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| Safety Practices and Operational Procedures | 56.14200 – 56.14219 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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50 FR 4054, Jan. 29, 1985, unless otherwise noted.
53 FR 32521, Aug. 25, 1988, unless otherwise noted.
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Before starting crushers or moving self-propelled mobile equipment, equipment operators shall sound a warning that is audible above the surrounding noise level or use other effective means to warn all persons who could be exposed to a hazard from the equipment.
(a) When the entire length of a conveyor is visible from the starting switch, the conveyor operator shall visually check to make certain that all persons are in the clear before starting the conveyor.
(b) When the entire length of the conveyor is not visible from the starting switch, a system which provides visible or audible warning shall be installed and operated to warn persons that the conveyor will be started. Within 30 seconds after the warning is given, the conveyor shall be started or a second warning shall be given.
Pulleys of conveyors shall not be cleaned manually while the conveyor is in motion.
Belt dressings shall not be applied manually while belts are in motion unless a pressurized-type applicator is used that allows the dressing to be applied from outside the guards.
Machinery or equipment shall not be lubricated manually while it is in motion where application of the lubricant may expose persons to injury.
Machinery, equipment, and tools shall not be used beyond the design capacity intended by the manufacturer where such use may create a hazard to persons.
(a) When moving mobile equipment between workplaces, booms, forks, buckets, beds, and similar movable parts of the equipment shall be positioned in the travel mode and, if required for safe travel, mechanically secured.
(b) When mobile equipment is unattended or not in use, dippers, buckets and scraper blades shall be lowered to the ground. Other movable parts, such as booms, shall be mechanically secured or positioned to prevent movement which would create a hazard to persons.
[53 FR 32521, Aug. 25, 1988; 53 FR 44588, Nov. 4, 1988]
Mobile equipment shall not be left unattended unless the controls are placed in the park position and the parking brake, if provided, is set. When parked on a grade, the wheels or tracks of mobile equipment shall be either chocked or turned into a bank.
(a) Visible warning devices shall be used when parked mobile equipment creates a hazard to persons in other mobile equipment.
(b) Mobile equipment, other than forklifts, carrying loads that project beyond the sides or more than four feet beyond the rear of the equipment shall have a warning flag at the end of the projection. Under conditions of limited visibility these loads shall have a warning light at the end of the projection. Such flag or lights shall be attached to the end of the projection or be carried by persons walking beside or behind the projection.
(a) A properly sized tow bar or other effective means of control shall be used to tow mobile equipment.
(b) Unless steering and braking are under the control of the equipment operator on the towed equipment, a safety chain or wire rope capable of withstanding the loads to which it could be subjected shall be used in conjunction with any primary rigging.
(c) This provision does not apply to rail equipment.
(a) Dippers, buckets, loading booms, or suspended loads shall not be swung over the operators' stations of self-propelled mobile equipment until the equipment operator is out of the operator's station and in a safe location.
(b) This section does not apply when the equipment is specifically designed to protect the equipment operator from falling objects.
(a) Persons shall not work on top of, under, or work from mobile equipment in a raised position until the equipment has been blocked or mechanically secured to prevent it from rolling or falling accidentally.
(b) Persons shall not work on top of, under, or work from a raised component of mobile equipment until the component has been blocked or mechanically secured to prevent accidental lowering. The equipment must also be blocked or secured to prevent rolling.
(c) A raised component must be secured to prevent accidental lowering when persons are working on or around mobile equipment and are exposed to the hazard of accidental lowering of the component.
(d) Under this section, a raised component of mobile equipment is considered to be blocked or mechanically secured if provided with a functional load-locking device or a device which prevents free and uncontrolled descent.
(e) Blocking or mechanical securing of the raised component is required during repair or maintenance of elevated mobile work platforms.
Chains, ropes, and drive belts shall be guided mechanically onto moving pulleys, sprockets, or drums except where equipment is designed specifically for hand feeding.
(a) Welding operations shall be shielded when performed at locations where arc flash could be hazardous to persons.
(b) All welding operations shall be well-ventilated.
A warning that is audible above the surrounding noise level shall be sounded—
(a) Immediately prior to moving trains;
(b) When trains approach persons, crossings, other trains on adjacent tracks; and
(c) Any place where the train operator's vision is obscured.
Prior to coupling or uncoupling cars manually, trains shall be brought to a complete stop, and then moved at minimum tram speed until the coupling or uncoupling activity is completed. Coupling or uncoupling shall not be attempted from the inside of curves unless the railroad and cars are designed to eliminate hazards to persons.
Backpoling of trolleys is prohibited except where there is inadequate clearance to reverse the trolley pole. Where backpoling is required, it shall be done only at the minimum tram speed of the trolley.
Parked railcars shall be blocked securely unless held effectively by brakes.
When a locomotive on one track is used to move rail equipment on adjacent tracks, a chain, cable, or drawbar shall be used which is capable of meeting the loads to which it could be subjected.
When a train is under the direction of a brakeman and the train operator cannot clearly recognize the brakeman's signals, the train operator shall bring the train to a stop.
Mine operators seeking further information regarding the construction and installation of falling object protective structures (FOPS) may consult the following national consensus standards, as applicable.
| Equipment | National consensus standard |
|---|---|
| Front-end loaders and bulldozers | Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) minimum performance criteria for falling object protective structures (FOPS) SAE J231—January, 1981. |
| Fork-lift trucks | American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety standard for low lift and high lift trucks, B 56.1, section 7.27—1983; or, |
| American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard, rough terrain fork lift trucks, B56.6—1987. |