Just a warning to anyone considering using an after market "man basket" on the forks of a JCB forklift: DON'T, it won't meet current OSHA regulations. I am having an issue with a safety regulator in Richmond, VA, and because the manual I have says " Never use attachment devices that are not approved by the manufacturer of your forklift " AND " A rough terrain forklift is designed to lift and transport materials and should not be used to elevate personnel. Only equipment designed specifically to elevate personnel should be used for this purpose ." I am basically screwed. Even though we have an engineer certified basket, he did not specify JCB forklifts, just forklifts, they consider this a "grey area". JCB does not make a man basket and will not approve any other manufacturers attachments for use on their equipment. So, check this out before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on a JCB. I have no idea what other manufacturers are doing, we only have JCB's. The following is from my local dealer "Received a response from JCB regarding your work platform problem, and unfortunately, they cannot consider a certificate for non JCB attachments if the attachment has not been tested by JCB. I spoke to someone in JCB attachments, explained your problem with OSHA, and also explained that this may become a bigger problem in the future with all JCB loadall customers across the nation, since they do not offer that type of attachment commonly used. I’ve also explained that you are one of their most loyal customers with multiple loadall’s. The JCB rep. said she will forward a request to the marketing department." I will post future developments as they occur. :Banghead
I feel for you! We did a job last year and the facility inspector (not osha) checked out our platform and couldnt find a manufacturer or astm stamp on it. We had to remove it from the property that day. Seems like thats what the world is moving toward, the dumbest 1% of operators and attorneys have ruined it for everyone. I highly doubt if JCB will stick their necks out on this, hopefully you dont get a fine for it?!?
Unfortunately this has been dragging on for years. Part of the reason OEM's are reluctant to approve anything besides fork carriages is that there is no industry standard to test against. Therefore when the inevitable lawsuit comes they have nothing to back them in court. And it is hard to justify the risk vs. reward. Some companies like JLG get around this by complying with both forklift and manlift standards, but of course this adds to the complexity and adds some expense. ISZ
I got an email from the facility inspector late last night that, after discussions with his peers, is going to allow us to use the man basket! Of course there are stipulations (common sense ones) but at least he feels the risk is low even if we get an OSHA citation. It would solve the issue if all forklift manufacturers would design and certify their own basket attachments. I think the one saving grace are the outriggers on the JCB as his main concern was tipping.