10.4 Materials Handling, Storage, Use & Disposal and Powered Industrial Vehicles
Key Takeaways
- All materials stored in tiers must be stacked, racked, blocked, interlocked, or otherwise secured to prevent sliding, falling, or collapse (29 CFR 1926.250(a)(1)).
- Brick stacks may not exceed 7 feet, and a loose brick stack must be tapered back 2 inches per foot of height above the 4-foot level; masonry block stacks are tapered back one-half block per tier above 6 feet.
- Material stored inside buildings under construction may not be placed within 6 feet of a hoistway or inside floor opening, nor within 10 feet of an exterior wall that does not extend above the stored material.
- Debris dropped through a floor hole without a chute requires barricades at least 42 inches high and at least 6 feet back from the projected edge of the opening above, with warning signs at each level.
- Powered industrial truck operators must be trained, evaluated, and certified under 29 CFR 1910.178(l), which applies to construction through 1926.602(c)(1)(vii).
10.4 Materials Handling, Storage, Use & Disposal and Powered Industrial Vehicles
Core Principle: 29 CFR 1926 Subpart H (1926.250–252) covers how material sits still, how it moves, and how it leaves the site. Collapsing stacks and falling debris are struck-by and caught-in fatalities that rarely make the news but appear consistently in the data, and the standard answers them with unusually concrete numbers. Two named outreach elective topics live here — Materials Handling, Storage, Use, and Disposal and Powered Industrial Vehicles.
1. General Requirements for Storage (1926.250(a))
- (a)(1) All materials stored in tiers shall be stacked, racked, blocked, interlocked, or otherwise secured to prevent sliding, falling or collapse.
- (a)(2)(i) The weight of stored materials on floors within buildings and structures shall not exceed maximum safe load limits.
- (a)(2)(ii) Employers shall conspicuously post maximum safe load limits of floors within buildings and structures, in pounds per square foot, in all storage areas — except where the storage area is on a floor or slab on grade. Posting is not required in single-family residential structures or wood-framed multi-family residential structures.
- (a)(3) Aisles and passageways shall be kept clear for free and safe movement of material handling equipment or employees, and kept in good repair.
- (a)(4) Where a difference in road or working levels exists, ramps, blocking, or grading shall be used to ensure safe movement of vehicles between the two levels.
2. Material Storage Specifics (1926.250(b))
These are the numbers a trainer should have at hand.
| Material | Limit |
|---|---|
| Material inside buildings under construction | Not within 6 feet of any hoistway or inside floor opening, nor within 10 feet of an exterior wall which does not extend above the top of the material stored |
| Bagged materials | Stacked by stepping back the layers and cross-keying the bags at least every 10 bags high |
| Brick stacks | Not more than 7 feet in height. When a loose brick stack reaches 4 feet, it shall be tapered back 2 inches in every foot of height above the 4-foot level |
| Masonry blocks | When stacked higher than 6 feet, the stack shall be tapered back one-half block per tier above the 6-foot level |
| Lumber | Used lumber shall have all nails withdrawn before stacking; lumber stacked on level and solidly supported sills, stable and self-supporting; piles not exceeding 20 feet in height, and not more than 16 feet where the lumber is to be handled manually |
| Structural steel, poles, pipe, bar stock and other cylindrical materials | Unless racked, stacked and blocked to prevent spreading or tilting |
| Materials on scaffolds or runways | Shall not be stored in excess of supplies needed for immediate operations |
| Silos, hoppers, tanks and similar storage areas | Each employee required to work on stored material must be equipped with personal fall arrest equipment meeting Subpart M |
| Non-compatible materials | Shall be segregated in storage |
Housekeeping (1926.250(c)): storage areas shall be kept free from accumulation of materials that constitute hazards from tripping, fire, explosion, or pest harborage, with vegetation control exercised when necessary.
Dockboards (1926.250(d)): portable and powered dockboards shall be strong enough to carry the load imposed; portable dockboards shall be secured in position, either anchored or equipped with devices preventing slipping; handholds or other effective means shall be provided on portable dockboards for safe handling; and positive protection shall prevent railroad cars or highway vehicles from being moved while dockboards are in position.
3. Disposal of Waste Materials (1926.252)
This section is short and almost entirely about falling debris.
- (a) Whenever material is dropped more than 20 feet to any point lying outside the exterior walls of the building, an enclosed chute of wood or equivalent material shall be used.
- (b) When debris is dropped through holes in the floor without the use of chutes, the area onto which the material is dropped shall be completely enclosed with barricades not less than 42 inches high and not less than 6 feet back from the projected edge of the opening above. Signs warning of the hazard of falling materials shall be posted at each level. Removal shall not be permitted in this lower area until debris handling ceases above.
- (c) All scrap lumber, waste material, and rubbish shall be removed from the immediate work area as the work progresses.
- (d) Disposal of waste material or debris by burning shall comply with local fire regulations.
- (e) All solvent waste, oily rags, and flammable liquids shall be kept in fire resistant covered containers until removed from the worksite.
The same 42-inch and 6-foot figures appear for demolition in 1926.850(h), which is a useful cross-reference for students who work both sides of that line.
4. Rigging Equipment (1926.251)
Rigging lives in Subpart H as well and is treated in depth in Section 6.3 of this guide. Two items belong here for completeness:
- 1926.251(a)(1): rigging equipment for material handling shall be inspected prior to use on each shift and as necessary during its use; defective rigging equipment shall be removed from service.
- 1926.251(a)(4): special custom design grabs, hooks, clamps, or other lifting accessories — for modular panels, prefabricated structures, and similar materials — shall be marked to indicate the safe working loads and shall be proof-tested prior to use to 125 percent of their rated load.
5. Powered Industrial Vehicles
"Powered Industrial Vehicles" is its own named outreach elective. On a construction site that means rough-terrain forklifts, telehandlers, and warehouse-style trucks.
Which Standard Applies
29 CFR 1926.602(c)(1)(vi) requires that all industrial trucks in use meet the applicable requirements of design, construction, stability, inspection, testing, maintenance, and operation as defined in ANSI B56.1-1969, and (c)(1)(v) requires overhead guards on all high lift rider trucks. 29 CFR 1926.602(d) is titled Powered industrial truck operator training and carries a note stating that the requirements applicable to construction work under that paragraph are identical to those set forth at 29 CFR 1910.178(l). Construction and general industry therefore share one training regime.
The Training, Evaluation, and Certification Regime (1910.178(l))
- Before operating independently, an operator must have completed training and an evaluation. Trainees may operate only under the direct supervision of a person with the knowledge, training, and experience to train and evaluate, and only where that operation does not endanger anyone.
- Content must combine formal instruction (lecture, discussion, video, written material), practical training (demonstrations and exercises performed by the trainee), and evaluation of the operator's performance in the workplace.
- Truck-related and workplace-related topics must both be covered: controls and instrumentation, engine or motor operation, steering and maneuvering, visibility, fork and attachment operation, capacity and stability, inspection and maintenance, refueling or recharging, surface conditions, load composition and stability, load manipulation, pedestrian traffic, narrow aisles, ramps and sloped surfaces, hazardous locations, and any other unique conditions.
- Refresher training and re-evaluation are required when the operator is observed operating unsafely, is involved in an accident or near-miss, receives an evaluation revealing unsafe operation, is assigned a different type of truck, or when workplace conditions change. An evaluation of each operator's performance must be conducted at least once every three years.
- Certification must be documented, recording the name of the operator, the date of the training, the date of the evaluation, and the identity of the person performing the training or evaluation.
Stability and Load Handling
The stability triangle is the concept to teach. A counterbalanced forklift is supported at three points — the two front wheels and the centre pin of the steer axle — and remains stable only while the combined centre of gravity of truck and load stays inside that triangle. Raising a load, tilting forward, turning, or traversing a slope moves that centre of gravity. The data plate states the rated capacity at a stated load centre, and a load with a larger load centre derates the truck dramatically.
Common Construction Rules
- Seat belts shall be used on equipment so equipped (1926.602(a)(2)).
- Rollover protective structures are required on the equipment listed in Subpart W (1926.1000).
- Trucks with an obstructed view to the rear may not be operated in reverse unless the vehicle has a reverse signal alarm audible above the surrounding noise or is backed only when a designated observer signals it is safe (1926.602(a)(9)(ii)).
- Where personnel are elevated by a truck, 1926.602(c)(1) requires a safety platform firmly secured to the lifting carriage or forks, a means for personnel on the platform to shut off power to the truck, and protection from falling objects as operating conditions indicate. Unauthorized personnel shall not be permitted to ride on powered industrial trucks (1926.602(c)(1)(vii)). The outreach message is simpler — never ride the forks or a pallet.
A mason tender is building a loose brick stack on a slab. At what height must the stack begin to be tapered back, by how much, and what is the maximum permitted stack height under 29 CFR 1926.250(b)(6)?
A demolition-phase crew is dropping gypsum board debris through a 4-foot-square floor opening on the third level down to a collection area on the ground floor, without a chute. What does 29 CFR 1926.252(b) require in the landing area?
A telehandler operator on a construction site holds a certificate from a forklift class taken four years ago and has since been assigned to a different make and class of machine. What does the operator training regime applied to construction through 29 CFR 1926.602(d) require?