Joseph
wow! Thank you very much for that reply, answers all my questions.

Regards
PAT

joseph always comes through! lol good find!

Danny

paddyB:

The following is in response to your original question:

These are the official U.S. guidelines. Note: (e), (f), (g). The Standards Australia AS B56-1964 or AS 2359.6 guidelines should be the same or similar.

ANSI/ITSDF B56.1-2005 (Reaffirmation of ASME B56.1-2004)

Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks, Powered and Non-powered Industrial Trucks

An American National Standard Institute (ANSI); Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation (ITSDF) Standard:

"5.3 Traveling

5.3.22 The operation of high lift, rear entry end control,
narrow aisle, and reach trucks either loaded or
unloaded with a standup, nonelevating operator
requires special safety considerations as follows:
(a) An industrial truck may tip over if an operator
fails to slow down to a safe speed before making turns.
Indications that a truck is being driven at an excessive
speed during maneuvers include
(1) tire skidding
(2) truck side sway
(3) wheel lift
(b) The likelihood of lateral tipover is increased under
any of the following conditions, or combinations of them
(1) overloading
(2) traveling with the load or load handling mechanism
elevated
(3) braking or accelerating sharply while turning
(4) excessive tilt or off-center positioning of the load
(5) traveling on an uneven surface
(6) traveling at excessive speed
(7) turning on an incline or ramp
(c) Tipping forward can occur and its likelihood is
increased under the following conditions, or combination
of them
(1) overloading
(2) traveling with the load tilted or reached forward
and/or elevated
(3) hard braking while traveling forward
(4) sudden acceleration while traveling in reverse
(5) driving with the load down slope on a steep
incline or ramp
(6) hitting overhead obstacles or collisions with
other objects
(d) A dock type tipover can occur if a truck is steered
over the edge, or driven off a dock or ramp. They can
also occur if a highway truck or trailer rolls away from
the dock or is driven away during loading or unloading.

(e) These trucks are designed with open operator
compartments to permit easy ingress and egress.
Although there is no sure way in all circumstances to
avoid injury, where possible, in the event of an imminent
tipover or off the dock accident, the operator should
step off and away from the truck. These actions are
intended to reduce the risk of serious injury or death.

(f) For nontipover accidents such as an imminent collision
with other objects in the work environment, the
operator should utilize the protection provided by the
compartment by staying within its confines.

(g) Where the environment presents a severe hazard,
or there are unusual operating conditions, the user may
find it beneficial to establish different, or additional precautions
and special operating instructions appropriate
for those conditions."

I anxious to hear what they have to say.

dan m

I understand you have not seen a narrow aisle piece of equipment meaning reach type unit with lap belts. But I have and it was a rear entry unit and the operator only could sit down to operate the machine. It was a moving mast unit (some call mast reach). And the unit was a 2002 model. As I mentioned earlier, I was always taught that on narrow aisle units in case of tip over the operator should step out.

With the conventional reach truck there are 3 different operating positions - operator facing full foward, 45 degree side stance and full side stance (operator facing 90 degrees to the left of full forward. Guess you might call units w/reverse steer for operations where driving in reverse are required a 4th position. Some positions are easier and faster to step out of the compartment. This is why I invited comments from people like, Crown, Raymond, Nichiyu represetnatives as to what their position is

Okay. So it is an indoor warehouse 4500 lb max narrow aisle reach, and what I suggested, still stands.

Thanks Guys,
The reach truck is a 2 tonne narrow aisle truck with the option of either sitting down or standing up. It is not fitted with a seat belt. It is used in a cold store facility where ice on the floor can be encountered.

Paddy B,

What type of reach truck are you talking about ----
1.) The little baby ones used in a warehouse or
2.) finn r was refering to (container handling, telescoping reach types) the giant sized (PaPa Bear)ones in his response.

Most of this thread seems to be discussing the warehouse type, electric reach.

Let's see if this train is on the right track.

yep, and the same could be said of any powered industrial truck tip over, if the operator was following the directions given during a proper training class, the incident (what ever it was) would not ever have happened.
and if the operator could not follow the directions given in a proper training class for the unit, then that person should not be anywhere near the heavy machinery that a powered industrial truck is.

Well, if an operator is travelling while raising the forks, and he should know better, and his mast is therefore high enough to hit an overhead crane, which it wouldn't if the forks were lowered, then the incident wouldn't have occurred, right?

he said;
"unless the operator does something unorthodox"....
which it shouldn't...
tip over, in _any_ direction.

you know they say that if you build something "id10t proof", they build a better id10t, right away.
I have seen reach trucks fitted with a bar on hinges and a hasp to prevent operators from coming out of place.

The reach truck, obviously, is where one exits out the back, and not off to the side. If the truck tips over on its side, and the operator jumps, sayanora! Out the back, the issue is not as grave, as long as the truck does not tip backwards, which it shouldn't, unless the operator does something unorthodox.

Since the vast majority of stand-ups, either reach or counterbalance, do not offer seating options, my preference would be to jump out, but I am smart enough not to get myself in those precarious situations.

In the meantime, no reach trucks, as far as I know, I am a trainer and not an OEM affiliate, have no seatbelts so the operator can jump to safety, provided the truck does not fall back.

johnr j.
sorry mate, different terminology.
when someone suggests a reach truck i,think big ,like a 75tonne machine.(you cannot really jump of it as i,d break a leg)
a reach forklift has me thinking of something you can stand up in.
now that we all talk about the same type of machine.
the big modern machines have a cutout fitted.(to prevent over reaching&tipping over)
i think this technology could/should also be used on reach forklifts.
regards finn

I think that what it really boils down to, is that the reason we have operator restraint systems is that our instinct to jump from a rollover is what gets us killed in a sit-down, as much as the rolling over, and what we are really discussing is leaving the vehicle when tipping -sideways-, far more than front or backwards motion.

Well, you are right. Improper operation, because first of all, never travel while operating the hydraulics, and secondly, maintain the forks as low to the ground as possible.

Using an analogy, we have air bags in our cars with seatbelts, and if we decide to drive in oncoming traffic at 70MPH and hit an 18 wheeler head on, I guess the protection equipment won't save our lives.

So, if someone is incorrectly trained, or ignores proper operating procedures, and drives with the forks elevated, and hits an overhead crane with the mast, what can you do?

Unfortunately, he paid the price.