As part of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s process to determine whether to initiate rulemaking to revise its powered industrial trucks standards for general, maritime, and construction industries, the American Foundry Society submitted comments. OSHA’s current regulations are “based on industry consensus standards from 1969,” the agency said in a press release.
In a letter to OSHA on June 10, AFS said powered industrial trucks, which include forklifts, are frequently used by metalcasters. AFS suggested OSHA should more clearly define what is covered by the agency’s powered industrial truck regulation, that training requirements for operators be more flexible to fit the needs of different industries, and that new regulations should consider autonomous technology, among other comments. AFS also provided the agency with information about metalcasting and the use of such equipment across the industry.
The AFS Safety Committee helped compile the comments delivered to OSHA. According to Regulations.gov, OSHA received 61 responses to its Request for Information. The agency is in the process of reviewing the comments they received and will decide if they plan to move forward on a formal rulemaking.