scope:

GENERAL

This standard is one of a series that has been formulated with The American Society of Mechanical Engineers as secretariat in accordance with the Standards Committee method, the procedures of the American National Standards Institute, Inc, and the following scope: "Safety requirements relating to the elements of design, operation and maintenance of powered industrial trucks - not including vehicles intended primarily for earth moving or over the road hauling".

One purpose of the Standard is to serve as a guide to governmental authorities having jurisdiction over subjects within the scope of the Standard. It is expected, however, that the Standard will find a major application in industry, serving as a guide to both manufactures of equipment and to the purchasers and users of the equipment.

For the convenience of the user, Safety Standards for Powered Industrial Trucks have been divided into separate volumes:

B56.1-1975 Low Lift and High Lift Trucks.

B56.2-1973 Powered Industrial Trucks, Type Designation, Areas of Use, Maintenance and Operation (NFPA 505-1973).

B56.3-1972 Electric-Battery-Powered industrial Trucks, Standard for Safety (UL 583-May 1972).

B56.4-1972 Internal Combustion Engine-Powered Industrial Trucks, Standard for Safety (UL 558-April 1972).

B56.5- Industrial Tow Tractors ¹

B56.6- Rough Terrain Trucks ¹

B56.7- Industrial Truck Cranes ¹

B56.8- Personnel and Burden Carriers ¹

If adopted for governmental use, the references to the national standards in the volumes may be changed to refer to the corresponding governmental regulations.

The use of powered industrial trucks is subject to certain hazards that cannot be eliminated by mechanical means, but only by the exercise of intelligence, care and common sense.

It is therefore essential to have competent and careful operators, physically and mentally fit, thoroughly trained in the safe operation of the equipment and the handling of the loads. Serious hazards are overloading, instability of the load, obstruction to the free passage of the load, poor maintenance and using equipment for a purpose for which it was not intended or designed.

Suggestion for improvement of these standards, especially those based on actual experience in their application, should be submitted to The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, United Engineering Center, 345 47th Street, New York, NY 100017.

¹B56.5, B56.6, B56.7, and B56.8 are in the development stage