Training for Safety

Who Needs Tire Safety Training?

OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.177 applies to "the servicing of multi-piece and single piece rim wheels used on large vehicles such as trucks, tractors, trailers, buses and off-road machines," and covers any employee whose job duties include:

• Demounting of tires (including deflation);
• Inspection and identification of the rim wheel components;
• Mounting of tires (including inflation with a restraining device or other safeguard required by this section);
• Use of the restraining device or barrier, and other equipment required by this section;
• Handling of rim wheels;
• Inflation of the tire when a single piece rim wheel is mounted on a vehicle;
• An understanding of the necessity of standing outside the trajectory both during inflation of the tire and during inspection of the rim wheel following inflation; and
• Installation and removal of rim wheels.

Keeping Up with Lift Safety

Special to Fleet Maintenance, by Steve Perlstein, Mohawk Lifts

Shop safety begins with proper training, good work habits, routine maintenance & inspections and using some everyday common sense regarding all issues. As these items relate to garage lifts, there are several safe shop practices you can put into practice today.

#1 NEVER overload any lift—This is especially important with swing arm style lifts. A swing arm lift is designed to raise vehicles, yet all four swing arms have an equal capacity rating. Let’s use a 14,000 lb. (total weight) work truck as our example. If the truck were evenly loaded, then all four swing arms would need to raise 3,500 lbs. to safely raise a vehicle. But a 14,000 lb truck likely has a rear axle that weighs 10,000 lbs. with a front axle weight of 4,000 lbs. Some might think it’s OK to raise this 14,000 lb. truck but that’s wrong. As this truck has a 10,000 lb. rear axle, then the two rear swing arms must each safely raise 5,000 lbs. Multiplied by four swing arms, that means your truck should be raised on a 20,000 lb. capacity two post lift. Both the Automotive Lift Institute (www.autolift.org) and all responsible lift manufacturers state to never overload the per arm capacity of a swing arm lift.

#2 Keep up with annual lift maintenance, inspections & operator training—Lifts, like any machine, should be inspected, operators trained, and any worn parts fixed or maintained. In accordance with the American National Standard ANSI/ALI-ALIOM, lifts should be inspected and operators trained annually. The Automotive Lift Institute (www.autolift.org) offers a 24-minute LIFT SAFETY TRAINING DVD kit hosted by racing legends Richard & Kyle Petty. The kit includes a written test and other important lift training material.

#3 Be aware that government agencies often have mandates requiring ALI/ETL certified lifts. Our research shows that there are 14 states that either do not permit an uncertified lift on their state procurement contracts, or mandate that all shops only install ALI/ETL validated and certified lifts.