Construction Vehicle and Equipment Compliance

The use of dump trucks, flatbeds, pickups, and/or self-propelled personnel and burden carriers add extra jobsite hazards for workers. Motor vehicles bring the risk of being crushed beneath and/or struck by a vehicle, along with exposure to hazardous air contaminants such as diesel exhaust. If employers do not have the proper controls in place and employees have not been trained to recognize the hazards and take precautionary measures, accidents and injuries can occur.

OSHA regulates motor vehicles under the construction regulations at 29 CFR 1926.601, which covers vehicles that operate within an off-highway jobsite, not open to public traffic. This includes vehicles with enclosed cabs such as dump trucks, flatbeds, and pickups, as well as those without them such as self-propelled personnel and burden carriers such as four-wheelers. According to OSHA’s general safety and health provisions (29 CFR 1926.20), only those employees qualified by training or experience should be permitted to operate equipment and machinery.

Cranes and derricks are necessary equipment on many jobsites. Although this equipment is designed, tested and manufactured for safe operation, the variable conditions and activities faced on a jobsite have the potential for causing catastrophic accidents if safe operating practices are not followed.

Accidents can be avoided by careful job planning, development and implementation of control measures and training employees to recognize hazards and use the protective measures needed to work on or around cranes. OSHA estimates that 89 crane-related fatalities occur per year in construction work. Find out more.

OSHA regulates cranes and derricks used for construction, alteration, and/or repair under Subpart CC of its construction regulations. This standard applies to power-operated equipment, when used in construction that can hoist, lower and horizontally move a suspended load. Find out more.

When it comes to building roads, clearing land in preparation for construction, or performing a variety of other tasks on a jobsite, the use of highly mobile, powerful, earth-moving equipment, such as bulldozers, backhoes, and front-end loaders can be critical to the success of a project. However, heavy equipment poses risks not only to the operator, but also those who work around this type of equipment. Find out more.

OSHA regulates heavy equipment such as bulldozers, backhoes, front-end loaders, and dump trucks under Subpart O of the 1926 construction regulations. This standard provides general requirements for the use and care of equipment, as well as requirements for the operation/nonoperation of equipment or movement in the vicinity of power lines or energized transmitters.

If the vehicle operates on the roadway, and it meets the federal or state definition of a commercial vehicle, then it is regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or the state’s equivalent agency if only operating in one state. As a result, the FMCSA’s or state’s motor carrier safety regulations related to the company, driver, and vehicle are all applicable.

This means having a DOT number and maintaining all of the records required by FMCSA.

It also means having qualified drivers that follow the hours-of-service regulations in 49 CFR Part 395 and drive safely. For a driver to be considered qualified, the driver must be over 21, read and speak English, have the correct license for the vehicle being operated, and must have passed a DOT physical. The full qualifications requirements are found at 49 CFR §391.11. To be able to prove the driver is qualified, the company must have a complete Driver Qualification file on the driver that contains all of the items listed in 49 CFR §391.51.

When it comes to the hours-of-service regulations, this involves making sure the driver does not drive once one of the limits in 49 CFR §395.3 is reached (§395.5 if the driver is operating a passenger-carrying vehicle). Also, the driver must be recording and submitting work hours using an electronic log, paper log, or time record. The regulations that determine which record of duty status the driver must use are 49 CFR §395.8(a) and §395.1(e).

When it comes to the vehicles, they must meet the mechanical, parts, and accessory requirements in 49 CFR Part 393 and be maintained under a systematic program (this is required in 49 CFR Part 396). In addition, the vehicle must undergo a complete periodic inspection on a scheduled basis (this is normally required annually). Finally, records of all inspection, maintenance, and repair activities related to a commercial vehicle must be maintained for at least one year.

One key point here is that the state regulations generally mirror the federal regulations, when it comes to safety issues.