Do dockboards need fall protection to prevent employees from falling off the edge?

Run-off protection is different from fall protection requirements for dockboards. Dockboards four feet or more above a lower level must have either a handrail or guardrail system to prevent workers – not transfer vehicles – from falling off the edge. As with run-off protection, there may be situations where the space between the dock and the transport vehicle is so small that no fall hazard would exist. In these cases, no fall protection would be necessary. Employers do not have to provide handrails or guardrails on dockboards that are 10 feet or less above a lower level if they are being used only for materials-handling operations using motorized equipment. This means if a hand cart is needed to load a truck or an inspection of that trailer has to be conducted at any point, and there is a fall hazard present around that dockboard, then fall protection must be provided.

There is no grandfather provision for this requirement. All existing and new dockboards must have handrails or guardrails if a fall hazard exists for workers.