Welding forklift forks?

[kcstott]

[QUOTE=jrw159;205158]

Kcstott,
Could you please post the link to this federal regulation? I remember seeing this in the past but was unable to locate it again.

And to say that Cal OSHA is a "wee bit different" is an understatement. LOL

As for weld repair of forks, I have seen it done both successfully and unsuccessfully. I personally will not do it due to the unsuccessful attempts and the resulting crash, bang, booms I have seen and the liability if someone is injured or, God forbid, killed. Then you have the property damage issue. I would advise replacing them.

jrw159

The link is
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...able=STANDARDS

and 1910.178(a) (3) refers to modification to the forks and lifting attachments
And yeah the Cal Osha statement was almost a joke. California rewrote the whole darn book and added in a few extra volumes to boot.

And I agree with you on why forks should not be repaired I just don't feel comfortable doing it. I'm a Machinist by trade but I have since moved into Crane field service and there is a whole bunch of stuff that I know now about lifting equipment that I didn't know then On top of the fact I got sent to a Cal osha school to be a fork lift instructor. CAl Osha is so darn strict you can't fart near a forklift with having to document who broke wind and the date and time. I mean it's just about that bad.

[Sonora Iron]

The funniest thing, (to me anyway) about all this hubbub on forklift safety is the proper why to dismount a forklift! Seems as everywhere I go the safety men /women love to ding you on this.

[kcstott]

The funniest thing, (to me anyway) about all this hubbub on forklift safety is the proper why to dismount a forklift! Seems as everywhere I go the safety men /women love to ding you on this.

Or a scissor lift I just grab the top bar and swing out like on a jungle gym. "No No that's not the way to dismount a lift(finger wag) you must use a three point contact mount and dismount"
It actually makes me sick at just how strict this BS is. But you do have to protect the ignorant which is why it's illegal to kill the safety officer that dings you for the way you step off the lift

[Sonora Iron]

it's illegal to kill the safety officer that dings you for the way you step off the lift

Who said it was?

[kcstott]

Who said it was?

Well OK Only if you get caught

[bretsk2500]

Or a scissor lift I just grab the top bar and swing out like on a jungle gym. "No No that's not the way to dismount a lift(finger wag) you must use a three point contact mount and dismount"
It actually makes me sick at just how strict this BS is. But you do have to protect the ignorant which is why it's illegal to kill the safety officer that dings you for the way you step off the lift

you know it's actually physically harder for me to get out of scissor lift the "right" way than to swing out as you describe... esp the way the morons at JLG design the "ladders"...

[jrw159]

[QUOTE=kcstott;205162]

The link is
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...able=STANDARDS

and 1910.178(a) (3) refers to modification to the forks and lifting attachments
And yeah the Cal Osha statement was almost a joke. California rewrote the whole darn book and added in a few extra volumes to boot.

And I agree with you on why forks should not be repaired I just don't feel comfortable doing it. I'm a Machinist by trade but I have since moved into Crane field service and there is a whole bunch of stuff that I know now about lifting equipment that I didn't know then On top of the fact I got sent to a Cal osha school to be a fork lift instructor. CAl Osha is so darn strict you can't fart near a forklift with having to document who broke wind and the date and time. I mean it's just about that bad.

Kcstott,
Thanks for the link. I feel that 1910.178 (a) (4) more directly addresses the modification of forks. Note the interpretations.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...ONS&p_id=24187

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...ONS&p_id=22800

As for farting next to the fork lift, do not forget to record weather conditions, wind direction, air sampling, discharge permits for said expulsion of gaseous substance, evaluation of the effects on the environment, wild life and global warming, water sampling, monitoring period and probably 20 or 30 more "hoops" I have missed. LOL

jrw159

[jrw159]

You need to understand what I'm saying. If you go "by the book" when it comes to Osha You can not do anything to the forks once they leave the factory. I don't care That "it's been done for years" Osha is very clear on what they require. And if they decide to pay you a visit and dinged you for the holes in the forks you would need to produce one of two things.
One: Documentation showing the forks were built with holes in the fork tip
Or two: Written permission from the manufacture with a procedure on how to put the holes in the forks. Without that documentation there is no proof that the holes were installed correctly as per the manufactures recommendations
What I'm trying to advise here is that if Osha came around or even your insurance company which is much more likely They may ding you for this. Our insurance company comes around four times a year and performs an inspection of the entire facility and give us a thirty day notice to correct.`One thing they look for is common violations LIKE HOLES IN THE TIPS OF FORKS.
I understand that it is done all the time and personally I feel better drilling or burning a hole in a fork tip then welding a broken one back together.
But I can not advise someone to do something that is One unsafe and two Illegal

Kcstott,
There is one other option if the manufacturer has gone out of business and not been bought by another manufacturer or if no response or a negative response is received from the manufacturer.

Note the reply to #2 in this letter.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...ONS&p_id=22384

Either way you go about it one must have some sort of "approval" be it from the manufacturer or someone who is a qualified registered professional engineer and that engineer must must perform a safety analysis and address any safety and/or structural issues contained in the manufacturers negative response prior to granting approval and machine data plates must be changed accordingly.

Welding a broken fork is modifying it with the addition of a weld that was not in the original design.

jrw159

[kcstott]

Kcstott,
There is one other option if the manufacturer has gone out of business and not been bought by another manufacturer or if no response or a negative response is received from the manufacturer.

Note the reply to #2 in this letter.

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owad...ONS&p_id=22384

Either way you go about it one must have some sort of "approval" be it from the manufacturer or someone who is a qualified registered professional engineer and that engineer must must perform a safety analysis and address any safety and/or structural issues contained in the manufacturers negative response prior to granting approval and machine data plates must be changed accordingly.

Welding a broken fork is modifying it with the addition of a weld that was not in the original design.

jrw159

I agree completely And you are most likely correct on the "other issues associated with passing gas near an industrial lift truck"
Like I said it just sickens me that some poor schmuck was tasked to write those regs not to mention that all Osha regs are writing in blood

Sad fact is the OP is in Canada and Osha don't apply in Canada they have the holly grail of safety organizations They have the HSE Health and safety executive. Bigger bader and stronger then Osha could ever dream of.

[ridesideways]

And yeah the Cal Osha statement was almost a joke. California rewrote the whole darn book and added in a few extra volumes to boot.

so what do the CA lawmakers think we'll all want to live in CA because their stricter OSHA rules makes it so much safer for us? gimme a break what a bunch of retards. OSHA was a good idea to enforce some basic safety guidelines, but unfortunately it has grown horribly out of control.