• Dockboards are considered walking-working surfaces and must comply with OSHA’s requirements.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Walking-Working Surfaces standards at 29 CFR 1910 Subpart D contain requirements for dockboards. Dockboard means a portable or fixed device that spans a gap or compensates for a difference in elevation between a loading platform and a transport vehicle (e.g., trucks, trailers, semi-trailers, and rail cars). Dockboards include, but are not limited to, bridge plates, dock plates, and dock levelers.

Specifically, the standards require the following under 1910.26:

• Portable and powered dockboards must be strong enough to carry the maximum intended load — the total load of all workers, equipment, vehicles, tools, materials, and other loads that the employer “reasonably anticipates” to be applied to the dockboard surface at one time.
• Dockboards put into initial service on or after January 17, 2017, must be designed, constructed, and maintained to prevent transfer vehicles from running off the dockboard edge. (When the employer demonstrates there is no hazard of transfer vehicles running off the dockboard edge, the employer may use dockboards that do not have run-off protection.)
• Portable dockboards must be secured in position, either by being anchored or equipped with devices which will prevent their slipping. (When the employer demonstrates that securing the dockboard is not feasible, there must be sufficient contact between the dockboard and the surface to prevent the dockboard from moving out of a safe position.)
• Handholds, or other effective means, must be provided on portable dockboards to permit safe handling.
• Measures, such as wheel chocks or sand shoes, must be used to prevent the transport vehicle (e.g., a truck, semi-trailer, trailer, or rail car) on which a dockboard is placed, from moving while employees are on the dockboard.

Load capacity

A dockboard evaluation helps employers determine if their dockboards can support the maximum intended load. The maximum intended load (weight and force) includes all employees, equipment, vehicles, tools, materials, and other loads reasonably anticipated. The term maximum intended load refers not only to total loads currently applied to a walking-working surface, such as a dockboard, but also to total loads that the employer has a “reasonable anticipation” will be placed on the walking-working surface.

Employers must decide, based on the maximum intended load, what structural material must be used to construct a dockboard. For example, portable dockboards that only need to support lightweight loads moved by a hand truck could be made from aluminum. On the other hand, steel may be needed to construct a portable dockboard that will have to support the weight of a motorized pallet jack, load, and employee.

The dockboard load requirement applies to all dockboards that employees use, regardless of whether the employer or some other entity owns or provides the dockboard; whether the dockboard is portable, fixed, powered, or manual; or whether the employer uses the dockboard as a bridge to a transport vehicle.

Preventing run-offs

All dockboards put into service on or after January 17, 2017, must comply with the requirements of OSHA’s Walking-Working Surfaces standards. This includes designing, constructing, and maintaining them to prevent transfer vehicles from running off the dockboard edge. Examples of run-off protection may include run-off protection, guards, or curbs.

OSHA believes this provision (for dockboards put into service for the first time on or after January 17, 2017) is necessary to protect employees. A transfer vehicle that runs off the side of a dockboard could kill or injure employees working on or near it. For example, forklifts used to load items onto a transport vehicle could seriously injure or kill the operator and nearby employees if the forklift runs off the side of the dockboard.

However, OSHA offers two exceptions to the run-off protection requirement:

• The employer can demonstrate there is no hazard of forklifts or other transfer vehicles running off the dockboard edge. OSHA explains that run-off protection is not necessary when there is insufficient space for equipment to run off the side of the dockboard. Therefore, employers should evaluate whether a particular opening poses a hazard, including considering factors such as the type and size of transfer vehicle the employee is using.
• The dockboard was in service before January 17, 2017. Employers do not have to replace or retrofit dockboards if the were in use back then.

Note that dockboards are considered walking-working surfaces, and employers are required to evaluate them for fall hazards. If it is determined that a fall hazard exists, the employer must utilize some form of fall protection to protect employees from falls.

Securing the dockboard

OSHA also requires employers to secure portable dockboards by anchoring them in place or using equipment or devices to prevent the dockboard from moving out of a safe position. If the employer does not securely anchor the dockboard or equip it with a device that prevents movement, it could slide or drop off of the loading platform or transport vehicle, and the employee could fall. Employees also could fall if the dockboard moves or slides while they are on it. In addition, failure to secure a dockboard could expose employees to crush or caught-in hazards if the dockboard moves, and pins or strikes the employee, or causes the load the employee is moving to shift or fall against the employee.

The regulation specifies that, when the employer can demonstrate that it is not feasible to secure the dockboard, the employer must ensure that there is sufficient contact between the dockboard and the surface to prevent it from moving out of a safe position. What constitutes an adequate overlap may involve a number of factors that employers need to determine on a case-by-case basis.

Handholds or other handling means

Employers must equip portable dockboards with handholds or other means that permit employees to safely handle the dockboard. Handholds and other means of gripping enable employees to move and place dockboards without injuring themselves or others. If employees cannot handle or grip a dockboard safely, they could drop it on their feet, crush their fingers while putting the dockboard into place, or fall. Handholds also make it possible to place dockboards into the proper position (e.g., with adequate overlap in a secure position), so the dockboards will be safe for employees to use.

When portable dockboards will be moved mechanically, OSHA suggests the use of effective means, such as forklift loops or lugs.

Dockboard training

OSHA considers a dockboard to be equipment under 1910.30 and requires that employers train each employee in the proper care, inspection, storage, and use of a dockboard before the initial use of it. Each employee who uses a dockboard must also be trained in proper placement and how to secure the dockboard to prevent movement.