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OSHA requires that dockboards (i.e., bridge plates) be provided with a means, such as edging or curbing, to prevent equipment from running off the edge. This is intended to protect employees from injury in the event that equipment falls off the edge of the dockboard. Also, any transport vehicle onto which a dockboard has been placed must be prevented from moving via measures (such as wheel chocks or sand shoes) during loading/unloading. While current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) standards contain brake regulations that are intended to prevent movement of trailers during loading/unloading of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), OSHA explicitly maintains that it has authority over:
- Transport vehicles that do not meet the definition of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV); and
- CMVs not operated in interstate commerce, which includes CMVs that transport materials on private roads or within a work establishment.
Scope
The dockboards regulation applies to all general industry employers that use dockboards. Many transport employers must also comply with the wheel chocking portion of the dockboards regulation.
Regulatory citations
- 29 CFR 1910.26 — Dockboards
- 29 CFR 1910.30 — Training requirements
Key definitions
- Dockboard: A portable or fixed device that spans a gap or compensates for a difference in elevation between a loading platform and a transport vehicle. Dockboards include, but are not limited to, bridge plates, dock plates, and dock levelers.
- Fall hazard: Any condition on a walking-working surface that exposes an employee to a risk of harm from a fall on the same level or to a lower level.
- Loading platforms: Loading docks, interior floors, driveways, or other walking or working surfaces.
- Maximum intended load: The total load (weight and force) of all employees, equipment, vehicles, tools, materials, and other loads the employer reasonably anticipates to be applied to a walking-working surface at any one time.
- Run-off guard: A vertical edge, curb, or lip running parallel with the normal traffic flow at each side of the dockboard to prevent a transfer vehicle from exiting the dockboard.
- Transfer vehicles: Mechanical powered or non-powered devices to move a payload, include, but are not limited to, powered industrial trucks, powered pallet movers, manual forklifts, hand carts, hand trucks, and other types of material-handling equipment.
- Transport vehicles: A cargo-carrying vehicle that workers may enter or walk onto to load or unload cargo and materials. Transport vehicles include, but are not limited to, trucks, trailers, semi-trailers and rail cars.
- Wheel chocks/Sand shoes: Wedges of sturdy material placed against a transport vehicle’s wheels to prevent movement while dockboards are in place and workers are using them.
Summary of requirements
Employers must:
- Ensure that dockboards can support the maximum intended load.
- Ensure that transfer vehicles cannot run off the edge of the dockboard, unless they can prove there is no run-off hazard.
- Secure portable dockboards from moving while being used by employees.
- Ensure that portable dockboards have handholds or another means for safe transport.
- Prevent the accidental movement of transport vehicles while it is being used by employees.