Does "Subpart W - Rollover Protective Structures; Overhead Protection" Apply to You?

Subpart W provides the requirements on rollover protection structures (ROPS) and overhead protection. Do your employees use wheel-type agricultural tractors, industrial tractors or material handling equipment? If yes, then you need to comply with this subpart. 

The standard on rollover protective structures (ROPS) for material handling equipment applies to all rubber-tired, self-propelled scrapers, rubber-tired front-end loaders, rubber-tired dozers, wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors, crawler tractors, crawler-type loaders, and motor graders, with or without attachments, that are used in construction work. This requirement does not apply to sideboom pipe laying tractors. It provides requirements pertaining to the manufacturer dates for material handling machinery in relation to being equipped with rollover protective structures that meet minimum performance standards prescribed in minimum performance criteria for rollover protective structures for designated scrapers, loaders, dozers, graders, and crawler tractors and protective frames (roll-over protective structures, known as ROPS) for wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction, as applicable. This standard also provides requirements for remounting, labeling, and machines meeting existing governmental requirements.

The standard on minimum performance criteria for rollover protective structures for designated scrapers, loaders, dozers, graders prescribes minimum performance criteria for rollover protective structures (ROPS) for rubber-tired self-propelled scrapers; rubber-tired front-end loaders and rubber-tired dozers; crawler tractors, and crawler-type loaders, and motor graders. It provides requirements pertaining to static laboratory tests, facilities and apparatus, vehicle conditions, test procedures, performance requirements, definitions and source of the standard (i.e., consensus standards). 

The standard on protective frames (roll-over protective structures, known as ROPS) for wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction sets forth requirements for frames used to protect operators of wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors that will minimize the possibility of operator injury resulting from accidental upsets during normal operation. With respect to agricultural and industrial tractors, the provisions of  minimum performance criteria for rollover protective structures for designated scrapers, loaders, dozers, graders and overhead protection for operators of agricultural and industrial tractors for rubber-tired dozers and rubber-tired loaders may be used instead of the requirements of this standard.

Lastly, when overhead protection is provided on wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors, the overhead protection shall be designed and installed according to the requirements of the standard on overhead protection for operators of agricultural and industrial tractors. It states that the provisions of minimum performance criteria for rollover protective structures for designated scrapers, loaders, dozers, graders for rubber-tired dozers and rubber-tired loaders may be used instead of the requirements of this standard. This standard applies to wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction work (see protective frames (roll-over protective structures, known as ROPS) for wheel-type agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction paragraph (b) and (j)). In the case of machines to which the standard on site clearing also applies, the overhead protection may be either the type of protection provided in that standard, or the type of protection provided by this standard. It provides the requirements for overhead protection (i.e., material, not be a hazard), general test procedures, drop test procedures, crush test procedures, performance requirements, and the standard source (i.e., consensus standards). 

The NCDOL Library is available for assistance regarding access to consensus standards (i.e., ANSI, ASME, NFPA, IEEE).