If you are responsible for any forklift operations, being aware of OSHA forklift regulations is a necessity. Not only is it legally mandated that you adhere to all guidelines stipulated by OSHA, but it is generally a good practice. By adhering to their regulations, you will maintain a safer operating environment, minimizing the likelihood of injury to your staff, as well as damage of the goods and materials in your warehouse. The basic guidelines are easy to find on the web, and contacting your local OSHA representative for a paper copy is simple, too. There is no excuse to operate your equipment outside of the regulations.
Basic OSHA forklift regulations include understanding:
• Physical Conditions in your Plant
• Pedestrian Traffic Regulations
• Operating on Ramps and Grades
• Operating On and Around Loading Docks
• Operating in Narrow Aisles
• Operating on Elevators
• Operating on Enclosed and Hazardous Areas
• Pre-operation Inspections and Maintenance
• Proper Techniques for Traveling and Maneuvering
• Load Handling
• Protecting Workers and Preventing Injuries
• Basic Types of Forklifts and Proper Usage of Each
• Proper Power Sources and Associated Safety Precautions
• Understanding the Parts of the Forklift and their Functions
As you can see, there is a lot of information to take into consideration when looking at OSHA forklift regulations. One of the most important is ensuring that you are transporting the right type and size load for the forklift you are using. Choosing the wrong tool for the job is not only dangerous, but it leaves your company at risk of violating OSHA regulations. In order to make sure you choose the right forklift for the job, you need to maintain proper specifications on the data plate. These specifications should be updated regularly.
Updating your data plate (also known as a name plate) is often complicated, requiring intense, manual calculations. These calculations must take into consideration a number of factors, including the forklift model, tires installed, the mast, the carriage, the sideshift distance, the rotational torque, the horizontal and vertical load center, the attachment specification, and the fork specifications. Of course, having access to the manufacturer's published specifications can help when performing these calculations, but ensuring that your data is up to date can be difficult. Manually performing these calculations is also prone to human error, which can lead to misinformation being printed on the data plate, leading to an improper application of the forklift for the chosen load. The people in charge of OSHA forklift regulations are not forgiving of these mistakes.
Instead, make sure you are always in compliance with OSHA forklift regulations by using a tool to calculate your truck load capacity and obtaining a certification letter from a registered professional engineer. Tools such as the one provided on LiftTruckCapacityCalculator.com not only take the manufacturer's published specifications into consideration, but it can also handle custom attachments and modifications with an easy to use interface. Don't risk the safety of your staff and equipment on error-prone human calculations. Instead, check out the calculator mentioned in this guide and save yourself a lot of time and trouble. |
There are a multitude of factors that affect the lifting capacity of a forklift and these parameters, which are indicated on the capacity data plate, include:
- Make or Manufacturer
- Model
- Power Source
- Battery Weight (for electrics)
- Tire Type
- Tire Size
- Mast Lift Height
- Mast Carriage Type
- Attachment(s) Type
- Attachment(s) model
- Load Center of Gravity (CG or LC)
If any of these parameters are changed, particularly the attachments on the forklift carriage or the load center, the capacity plate should be checked for accuracy to ensure safe load handling.
Forklift attachments include anything that is attached to the front carriage of a forklift or is attached to an attachment on the forklift. A typical forklift attachment configuration might include a hang-on side shifter and two forks. In this case, if the forks are removed and longer forks are added, the capacity of the machine could be drastically reduced. Or if the forklift is used to pick up a fork mounted attachment, such as a drum handler or fork extensions, then a capacity data plate must be changed or added to reflect the new configuration. OSHA forklift safety regulations state that a forklift must have a legible capacity plate to reflect any attachment used on the lift.
Lift height or maximum fork height (MFH) has a significant effect on a forklift’s load carrying capacity, and forklifts with high masts will have a greater carrying capacity at lower lift heights than at the maximum lift height. For this reason forklifts with very high masts may have a dual capacity rating on the data plate; a maximum capacity up to a mid level lift height, and a lower capacity rating at the maximum lift height. This allows the forklift operator to work with heavier loads at low heights, i.e. loading and unloading trucks, cross-docking, etc., while using the same forklift to put away lighter loads to high storage locations.
Because a forklift is using leverage to lift a load, any condition that adds weight to the front of the forklift and causes the load center (LC or CG) of the load to be moved further away from the forklift will contribute to a reduction in the residual carrying capacity of the machine. Forklift attachments can cause these reductions, as well as the dimensions of the load and the load handling conditions. Load center typically refers to the horizontal distance to the load CG and is typically half the length of the load for symmetrical objects. To illustrate how attachments and load CG’s can affect residual carrying capacity, consider for example that a particular forklift with only forks on the carriage is rated at 5,000 lb capacity @ 24” load center on the data plate. This forklift will only be rated at 1,270 lb when equipped with a particular 8 foot long fork mounted jib boom because the boom adds weight and moves the load center out to 96 inches. In this case the forklift may employ a dual load center capacity rating on the capacity plate indicating a greater lifting capacity (2,750 lb) at a 4 foot load center and a lower capacity (1,270 lb) at the 8 foot load center.
Small changes in load center can also greatly affect the carrying capacity. Consider the capacity of the same 5,000 lb forklift with 48” forks and rated at a 24” load center, drops to 3,660 lbs when 72” fork extensions are employed to lift a 6 foot long load.
The main thing to consider is that every forklift has a legible capacity plate that accurately reflects the attachment configuration being used at the correct load center for the load being lifted and contact Professional Forklift Engineering Services at www.LiftTruckCapacityCalculator.com to check your lift capacity and get a professional engineering (PE) certified capacity rating plate on your forklift today.
"Employers who are cited for repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to workplace safety and health standards. Deficient forklifts and improperly handled chemicals can lead to serious injuries or death,"said Diane Turek, director of OSHA's Chicago North office in Des Plaines. "All employers must take the necessary steps to eliminate hazards from the workplace."
Four repeat violations with proposed penalties of $132,000 have been cited,including exposing workers to hazards by allowing them to operate forklifts that remained in service even after deficiencies were noted; exposing workers' eyes, faces and hands to corrosive chemicals without providing suitable eyewash facilities; and failing to develop an emergency response plan and conduct fire extinguisher training. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The company was cited for the same violations at numerous facilities between 2006 and 2011.
Central Transport also has been cited for eight serious violations with proposed penalties of $30,800, including failing to train and evaluate forklift drivers, maintain forklift name plates in legible condition, label hazardous material containers, maintain the mechanic shop maintenance area in a dry condition, provide workers with training on hazardous chemicals and provide material data safety sheets for workers' reference. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Finally, the company has been cited for five other-than-serious violations with $2,000 in proposed penalties for failing to maintain the OSHA 300 injury and illness log, maintain fire extinguishers, illuminate exit signs and unlock a fire exit door. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
The citations can be viewed at http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/CentralTransport_77120_1205_11.pdf*.
Central Transport, a national freight company based in Warren, Mich., has 15 business days from receipt of the citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's Chicago North area director in Des Plaines or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Chicago North office at 847-803-4800.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
