296-307-080 Rollover protective structures
(ROPS) for tractors.
296-307-08003 Which agricultural tractors are covered by this section?
296-307-08006 What definitions apply to ROPS for agricultural tractors?
296-307-08009 What requirements apply to the testing and performance
of ROPS used on agricultural tractors?
296-307-08012 What requirements apply to seatbelts used with ROPS
on agricultural tractors?
296-307-08015 When are ROPS not required on agricultural tractors?
296-307-08018 What employee training requirements apply to ROPS used
on agricultural tractors?
296-307-08021 What other requirements apply to ROPS used on agricultural
tractors?
296-307-085 When must ROPS be provided for material handling equipment? 296-307-090 What requirements apply to overhead
protection for operators of agricultural and industrial tractors?
WAC 296-307-080 Rollover
protective structures (ROPS) for tractors.
WAC 296-307-08003
Which agricultural tractors are covered by this section?
All agricultural tractors manufactured after October 25, 1976,
must meet the requirements of WAC
296-307-080. An agricultural tractor manufactured on or before
October 25, 1976, must meet the requirements of WAC
296-307-080 if:
(1) The tractor was built or sold with rollover protective structures
(ROPS) as an optional accessory; or
(2) According to the manufacturer, the tractor was designed to accommodate
the addition of ROPS.
WAC 296-307-08006
What definitions apply to rollover protective structures (ROPS) for agricultural
tractors?
“Agricultural tractor” means a two-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive
vehicle, or a track vehicle of more than twenty net engine horsepower,
designed to furnish the power to pull, carry, propel, or drive implements
that are designed for agriculture. All human-powered implements are excluded.
“Low profile tractor” means a wheel or track-equipped vehicle
with the following characteristics:
The front wheel spacing is equal to the rear wheel spacing, as measured
between the centerlines of the wheels;
The clearance from the bottom of the tractor chassis to the ground
is eighteen inches or less;
The highest point of the hood is sixty inches or less, and
The tractor is designed so that the operator straddles the transmission
when seated.
WAC 296-307-08009
What requirements apply to the testing and performance of ROPS used on
agricultural tractors?
You must provide a rollover protective structure (ROPS) for each employee-operated
tractor that is covered by WAC
296-307-080. ROPS used on wheel-type tractors must meet the
test and performance requirements of OSHA 1928.51 CFR, Protective
frames for wheel type agricultural tractors, and ROPS used on
track-type tractors must meet the test and performance requirements
of SAE Standard J334a (July 1970) and the portions of SAE Standard
J167 (1971) pertaining to overhead protection requirements.
WAC 296-307-08015
When are ROPS not required on agricultural tractors?
ROPS are not required on agricultural tractors that are used as follows:
(1) Low profile tractors used in orchards, vineyards or hop yards where
the vertical clearance requirements would substantially interfere with
normal operations, and for work related to these uses.
(2) Low profile tractors while used inside a farm building or greenhouse
in which the vertical clearance is insufficient to allow a ROPS equipped
tractor to operate.
(3) Tractors while used with mounted equipment that is incompatible with
ROPS (for example, cornpickers, cotton strippers, vegetable pickers, and
fruit harvesters).
(4) Track-type agricultural tractors whose overall width (measured between
the outside edges of the tracks) is at least three times the height of
the rated center of gravity, and whose rated maximum speed in forward
or reverse is not greater than seven miles per hour, when used only for
tillage or harvesting operations, and which:
(a) Does not involve operating on slopes in excess of forty percent
from horizontal; and
(b) Does not involve operating on piled crop products or residue (for
example: Silage in stacks or pits); and
(c) Does not involve operating in close proximity to irrigation ditches,
streams or other excavations more than two feet deep that contain slopes
of more than forty percent from horizontal; and
(d) Does not involve construction-type operation, such as bulldozing,
grading, or land clearing.
WAC 296-307-08018
What employee training requirements apply to ROPS used on agricultural
tractors?
(1) You must ensure that every employee who operates an agricultural
tractor is informed of the operating practices listed below and of any
other practices dictated by the work environment. You must provide the
information at the time of initial assignment and at least annually thereafter.
exhibit
a
employee
operating instructions
1. Securely fasten your
seat belt if the tractor has a ROPS.
2. Where possible, avoid
operating the tractor near ditches, embankments and holes.
3. Reduce speed when turning,
crossing slopes and on rough, slick or muddy surfaces.
4. Stay off slopes too
steep for safe operation.
5. Watch where you are
going, especially at row ends, on roads and around trees.
6. Passengers, other than
persons required for instruction or machine operation, shall not
be permitted to ride on equipment unless a passenger seat or other
protective device is provided.
7. Operate the tractor
smoothly-no jerky turns, starts, or stops.
8. Hitch only to the drawbar
and hitch points recommended by tractor manufacturers.
9. When tractor is stopped,
set brakes securely and use park lock if available.
(2) You must ensure that every employee who operates an agriculture tractor
is trained specifically in the operation of the tractor to be used. The
training must include an orientation of the operator to the topographical
features of the land where the tractor will be operated. Training must
emphasize safe operating practices to avoid rollover.
(3) The tractor training program must be described in the written accident
prevention program required by WAC
296-307-030.
WAC 296-307-08021
What other requirements apply to ROPS used on agricultural tractors?
(1) You must ensure that batteries, fuel tanks, oil reservoirs, and coolant
systems are constructed and located or sealed to ensure that no spillage
comes in contact with the operator in the event of an upset.
(2) All sharp edges and corners at the operator's station must be designed
to minimize operator injury in the event of an upset.
(3) When ROPS are removed, they must be remounted to meet the requirements
of WAC
296-307-080.
(4) You must ensure that each ROPS has a label, permanently affixed to
the structure, that states:
(a) Manufacturer's or fabricator's name and address;
(b) ROPS model number, if any;
(c) Tractor makes, models, or series numbers that the structure is
designed to fit; and
(d) That the ROPS model was tested in accordance with the requirements
of this section.
WAC 296-307-085 When
must ROPS be provided for material handling equipment?
(1) This section applies to the following types of material handling
equipment: 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, that are used in agricultural work. This section does not
apply to side-boom pipelaying tractors.
(2) You must ensure that material handling equipment manufactured on
or after October 25, 1976, is equipped with ROPS that meet the
minimum performance standards of WAC
296-307-08009.
(3) ROPS and supporting attachments must meet the minimum performance
standards of OSHA 1928.52 CFR, Protective Frames for Wheel Type Agricultural
Tractors, or must be designed, fabricated, and installed in a manner that
will support, based on the ultimate strength of the metal, at least two
times the weight of the prime mover applied at the point of impact.
(a) The ROPS must be designed to minimize the likelihood of a complete
overturn and to minimize the possibility of the operator being crushed
in a rollover.
(b) The design must provide a vertical clearance of at least fifty-two
inches from the work deck to the ROPS at the entrance.
(4) When ROPS are removed, they must be remounted so as to meet the requirements
of this section.
(5) Each ROPS must have a label, permanently affixed to the structure,
that states:
(a) Manufacturer's or fabricator's name and address;
(b) ROPS model number, if any;
(c) Tractor makes, models, or series numbers that the structure is
designed to fit; and
(d) That the ROPS model was tested in accordance with the requirements
of this section.
WAC 296-307-090 What
requirements apply to overhead protection for operators of agricultural
and industrial tractors?
This section applies to wheel-type agricultural tractors used in construction
work and to wheel-type industrial tractors used in agriculture work.
(1) If grid or mesh is used for overhead protection, the largest permissible
opening is 1.5 in. (38 mm.) in diameter. The overhead protection must
not be installed in such a way as to become a hazard in the case of upset.
(2) All equipment used in site clearing operations must have rollover
guards meeting the requirements of this chapter. You must ensure that
rider-operated equipment is equipped with an overhead and rear canopy
guard meeting the following requirements:
(a) The overhead covering is at least eighth-inch steel plate or quarter-inch
woven wire mesh with openings no greater than one inch, or equivalent.
(b) The opening in the rear of the canopy structure is covered with
not less than quarter-inch woven wire mesh with openings no greater
than one inch.
(3) Overhead protection that meets the provisions of SAE Standard J334
(July 1970) for rubber-tired dozers and rubber-tired loaders also meets
the requirements of this standard.
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