the same safety equipment as an aerial work platform, telescopic handlers should only lift people to heights under limited conditions.
"Before you use a man basket on a telehandler, you have to remember that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B56.6 standard says to use it only if no other means of doing the work are feasible," says Gary Riley, president of Aerial Work Platform & Telehandler Training & Consulting (www.apt-training.com) in St. Louis, Mo. "If you have a job that a rough-terrain boom lift can do, then you need to get the boom in there."
Attempting to prevent people falling from forks or pallets, the industry created work platforms with approved guard rails and tie-off points and load charts for use with telehandlers. These platforms must be accompanied in the field by literature that proves their compliance with ANSI safety standards, and the telehandler manufacturer must approve the use of each specific work platform with its machines. (Not all manufacturers approve their telehandlers for lifting personnel, by the way. Those that do not will apply warning decals to their machines. Those warnings must be heeded regardless of whether or not the work platform in question meets safety standards.)
Inevitably, though, a work platform/telehandler combination is not the same as a rough-terrain personnel lift, and users must know and accept their limitations in order to work with them safely. The most obvious difference between the two forms of powered access, of course, is that the person in the platform doesn't have control of the machine.
The operations and safety manual for JLG's Telehandler Personnel Work Platform clearly states that an "Operator must remain in the cab and keep platform occupants in direct line of sight" any time the platform is in the air.
"Now that you're working at heights, you (the worker in the basket) must be in charge of your own destiny — you've got to be able to come down when you want to come down," says Riley. "Somebody has to be present at all times at the telehandler's controls because there are people in the basket. Safety standards don't directly say that (but it is implied)."
"AWPT (Aerial Work Platform Training) only supports use of telehandlers and work platforms with integrated controls on the platform," says Tony Grote, executive vice president of AWPT (www.awpt.org). AWPT is the North American subsidiary of the International Powered Access Federation (www.ipaf.org), a non-profit organization that promotes safe use of access equipment. "That way the operators themselves, in the platform, have control and they're operating in a similar fashion as an aerial lift."
Study the load chart
One of the reasons a maker must approve each model of work platform used with its telehandlers is that each combination requires a unique load chart. Allowable loads will be significantly less with a work platform than with forks because forklift capacity is typically rated using a 48-inch homogeneous cube. The load center is on the machine center line, 24 inches in front of the carriage and 24 inches up from the forks. The load center in an occupied work platform is always moving, and virtually always above and/or beyond the 24-inch load center of a homogeneous cube.
Jeff Stachowiak, national safety director for Sunbelt Rentals (www.sunbeltrentals.com/about/Safety/), uses a simple example to point out how much the position of the load center can alter a telehandler's capacity.
"You are operating a reach forklift with a 6,000-pound load rating according to the load chart in the cab. The load you are picking up is right in front of the forklift and you will not have to extend the boom to pick and place the load. The load weighs 5,000 pounds, but the load center is at 36 inches from the back of the forks." Stachowiak asks: "Can this lift make the lift?
"The correct answer is no. You can calculate the actual load on the forklift this way. A 6,000-pound rating times 24-inch load center equals 144,000 inch-pounds. Then 144,000 inch-pounds divided by 36-inch load center equals a 4,000-pound load limit. So this 6,000-pound forklift can only pick up 4,000 pounds if the load center is at 36 inches," Stachowiak explains. "This calculation works for all forklifts."
That's heavier than many telehandler operators expect a work platform to be. Problems arise most frequently with some bad operating habits.
As the boom angle diminishes, if the boom is not also retracted, the load descends in an arc, moving away from the center of the telehandler as it comes down. Vertical columns on the load chart indicate the load limits at various combinations of boom angle and boom extension. Simply booming down, the load will pass from one column on the load chart to the next farther away, always moving to lighter load limits. If the load in a work platform is near the telehandler's limit at height, it will overload the machine before it can be boomed to the ground. The telehandler will tip forward.
Finding out how much load is to be lifted is an operator's first priority. Certified platforms are labeled with their weight. If labels are lacking, transport drivers who haul the platform to the site can often tell you how much the platform weighs to within a hundred pounds or so.
Because of its oscillating rear axle, telehandlers work from a triangular base defined by lines drawn from the ground-contact patch of the front tires to the center point of the rear axle and the front axle. This not only means a telehandler is less stable than a machine with a rectangular footprint, but it also indicates that the machine becomes less stable as raising the boom pulls the machine and load's center of gravity to the rear.
.
"A telehandler doesn't have the safety features that a man lift has," says Bowman, referring to the tilt indicators that will lock out an aerial work platform's boom functions rather than allow an operator to raise the basket from an inclined base. Telehandlers rely on the operator to make the right call.
So the telehandler/work platform combination is restricted to maneuvering only when workers are out on the ground. When people are in the platform, the machine should be limited to boom functions.
"There's a lot of bounce built into that boom," says Bowman. "Even if you're just repositioning for a better angle on a lift, you need to bring the boom down, get the operator out on the ground, reposition the machine, and then try the lift again."
In the platform
Like boom-lift operators, occupants of the telehandler platform have to wear a full-body harness with a lanyard attached to an authorized lanyard anchorage point in the platform. Attach only one lanyard per anchorage point. This gear isn't fall protection, it is intended to keep workers from being catapulted out of the platform in the event of a sudden boom movement. A 4-foot or shorter lanyard is recommended to keep the person inside the guardrails.
People should not move from the platform to structures or vice versa when the boom is in the air unless it is absolutely necessary. When a transfer is necessary, it should happen through the platform gate, with the platform within 1 foot of a secure structure. OSHA requires 100-percent tie-off using two lanyards. One lanyard must be attached to the platform with the second lanyard attached to the structure. The lanyard connected to the platform should not be disconnected until the transfer to the structure is safe and complete.
Anyone on the platform must wear approved head gear (hardhats). Check clearances overhead, on the sides and bottom of platform when lifting or lowering. Always look in direction of movement.
"The telehandler driver has to have a certification card indicating that he is OSHA certified," says Bowman. "And the certifications are brand specific. You have to be certified for the brand machine you're using."
Pins that secure the platform to the forks should always be put in place before raising the platform. Those pins should be attached by cables or chain to the platform.
Operators working with large platforms should be aware that anything wider than eight feet will broaden the telehandler's effective swing radius through turns.
"A 16-foot platform extends the telehandler's turn radius to the left and the right because it is wider than the tires," says Bowman.
The carriage-tip function in the cab is off-limits when people are in the platform.
"The ANSI B56.6 standard says the only time you can use a forklift to lift personnel is when there is no other alternative. But there always is an alternative," says Stachowiak from Sunbelt, which does not rent telehandler platforms. "That's why they make boom lifts and scissor lifts."
Link from CEwriter
Certified for each brand your run?:beatsme Never heard that.
16' platform is illegal :beatsme
There is always an alternative to a platform on a telehandler.:beatsme So how can it ever be legal?
Since when does OSHA certify anything?
July 1, 2008
By Larry Stewart, Senior Editor
Today's jumbo work platforms will extend the telehandler's effective turn radius.
In this story:
* Study the load chart
* In the platform
Work platforms mounted on telehandlers offer an option for giving workers access to elevated tasks, but using the platform safely and productively is largely a matter of remembering the many things this equipment combination cannot do. Because they're not designed with the same safety equipment as an aerial work platform, telescopic handlers should only lift people to heights under limited conditions.
"Before you use a man basket on a telehandler, you have to remember that the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B56.6 standard says to use it only if no other means of doing the work are feasible," says Gary Riley, president of Aerial Work Platform & Telehandler Training & Consulting (www.apt-training.com) in St. Louis, Mo. "If you have a job that a rough-terrain boom lift can do, then you need to get the boom in there."
Attempting to prevent people falling from forks or pallets, the industry created work platforms with approved guard rails and tie-off points and load charts for use with telehandlers. These platforms must be accompanied in the field by literature that proves their compliance with ANSI safety standards, and the telehandler manufacturer must approve the use of each specific work platform with its machines. (Not all manufacturers approve their telehandlers for lifting personnel, by the way. Those that do not will apply warning decals to their machines. Those warnings must be heeded regardless of whether or not the work platform in question meets safety standards.)
Inevitably, though, a work platform/telehandler combination is not the same as a rough-terrain personnel lift, and users must know and accept their limitations in order to work with them safely. The most obvious difference between the two forms of powered access, of course, is that the person in the platform doesn't have control of the machine.
The operations and safety manual for JLG's Telehandler Personnel Work Platform clearly states that an "Operator must remain in the cab and keep platform occupants in direct line of sight" any time the platform is in the air.
"Now that you're working at heights, you (the worker in the basket) must be in charge of your own destiny — you've got to be able to come down when you want to come down," says Riley. "Somebody has to be present at all times at the telehandler's controls because there are people in the basket. Safety standards don't directly say that (but it is implied)."
"AWPT (Aerial Work Platform Training) only supports use of telehandlers and work platforms with integrated controls on the platform," says Tony Grote, executive vice president of AWPT (www.awpt.org). AWPT is the North American subsidiary of the International Powered Access Federation (www.ipaf.org), a non-profit organization that promotes safe use of access equipment. "That way the operators themselves, in the platform, have control and they're operating in a similar fashion as an aerial lift."
Study the load chart
One of the reasons a maker must approve each model of work platform used with its telehandlers is that each combination requires a unique load chart. Allowable loads will be significantly less with a work platform than with forks because forklift capacity is typically rated using a 48-inch homogeneous cube. The load center is on the machine center line, 24 inches in front of the carriage and 24 inches up from the forks. The load center in an occupied work platform is always moving, and virtually always above and/or beyond the 24-inch load center of a homogeneous cube.
Jeff Stachowiak, national safety director for Sunbelt Rentals (www.sunbeltrentals.com/about/Safety/), uses a simple example to point out how much the position of the load center can alter a telehandler's capacity.
"You are operating a reach forklift with a 6,000-pound load rating according to the load chart in the cab. The load you are picking up is right in front of the forklift and you will not have to extend the boom to pick and place the load. The load weighs 5,000 pounds, but the load center is at 36 inches from the back of the forks." Stachowiak asks: "Can this lift make the lift?
"The correct answer is no. You can calculate the actual load on the forklift this way. A 6,000-pound rating times 24-inch load center equals 144,000 inch-pounds. Then 144,000 inch-pounds divided by 36-inch load center equals a 4,000-pound load limit. So this 6,000-pound forklift can only pick up 4,000 pounds if the load center is at 36 inches," Stachowiak explains. "This calculation works for all forklifts."
That's heavier than many telehandler operators expect a work platform to be. Problems arise most frequently with some bad operating habits.
As the boom angle diminishes, if the boom is not also retracted, the load descends in an arc, moving away from the center of the telehandler as it comes down. Vertical columns on the load chart indicate the load limits at various combinations of boom angle and boom extension. Simply booming down, the load will pass from one column on the load chart to the next farther away, always moving to lighter load limits. If the load in a work platform is near the telehandler's limit at height, it will overload the machine before it can be boomed to the ground. The telehandler will tip forward.
Finding out how much load is to be lifted is an operator's first priority. Certified platforms are labeled with their weight. If labels are lacking, transport drivers who haul the platform to the site can often tell you how much the platform weighs to within a hundred pounds or so.
Because of its oscillating rear axle, telehandlers work from a triangular base defined by lines drawn from the ground-contact patch of the front tires to the center point of the rear axle and the front axle. This not only means a telehandler is less stable than a machine with a rectangular footprint, but it also indicates that the machine becomes less stable as raising the boom pulls the machine and load's center of gravity to the rear.
.
"A telehandler doesn't have the safety features that a man lift has," says Bowman, referring to the tilt indicators that will lock out an aerial work platform's boom functions rather than allow an operator to raise the basket from an inclined base. Telehandlers rely on the operator to make the right call.
So the telehandler/work platform combination is restricted to maneuvering only when workers are out on the ground. When people are in the platform, the machine should be limited to boom functions.
"There's a lot of bounce built into that boom," says Bowman. "Even if you're just repositioning for a better angle on a lift, you need to bring the boom down, get the operator out on the ground, reposition the machine, and then try the lift again."
In the platform
Like boom-lift operators, occupants of the telehandler platform have to wear a full-body harness with a lanyard attached to an authorized lanyard anchorage point in the platform. Attach only one lanyard per anchorage point. This gear isn't fall protection, it is intended to keep workers from being catapulted out of the platform in the event of a sudden boom movement. A 4-foot or shorter lanyard is recommended to keep the person inside the guardrails.
People should not move from the platform to structures or vice versa when the boom is in the air unless it is absolutely necessary. When a transfer is necessary, it should happen through the platform gate, with the platform within 1 foot of a secure structure. OSHA requires 100-percent tie-off using two lanyards. One lanyard must be attached to the platform with the second lanyard attached to the structure. The lanyard connected to the platform should not be disconnected until the transfer to the structure is safe and complete.
Anyone on the platform must wear approved head gear (hardhats). Check clearances overhead, on the sides and bottom of platform when lifting or lowering. Always look in direction of movement.
"The telehandler driver has to have a certification card indicating that he is OSHA certified," says Bowman. "And the certifications are brand specific. You have to be certified for the brand machine you're using."
Pins that secure the platform to the forks should always be put in place before raising the platform. Those pins should be attached by cables or chain to the platform.
Operators working with large platforms should be aware that anything wider than eight feet will broaden the telehandler's effective swing radius through turns.
"A 16-foot platform extends the telehandler's turn radius to the left and the right because it is wider than the tires," says Bowman.
The carriage-tip function in the cab is off-limits when people are in the platform.
"The ANSI B56.6 standard says the only time you can use a forklift to lift personnel is when there is no other alternative. But there always is an alternative," says Stachowiak from Sunbelt, which does not rent telehandler platforms. "That's why they make boom lifts and scissor lifts."
Last edited:
Speedpup
Senior Member
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I see making one could be a huge problem and liability.
I would have to prove it meets the standards which may be tough.It also says that you have to disable the function of a rotating carriage before use,:beatsme
Last edited:
willie59
Administrator
Thought I'd throw something else in here about telehandlers with a platform. I don't know if it's a regulation, or just something a contractor required on a particular job, but a couple of years ago I had a contractor that was told he couldn't use his tele platform because the men in the basket had no way of disabling the machine in case it did something weird. I simply installed an emergency e-stop button at the platform that was connected to the engine fuel shutoff. If something went wrong, the men in the platform simply hit the e-stop and killed the machine engine. This allowed them to use the platform on the site.
Speedpup
Senior Member
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November 27, 2001
Mr. Mark W. Monson, CSP
General Casualty
10400 Viking Drive, Suite 300
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Re: §§1926.451(c)(2)(iv) and (v) and 1926.602(c)
Dear Mr. Monson:
This responds to your January 3, 2000, letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in which you ask several questions regarding the use of rough-terrain forklifts (powered industrial trucks) for lifting personnel in a platform. You ask which requirements must be followed by a contractor using a rough-terrain forklift for lifting personnel in a platform, and if there are any specific requirements other than those found in §1926.602. We apologize for the long delay in providing this response.
In short, requirements for the use of lifting and hauling equipment for material handling in construction, such as rough-terrain forklifts are set out in §1926.602(c). In addition, OSHA's construction standards for scaffolds (Subpart L of 29 CFR Part 1926, §§1926.451-1926.454 and Appendices A-E) also contain requirements that protect employees working on platforms elevated by forklift trucks. We explain these in detail below.
In OSHA's forklift standard, under §1926.602(c)(1)(vi), the designs of all industrial trucks used by an employer are required to meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B56.1-1969, Safety Standards for Powered Industrial Trucks. Paragraph (c) of §1926.602 was first published as an OSHA standard in 1971. OSHA has not undertaken rulemaking to revise §1926.602(c). However, in 1993, paragraph (viii) was added to §1926.602(c)(1) as part of an administrative rulemaking to codify existing applicable general industry standards as construction standards. That paragraph, ((c)(1)(viii), is derived from section 603.L of ANSI B56.1-1969), sets out additional precautions for the protection of personnel being elevated by a powered industrial truck.
As mentioned above, other construction standards (besides §1926.602(c)) contain requirements to protect employees working on platforms. In Subpart L, the standard for scaffolds, the term "platform" is defined as "a work surface elevated above lower levels." Therefore, §§1926.451, 1926.452 and 1926.454 of OSHA's standards for scaffolds would be applicable for capacity, construction, access, use, fall protection, and training.
Note that, under §1926.451(c)(2)(iv), the standard states that front-end loaders and "similar pieces of equipment" shall not be used to support scaffold platforms unless specifically designed by the manufacturer for such use. The next paragraph (§1926.451(c)(2)(v)) specifically addresses forklifts used to support scaffold platforms, stating that the entire platform must be attached to the fork, and that the forklift is not to be moved horizontally while the platform is occupied.
In the Preamble to Subpart L, published in the August 30, 1996, Federal Register, OSHA discussed comments that asked if the Agency "should prohibit the use of cranes, derricks, forklifts, front-end loaders, and similar pieces of equipment for the support of scaffold platforms [emphasis added]." At the end of that discussion, in explaining our findings leading to the promulgation of the final standard, we stated:
OSHA finds there is insufficient reason to totally ban the use of forklifts, front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment as scaffold supports. OSHA notes that the commenters are in general agreement that all equipment not specifically designed to support scaffold platforms must not be used....
* * * * *
All supported scaffolds, including those supported by forklifts, front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment, must comply with the applicable requirements of §1926.451 for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection [emphasis added].
(Quotation from 61 FR 46044, August 30, 1996)
In construction, powered industrial trucks, which include rough terrain forklifts, are "similar pieces of equipment" to forklifts and front end loaders in this context. Therefore, they fall within the requirements of §1926.451(c)(2)(iv) and (v), along with the other requirements of that section for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection. So, in response to your query whether a contractor can field-design a personnel platform for a rough terrain forklift, use of such a platform is permitted only if the machine supporting the personnel platform was designed for that purpose and both the machine and platform meet the requirements in §1926.451 for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection.
If the manufacturer's operator manual states that a forklift is not to be used for elevating personnel platforms, use of the equipment to support such a platform would violate this provision. Consequently, OSHA prohibits the use of such equipment to elevate personnel. If the owner's manual for the equipment is silent on whether the equipment may be used to elevate personnel, the employer must determine if the forklift was designed for such purposes. The standard places the obligation on the employer to ensure that this type of equipment is used to elevate personnel only where the manufacturer has designed it to do so. The employer would either have to find out from the manufacturer that it was designed for this use or (where that information is unavailable) obtain a certification by a registered professional engineer that the equipment was so designed.
Your letter also mentions that you have been told the basket [that is, the platform for elevating personnel] must not extend more than 10 inches beyond the wheelbase of the machine in use. This is correct. That requirement is found in the ANSI B56.6-1992, Safety Standards for Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks. Paragraph 8.25.1(b) of B56.6-1992 refers to 10 inches (250 mm) as a limit for the distance, greater than the overall width of the truck, beyond which the platform is not [to be designed] to exceed.
As discussed above, OSHA's standards for the use of lifting and hauling equipment for material handling in construction, such as rough-terrain forklifts, set out in §1926.602(c), require that provisions in ANSI B56.1-1969 be met. Other than for §1926.602(d), which addresses operator training, we have not incorporated the ANSI B56.6-1992 as an OSHA construction standard. However, under §1926.451(a)(1) of the scaffold standard, the machine must "be capable of supporting, without failure, its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load applied or transmitted to it." If the rated capacity of the machine with the platform is based on this 10-inch (250-mm) limitation, then this provision of the scaffold standard would prohibit exceeding that limitation. In addition, under §1926.451(a)(6), scaffolds must be "designed by a qualified person and shall be constructed and loaded in accordance with that design." If the manufacturer of the machine has designed it with this 10-inch limitation, then it would also be a violation of §1926.451(a)(6) to exceed it.
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again by writing to: OSHA - [Directorate of Construction, Office of Construction Standards and Guidance], Rm. N3468, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.
Sincerely,
Mr. Mark W. Monson, CSP
General Casualty
10400 Viking Drive, Suite 300
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Re: §§1926.451(c)(2)(iv) and (v) and 1926.602(c)
Dear Mr. Monson:
This responds to your January 3, 2000, letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in which you ask several questions regarding the use of rough-terrain forklifts (powered industrial trucks) for lifting personnel in a platform. You ask which requirements must be followed by a contractor using a rough-terrain forklift for lifting personnel in a platform, and if there are any specific requirements other than those found in §1926.602. We apologize for the long delay in providing this response.
In short, requirements for the use of lifting and hauling equipment for material handling in construction, such as rough-terrain forklifts are set out in §1926.602(c). In addition, OSHA's construction standards for scaffolds (Subpart L of 29 CFR Part 1926, §§1926.451-1926.454 and Appendices A-E) also contain requirements that protect employees working on platforms elevated by forklift trucks. We explain these in detail below.
In OSHA's forklift standard, under §1926.602(c)(1)(vi), the designs of all industrial trucks used by an employer are required to meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B56.1-1969, Safety Standards for Powered Industrial Trucks. Paragraph (c) of §1926.602 was first published as an OSHA standard in 1971. OSHA has not undertaken rulemaking to revise §1926.602(c). However, in 1993, paragraph (viii) was added to §1926.602(c)(1) as part of an administrative rulemaking to codify existing applicable general industry standards as construction standards. That paragraph, ((c)(1)(viii), is derived from section 603.L of ANSI B56.1-1969), sets out additional precautions for the protection of personnel being elevated by a powered industrial truck.
As mentioned above, other construction standards (besides §1926.602(c)) contain requirements to protect employees working on platforms. In Subpart L, the standard for scaffolds, the term "platform" is defined as "a work surface elevated above lower levels." Therefore, §§1926.451, 1926.452 and 1926.454 of OSHA's standards for scaffolds would be applicable for capacity, construction, access, use, fall protection, and training.
Note that, under §1926.451(c)(2)(iv), the standard states that front-end loaders and "similar pieces of equipment" shall not be used to support scaffold platforms unless specifically designed by the manufacturer for such use. The next paragraph (§1926.451(c)(2)(v)) specifically addresses forklifts used to support scaffold platforms, stating that the entire platform must be attached to the fork, and that the forklift is not to be moved horizontally while the platform is occupied.
In the Preamble to Subpart L, published in the August 30, 1996, Federal Register, OSHA discussed comments that asked if the Agency "should prohibit the use of cranes, derricks, forklifts, front-end loaders, and similar pieces of equipment for the support of scaffold platforms [emphasis added]." At the end of that discussion, in explaining our findings leading to the promulgation of the final standard, we stated:
OSHA finds there is insufficient reason to totally ban the use of forklifts, front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment as scaffold supports. OSHA notes that the commenters are in general agreement that all equipment not specifically designed to support scaffold platforms must not be used....
* * * * *
All supported scaffolds, including those supported by forklifts, front-end loaders and similar pieces of equipment, must comply with the applicable requirements of §1926.451 for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection [emphasis added].
(Quotation from 61 FR 46044, August 30, 1996)
In construction, powered industrial trucks, which include rough terrain forklifts, are "similar pieces of equipment" to forklifts and front end loaders in this context. Therefore, they fall within the requirements of §1926.451(c)(2)(iv) and (v), along with the other requirements of that section for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection. So, in response to your query whether a contractor can field-design a personnel platform for a rough terrain forklift, use of such a platform is permitted only if the machine supporting the personnel platform was designed for that purpose and both the machine and platform meet the requirements in §1926.451 for capacity, construction, access, use, and fall protection.
If the manufacturer's operator manual states that a forklift is not to be used for elevating personnel platforms, use of the equipment to support such a platform would violate this provision. Consequently, OSHA prohibits the use of such equipment to elevate personnel. If the owner's manual for the equipment is silent on whether the equipment may be used to elevate personnel, the employer must determine if the forklift was designed for such purposes. The standard places the obligation on the employer to ensure that this type of equipment is used to elevate personnel only where the manufacturer has designed it to do so. The employer would either have to find out from the manufacturer that it was designed for this use or (where that information is unavailable) obtain a certification by a registered professional engineer that the equipment was so designed.
Your letter also mentions that you have been told the basket [that is, the platform for elevating personnel] must not extend more than 10 inches beyond the wheelbase of the machine in use. This is correct. That requirement is found in the ANSI B56.6-1992, Safety Standards for Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks. Paragraph 8.25.1(b) of B56.6-1992 refers to 10 inches (250 mm) as a limit for the distance, greater than the overall width of the truck, beyond which the platform is not [to be designed] to exceed.
As discussed above, OSHA's standards for the use of lifting and hauling equipment for material handling in construction, such as rough-terrain forklifts, set out in §1926.602(c), require that provisions in ANSI B56.1-1969 be met. Other than for §1926.602(d), which addresses operator training, we have not incorporated the ANSI B56.6-1992 as an OSHA construction standard. However, under §1926.451(a)(1) of the scaffold standard, the machine must "be capable of supporting, without failure, its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load applied or transmitted to it." If the rated capacity of the machine with the platform is based on this 10-inch (250-mm) limitation, then this provision of the scaffold standard would prohibit exceeding that limitation. In addition, under §1926.451(a)(6), scaffolds must be "designed by a qualified person and shall be constructed and loaded in accordance with that design." If the manufacturer of the machine has designed it with this 10-inch limitation, then it would also be a violation of §1926.451(a)(6) to exceed it.
If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again by writing to: OSHA - [Directorate of Construction, Office of Construction Standards and Guidance], Rm. N3468, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.
Sincerely,
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jstachowiak
Member
Simple answer
OSHA requires that any attachment has to be identified on the ID plate or load chart. Therefore any attachment has to be approved by the manufacturer of the forklift and the manufacturers will only approve attachments that they make and will not authorize third party attachments.
Unfortunately many do not find out this info until after a fatality.
Forklifts are "Material Lifts" and not Personnel Lifts. Also a very simple answer.
Please don't over complicate this very important topic, people's lives are at stake.
OSHA requires that any attachment has to be identified on the ID plate or load chart. Therefore any attachment has to be approved by the manufacturer of the forklift and the manufacturers will only approve attachments that they make and will not authorize third party attachments.
Unfortunately many do not find out this info until after a fatality.
Forklifts are "Material Lifts" and not Personnel Lifts. Also a very simple answer.
Please don't over complicate this very important topic, people's lives are at stake.
jstachowiak
Member
Additionally
Just to expound on the previous post, I just left the American Rental Assoc. show in Orlando and spoke with JLG (makers of Lull, Skytrk, JLG, Gradall and Catepillar telehandlers) and Genie (makers of Terex, Square Shooter and Genie telehandlers) and asked each one if they would authorize any of the third party attachment companies products being shown at the same show to be used on their forklifts and their answer was "NO!"
Each and every capacity number on a load chart or ID plate has to be tested per the B56.1 and B56.6 standards by the manufacturer and a third party testing laboratory like UL. Therefore it is costly and time consuming to do this testing for every possible attachment out there.
Additionally per B56.1 and B56.6 standards forklifts are designed and tested to pick up a 48" x 48" x 48" cube with the load laterally and vertically centered in the cube, 24" load center or center of gravity. A personnel basket of any length outside 48" would be a problem based on this design. Be that the load owuld be a live load moving around the platform.
Just to expound on the previous post, I just left the American Rental Assoc. show in Orlando and spoke with JLG (makers of Lull, Skytrk, JLG, Gradall and Catepillar telehandlers) and Genie (makers of Terex, Square Shooter and Genie telehandlers) and asked each one if they would authorize any of the third party attachment companies products being shown at the same show to be used on their forklifts and their answer was "NO!"
Each and every capacity number on a load chart or ID plate has to be tested per the B56.1 and B56.6 standards by the manufacturer and a third party testing laboratory like UL. Therefore it is costly and time consuming to do this testing for every possible attachment out there.
Additionally per B56.1 and B56.6 standards forklifts are designed and tested to pick up a 48" x 48" x 48" cube with the load laterally and vertically centered in the cube, 24" load center or center of gravity. A personnel basket of any length outside 48" would be a problem based on this design. Be that the load owuld be a live load moving around the platform.
jstachowiak
Member
48 x 48 x 48 load
I agree it is pretty obsurd to me too. I'm just the messenger.
The key is centering the load on the forks to balance it. Can't balance a man basket/platform with workers moving around.
The really obsurd thing is the 24" load center out from the back of the forks. How many times do you have a 24" load center.
The industry (ASME/ANSI B56.1 and B56.6) needs to address additional load centers. I think they are very far behind the explosion of construction forklifts being used.
Because we buy so many forklifts I worked with Komatsu (warehouse forks) and they gave us 36" and 72" load center ID plates on our newer forklifts we purchased.
I agree it is pretty obsurd to me too. I'm just the messenger.
The key is centering the load on the forks to balance it. Can't balance a man basket/platform with workers moving around.
The really obsurd thing is the 24" load center out from the back of the forks. How many times do you have a 24" load center.
The industry (ASME/ANSI B56.1 and B56.6) needs to address additional load centers. I think they are very far behind the explosion of construction forklifts being used.
Because we buy so many forklifts I worked with Komatsu (warehouse forks) and they gave us 36" and 72" load center ID plates on our newer forklifts we purchased.
jstachowiak
Member
JLG man basket
JLG makes a man basket with the additional load chart and operating manual (which must be with the forklift when being used) to make money.
The instruction manual states what OSHA says, no one can be in the man basket when the forklift is being moved. Which if followed makes its use useless and time consuming.
JLG makes a man basket with the additional load chart and operating manual (which must be with the forklift when being used) to make money.
The instruction manual states what OSHA says, no one can be in the man basket when the forklift is being moved. Which if followed makes its use useless and time consuming.
Speedpup
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Man basket is still very useful to me even if they have to get out of it when moving. If I have to get back up to clean or patch it beats building a scafflod or renting a lift for a few hours works or a day. Tried to call OSHA today but they were all gone a 3:30 pm
When I called JLG to buy one a few months ago they had now and it was a 4 week wait to get one.
The whole thing is very confusing and needs clarification. I have no clue why companies make a basket you can't use and why they were making 16' platforms.
I have not seen them around NY but I see many machines in CA with 5' forks so I guess they are off load centers.
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