Telehandler (Rough Terrain Forklift) - Cal/OSHA

A telehandler is the most useful machine on a California jobsite and the one most often driven like a pickup truck: it unloads the flatbed, crosses the mud, and puts the trusses on the second floor. This Cal/OSHA Telehandler (Rough Terrain Forklift) Safety Toolbox Talk is about the one thing a telehandler has that a forklift does not — a boom — and about what Title 8 adds that federal OSHA does not: a design standard written for rough terrain, a seat belt rule you can be cited under, and a section that tells a variable-reach truck exactly how it may lift people.

Where the boundary of this talk sits#

The forklift talk owns the counterbalanced truck, the cranes talk owns rigging and signals once a machine is a crane, the power lines talk owns clearances, and the backing-up talk owns the spotter. This talk owns the boom under Title 8: the two-axis load chart, leveling before the lift, securing the load, §3657(k) for lifting people, and the line where a telehandler with a hoist becomes a crane.

The anchor#

Here is the distinction that carries this whole talk: a forklift's capacity drops along one line — how far forward the load sits — but a telehandler's drops along two, boom angle and boom extension, so a load inside the chart at the truck can be outside it at the second-floor deck; which is why the chart is read before the boom goes out, the frame is leveled before the load goes up, the load is secured before it leaves the ground, and the boom comes in and down before the machine moves — and in California those steps are backed by Title 8, not just the manual.

The chart has two axes, and California adopted the standard behind it#

The load chart in the cab is a grid: boom angles down one side, extensions across the top, capacity zones drawn over it. The numbers fall fast as the boom extends, and they change again with the attachment, the stabilizers, and the tires.

California put the engineering behind that chart into law. Under 8 CCR 3650(a), trucks manufactured after March 15, 2009 must be labeled as meeting ANSI/ITSDF B56.6-2005, the rough terrain forklift standard; under 3650(b)(3), trucks built after March 1, 1999 meet ASME B56.6-1992. Federal OSHA still points at B56.1-1969. Section 3650(t)(26) is the crew's one-line rule: trucks shall not be loaded in excess of their rated capacity. Read the chart for the weight, angle, and extension the placement needs, with the attachment that is on; if the number is not there, the lift changes — closer, lighter, or a crane. The overload alarm says you are at the edge, not where the edge is.

Level first, then lift#

Level the frame with the boom down, on the cab indicator. The manual sets a boom height above which the frame must not be leveled, because leveling a raised, loaded boom shifts the load sideways when the machine has the least margin. Where the chart calls for stabilizers, they go down on firm ground with pads or cribbing before the boom moves. Rough terrain does not mean any terrain: soft fill, trench backfill, and a slope that looked flat all tilt the frame after you leveled it.

Travel is the forklift rule made stricter by the boom: boom in and low before the machine moves. Under 3650(t)(14), grades are taken slowly and, over 10 percent, loaded trucks drive with the load upgrade. Dismounted, 3650(t)(17) requires forks lowered, controls in neutral, brakes set; unattended, 3650(t)(16) adds the mast vertical and the power off or the wheels blocked.

And the belt is not a memo in California. Section 3650(t)(33): "When provided by the industrial truck manufacturer, an operator restraint system such as a seat belt shall be used." If the machine starts to go over, stay in the seat and lean away from the tip.

Secure the load before it leaves the ground#

California's loading rule is stronger than the federal one. Section 3650(l): loads shall be so balanced, braced, or secured as to prevent tipping and falling. Section 3650(s): forks and attachments secured so they cannot be dislodged. Section 3650(t)(30): special precautions for loads on trucks with attachments. On a boom twenty feet out, that is the difference between a bundle that lands and one that comes off the tips.

Four habits meet the rule. Center the load, spread the forks, forks all the way under, carriage tilted back. Band and strap trusses, lumber, pipe, and sheet goods as a unit; fix broken banding on the ground. Loose blocks, tools, and scrap go in a cage, bin, or approved bucket, never on bare forks. Hang nothing from the forks. At the landing, nobody stands under the boom or the load, the receivers are tied off, the load is set down fully before anyone touches it, and one signal person directs the operator.

Lifting people: §3657(k) is written for your machine#

Title 8 is the only rulebook in the country with a subsection written for a variable-reach rough terrain lift truck elevating personnel. Section 3657 sets the platform rules — secured to the forks or carriage, guardrails and toeboards per §3210, a means to keep a raised platform from lowering faster than 135 feet per minute if the hydraulics fail, a shut-off for the people on the platform where the truck has upper controls, an operator in the control position, no tilt with people up, no travel beyond minor positioning. Subsection (k) adds, for a telehandler:

• Capacity: the manufacturer's personnel load chart; if there is none, platform, load, and people together may not exceed one-third of rated capacity.
• Footing: firm ground; outriggers or stabilizers on a solid surface, with pads or cribbing where needed; level the truck before lifting on a side slope.
• Fall protection: every person in a personal fall restraint or positioning device system, tied to a platform anchorage good for 3,000 pounds or twice the intended load, whichever is greater; a positioning system may not allow a fall of more than two feet.
• Operation: keep the platform level, alert the people on it before it moves, and never travel with them up other than minor positioning moves.

The platform still goes on a machine designed for one, with the manufacturer's approval, and scissor lifts, boom lifts, and scaffolds come first.

When a telehandler becomes a crane in California#

Cal/OSHA's construction crane rules are Article 15, and the forklift exclusion in §1610.1(c)(8) applies only when the truck is not equipped with a boom and hoist. The compliance directive spells out the rest: a variable-reach forklift configured with a winch or hook and used like a crane is covered; a forklift that merely suspends a load below the forks is excluded. So a telehandler swinging a suspended load from a hook on the boom is a crane lift in California — ground conditions, power-line clearances, rigger and signal person, inspections — and the decision is made before the attachment goes on.

Where the duty sits#

8 CCR 3650 governs the machine: B56.6 design in (a) and (b)(3), attachment marking in (d), manufacturer approval for modifications in (e), loads balanced, braced, or secured in (l), attachments secured in (s), and the operating rules in (t). §3657(k) governs lifting people from a variable-reach truck. §3668 carries operator training — formal and practical training plus an evaluation, refresher on a different type of truck, a new evaluation at least every three years. §1610.1(c)(8) and the compliance directive decide when the machine is a crane.

What can go wrong?#

• A bundle of trusses inside the chart at the flatbed goes outside it as the boom reaches the deck; the machine tips forward over the receivers.
• The frame is leveled with the boom raised and loaded; the load swings sideways and the machine goes over.
• A platform of workers goes up with no personal fall restraint, where §3657(k) requires it for every person.
• A hook goes on the boom and a load swings onto the roof with nobody asking whether Article 15 applies.
• The operator skips the belt "to cross the yard" and jumps when the machine tips.

How do we manage this properly?#

• Read the chart first — weight, angle, extension, attachment; off the chart means the lift changes.
• Level before you lift — boom down, stabilizers on firm ground with pads.
• Boom in and low to travel — load upgrade over 10 percent, spotter when the view is blocked.
• Secure the load on the ground — balanced, braced, or secured per §3650(l); nothing loose, nothing hung from the forks.
• Lift people only under §3657(k) — personnel chart or one-third rule, firm footing, fall restraint on every person, no travel.
• Decide the crane question early — winch or hook on the boom means Article 15.
• Belt on, every move — §3650(t)(33).

Before you start#

Do the pre-shift walk-around: tires, stabilizers, boom, forks, attachment pins, the chart, the level indicator, the belt. Confirm the chart matches the attachment that is on. Know the weight of every load and find its placement on the chart before the first lift. Walk the travel path and set-up spots. If a platform is planned, confirm the §3657(k) items; if a hook is planned, confirm whether it is now a crane lift.

Talk it over#

• What is the heaviest placement today, and where is it on the chart?
• When did you last see the frame leveled with the boom up?
• What loose material do we carry on bare forks?
• Who has been evaluated on this telehandler, not a warehouse forklift?
• Have we ever put a hook on the boom without asking whether it was a crane lift?

The bottom line#

In California the chart has two axes and B56.6 behind it, the belt is a rule, the load is balanced, braced, or secured by regulation, and §3657(k) says exactly how a variable-reach truck lifts people. A hook on the boom makes it an Article 15 crane lift. Read the chart before the boom goes out — the reach that makes it useful is the reach that tips it.

Frequently asked questions about telehandler safety in California#

Is the seat belt actually required on a telehandler in California?

Yes. 8 CCR 3650(t)(33): when the manufacturer provides an operator restraint system such as a seat belt, it shall be used. Federal OSHA reaches the same result through the General Duty Clause; Cal/OSHA has it in the text.

Can we lift workers on the telehandler?

Only on a platform and machine designed for it, under §3657(k): personnel load chart or no more than one-third of rated capacity, firm ground with stabilizers on pads, fall restraint or positioning device for every person on a 3,000-pound anchorage, platform kept level, no travel except minor positioning.

Which design standard applies to our rough terrain forklift?

Under 8 CCR 3650(a), a truck manufactured after March 15, 2009 must be labeled to ANSI/ITSDF B56.6-2005; under 3650(b)(3), a truck built after March 1, 1999 meets ASME B56.6-1992. The chart in the cab is that standard applied to your machine.

When does Cal/OSHA treat the telehandler as a crane?

When it is configured with a winch or hook and used like a crane — the compliance directive puts that under Article 15 and excludes a forklift that only suspends a load below the forks. Decide before the attachment goes on.

I am trained on a warehouse forklift. Can I operate the telehandler?

Not until you are trained and evaluated on it. Section 3668 requires refresher training when an operator is assigned a different type of truck, and a telehandler's boom, two-axis chart, leveling, and stabilizers make it a different type.

Download the Cal/OSHA telehandler safety toolbox talk PDF#

Download this Cal/OSHA Telehandler (Rough Terrain Forklift) Safety Toolbox Talk as a printable PDF in English and Spanish for your next tailgate meeting, and read it in the cab with the load chart open.

Related toolbox talks#

• Forklift / Powered Industrial Truck Safety
• Cranes and Suspended Loads
• Working Near Overhead Power Lines
• Backing Up and Spotters

Sources#

• California Code of Regulations, Title 8, §3650 — Industrial Trucks. General ((a) trucks manufactured after March 15, 2009 labeled to ANSI/ITSDF B56.6-2005 for rough terrain forklift trucks; (b)(3) ASME B56.6-1992 for trucks after March 1, 1999; (d) attachment marking; (e) manufacturer approval for modifications; (l) loads balanced, braced, or secured; (s) forks and attachments secured; (t)(14) grades and load upgrade over 10 percent; (t)(16)–(17) unattended and dismounted; (t)(26) rated capacity; (t)(30) attachments; (t)(33) operator restraint shall be used): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/8-CCR-3650
• California Code of Regulations, Title 8, §3657 — Elevating Employees with Lift Trucks ((b) platform secured, guardrails per §3210; (c) 135 ft/min lowering limit; (e) operator in control position; (f) personnel shut-off; (j) no tilt, no travel beyond minor positioning; (k) variable reach rough terrain lift trucks: personnel load chart or one-third of rated capacity, firm footing with outriggers or stabilizers on pads or cribbing, personal fall restraint or positioning device on a 3,000-lb anchorage, platform kept level, alert before moving, level before lifting on a side slope): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/8-CCR-3657
• California Code of Regulations, Title 8, §3668 — Powered Industrial Truck Operator Training (formal and practical training with evaluation; refresher when assigned a different type of truck; evaluation at least every three years): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/8-CCR-3668
• Cal/OSHA, Compliance Directive — Cranes and Derricks in Construction (Article 15, §1610.1(c)(8): forklifts excluded when not equipped with a boom and hoist; covered when configured with a winch or hook and used like a crane; a variable-reach forklift configured with a hoist and used like a crane is covered; loads suspended below the forks excluded): https://dir.ca.gov/DOSHPol/Compliance-Directive.Cranes-and-Derricks-in-Construction.pdf
• OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.602(c) and (d) — federal baseline for comparison (ANSI B56.1-1969; operator training identical to 1910.178(l)): https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.602

Hazards covered