Scope of covered equipment

This subpart covers a range of material-handling equipment used in construction, including 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. The rule also covers compactors and rubber-tired skid-steer equipment manufactured on or after July 15, 2019, but excludes sideboom pipelaying tractors. See Coverage in 1926.1000(a).

Equipment described in 1926.1000(a) (except compactors and rubber-tired skid-steer equipment) that was manufactured before July 15, 2019 must be equipped with ROPS that meet the minimum performance standards prescribed in 1926.1001(b), as applicable. In other words, older machines (other than the excluded compactors and skid-steers) must meet the pre-2019 ROPS performance standard. See Equipment manufactured before July 15, 2019 in 1926.1000(b) and the related 1926.1001.

Material-handling equipment described in 1926.1000(a) that was manufactured on or after July 15, 2019 must be equipped with rollover protective structures meeting the minimum performance standards in 1926.1001(c); agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction must meet 1926.1002(c); and any overhead protection for agricultural and industrial tractors must meet 1926.1003(c). In short, post–July 15, 2019 machines follow the updated performance criteria in the (c) subsections. See Equipment manufactured on or after July 15, 2019 in 1926.1000(c) and the applicable standards 1926.1001, 1926.1002, and 1926.1003.

No; compactors and rubber-tired skid-steer equipment manufactured before July 15, 2019 are excluded from the 1926.1000(b) retrofit requirement. Paragraph (b) expressly states that equipment described in (a) manufactured before July 15, 2019—excluding compactors and rubber-tired skid-steer equipment—must meet 1926.1001(b). Therefore, only compactors and rubber-tired skid-steer equipment manufactured on or after July 15, 2019 are covered by the new inclusion in (a). See 1926.1000(a) and 1926.1000(b).

Yes; the scope explicitly covers the listed machines "with or without attachments," which means the presence of attachments does not remove the machine from coverage. The ROPS requirements apply to the machine regardless of attached implements. See Scope in 1926.1000(a).

No; the provision in 1926.1000(a) expressly states that this subpart does not apply to sideboom pipelaying tractors. So those specific machines are excluded from these ROPS/overhead-protection requirements. See Exclusion in 1926.1000(a).

When a ROPS is removed for any reason, it must be remounted using bolts or welding of equal quality or better than the original mounting. In other words, remounting must restore (or improve upon) the original strength and mounting integrity specified for that machine. See Remounting in 1926.1000(d).

Each ROPS must have the manufacturer or fabricator's name and address, the ROPS model number (if any), and the machine make, model, or series number that the structure is designed to fit permanently affixed to the structure. These three items are required by 1926.1000(e)(1)–(3). See Labeling requirements in 1926.1000(e) and its subparts 1926.1000(e)(1), 1926.1000(e)(2), and 1926.1000(e)(3).

Yes; any machine in use that is already equipped with rollover protective structures meeting the State of California, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (EM-385-1-1 March 1967), or Bureau of Reclamation safety requirements in effect on April 5, 1972, is deemed in compliance with 1926.1000. The section lists those three governmental standards as acceptable equivalents. See Machines meeting certain existing governmental requirements in 1926.1000(f) and the specific references 1926.1000(f)(1), 1926.1000(f)(2), and 1926.1000(f)(3).

Decide based on the machine's manufacture date: machines manufactured before July 15, 2019 (subject to the rule) must meet the performance standards in 1926.1001(b); machines manufactured on or after July 15, 2019 must meet 1926.1001(c). For agricultural and industrial tractors the parallel rule points you to 1926.1002(b) or 1926.1002(c) and for overhead protection to 1926.1003(b) or 1926.1003(c) depending on manufacture date. See 1926.1000(b) and 1926.1000(c) and the related performance sections 1926.1001, 1926.1002, and 1926.1003.

Agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction that were manufactured on or after July 15, 2019 must be equipped with rollover protective structures that meet the minimum performance standards in 1926.1002(c). If overhead protection is provided, that overhead protection must meet the standards in 1926.1003(c). See 1926.1000(c) and the applicable 1926.1002 and 1926.1003.

No; if the machine's ROPS meet the State of California Construction Safety Orders (as of April 5, 1972), the machine is deemed in compliance and does not need retrofitting to the 1926.1001(b) standard. 1926.1000(f) lists those governmental requirements as acceptable equivalents for machines already equipped with ROPS. See 1926.1000(f) and 1926.1000(f)(1).

Each ROPS must have the machine make, model, or series number that the structure is designed to fit permanently affixed to it, so users can identify compatibility. This requirement is in 1926.1000(e)(3).

Yes; crawler tractors and crawler-type loaders used in construction are specifically listed in 1926.1000(a) and therefore are covered by the subpart's ROPS requirements. See Coverage in 1926.1000(a).

The standard requires remounting with bolts or welding of equal quality or better than the original mounting, but it does not provide detailed specifications for what 'equal quality' means; employers should use mounting hardware and welding practices that restore the original mounting strength and meet the manufacturer's recommendations or applicable performance standards. See the remounting requirement at 1926.1000(d) and consult the applicable performance standards in 1926.1001 for technical guidance.

If overhead protection is provided on agricultural and industrial tractors used in construction, the overhead protection must meet the minimum performance standards in 1926.1003(b) for machines manufactured before July 15, 2019 or 1926.1003(c) for machines manufactured on or after that date. See 1926.1000 (second paragraph) and 1926.1000(c) and 1926.1003.

Yes; the standard points to different performance sections depending on machine type. General material-handling equipment uses the performance standards in 1926.1001 (with subsections (b) or (c) based on manufacture date), while agricultural and industrial tractors use 1926.1002 and their overhead protection is covered by 1926.1003. See 1926.1000(c) and the referenced performance sections 1926.1001, 1926.1002, and 1926.1003.