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 workers, equipment, vehicles, tools, materials, and other loads reasonably anticipated at one time. 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 handtruck 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 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.

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.

Wheel chocks or sand shoes

If a transport vehicle moves when an employee is on a dockboard, the sudden movement may cause the employee to fall off the dockboard, or the dockboard may be displaced and fall to the ground along with the employee. Therefore, the OSHA regulation at 1910.26(d) requires measures, such as wheel chocks or sand shoes, to be used to prevent the transport vehicle (e.g., a truck, semi-trailer, trailer, or rail car) from moving while dockboards are in place and employees are using them.

The regulation gives employers flexibility in selecting measures to prevent the transport vehicle from moving. The catch is that employers must ensure whatever measures they use are effective in preventing movement, regardless of the type of transport vehicle the employer is loading/unloading. For example, for wheel chocks, which are one of the most frequently used measures to prevent transport vehicles from moving, the size of the transport vehicle wheel determines the size of the wheel chock that will be effective to prevent the vehicle from moving.

At the same time, there are some jurisdictional issues with the Department of Transportation (DOT) parking-brake requirement, which that agency deems appropriate to prohibit movement of vehicles during all loading conditions. Specifically, DOT regulates interstate transportation of “commercial motor vehicles” (CMVs) traveling on public roads; thus, pursuant to section 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, OSHA is preempted in that situation.

However, DOT regulations do not apply to transport vehicles that do not meet the definition of CMV, do not operate in interstate transportation, or are not used on public roads. OSHA continues to have authority over:

• Transport vehicles that do not meet the definition of CMV; and
• CMVs not operated in interstate commerce, which includes CMVs that transport materials on private roads or within a work establishment.

In fact, OSHA has the authority to enforce chocking requirements in these situations that are not covered by DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). OSHA believes paragraph 1910.26(d) is necessary because not all transport vehicles are CMVs or used on public roads. For example, employers use transport vehicles to move material and equipment within their facilities. In addition, most transport vehicles are loaded and unloaded off public roads.

Furthermore, because the FMCSA parking-brake regulations do not apply to employers that do not own, operate, or lease CMVs, OSHA is not pre-empted from enforcing standards requiring such employers to take precautions to protect their employees, such as forklift operators, from the movement of trailers.

Note that the OSHA jurisdictional limits pursuant to section 4(b)(1) of the OSH Act and relevant case law are not directly applicable to the OSHA state-plan states. The 22 state plans covering the private sector are not required to have a provision equivalent to section 4(b)(1) in their state enabling legislation and may have different statutory language regarding overlap of jurisdictional authority with other federal agencies. If a state does not honor the federal jurisdictional limitations, it would be expected to litigate any challenges to its exercise of a broader authority to establish its own body of relevant case law.

For further information, see the OSHA letters of interpretation on chocking dated November 8, 2005, March 7, 2011, and June 14, 2011.