Lifting personnel

Forklifts were never intended by manufacturers as a means of lifting personnel to perform job tasks at heights, but they are often used to get to light fixtures, top storage racks and other items too high to reach from the floor.
Regulatory groups and manufacturers have developed a safe method for lifting personnel with forklifts (OSHA 1926.602). Forklifts may be used to lift personnel only if the following guidelines are followed:

• A work platform equipped with standard guardrails or equivalent means, and firmly secured to the lifting carriage or forks, must be used.
• The hydraulic system must be so designed that the lift mechanism will not drop faster than 135 feet per minute in the event of a failure in any part of the system.
• An operator must attend the lift equipment while workers are on the platform.
• The operator must be in the normal operating position while raising or lowering the platform.
• The vehicle must not travel from point to point with the work platform elevated at a height greater than 4 feet while workers are on the platform. When necessary, at heights greater than 4 feet, inching is permitted provided it is done at a very slow speed.
• The area between workers on the platform and the mast must be guarded to prevent contact with chains or other shear points.