What are the requirements for fabricating and using jack stands to support a raised container?

Some repair sites use fabricated stands to hold and elevate containers so that workers can work underneath them. Such stands also are available commercially. When manufacturing employer-fabricated stands, employers should design and brace them to withstand the maximum load placed on them. Employers should load test and certify employer-fabricated stands to at least 125 percent of the safe working load, and mark the stands with the manufactured, inspected, and tested dates, as well as the safe working load. Employers should keep documents describing the design, manufacture, and testing of these stands, and make them available for review. Employers can manufacture stands to look like saw horses that will support the entire width of the container, or manufacture them like jack stands. The jack-stand supports have a twist lock at the top, which should be secured into the corner casting of a container to ensure the container remains stable while on the jack-stand supports. Employers may not repair containers while the containers are on a powered industrial truck or similar equipment, or when suspended from a crane.

Wheel chocks are not specifically discussed by OSHA when a vehicle is lifted supported on jack stands, but they would clearly fall under the “general duty clause” in that if the vehicle is not secured when jacked, it could potentially roll away and fall off of the jack/jackstands.