Washington Forklifts: What you need to know

Washington has adopted forklift truck standards that mirror federal rules, and has added provisions that are stricter than the federal rules for forklift specifications, liquid petroleum gas fueling, and certain safe operating requirements (WAC 296-863-10005 to WAC 296-863-700).

Washington Department of Labor and Industries (DLI) administers and enforces workplace safety and health rules.

All forklifts. All forklifts manufactured on or after March 1, 2000, must meet the requirements of ANSI B56.1-1993, Safety Standards for Powered Industrial Trucks.

Rough terrain forklifts. All rough terrain forklift trucks manufactured on or after January 1, 2005, must meet the design and construction requirements of ANSI B56.6-1992, Safety Standard for Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks.

Modifications or alterations. Owners or operators of forklifts must have written approval from the manufacturer before making any modifications to the vehicle that:

• Change the relative position of the various parts of the vehicle from what they were when originally received from the manufacturer.
• Add extra parts not provided by the manufacturer.
• Eliminate any parts.

LPG fueling operations. In addition to following the National Fire Protection Association requirements for storing and handling LPG:

• Shut down the forklift engine while fueling.
• Fuel forklifts equipped with permanently mounted fuel containers outdoors.
• Fill fuel containers from industrial bulk storage containers at least 10 feet (ft) from the nearest masonry-walled building, 25 ft from the nearest building or other construction, or 25 ft from any building ...