May 5, 1997

Mr. Tom Anderson
Lincoln Electric Systems
2620 Fairfield Street
Lincoln, NE 68521-1307

Dear Mr. Anderson:

This is in response to your May 1, 1997 letter addressed to Mr.Glenn Taylor in the Kansas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Your letter was forwarded to this office for response. Please accept our apology for the delay in responding. In your letter you requested clarification on what OSHA regulations apply to dual purpose mechanical equipment used as a digger derrick and also as an aerial lift device. Your questions and our replies follow:

Question 1:

The dual purpose mechanical equipment meets American National Standards Institute standard ANSI Al0.31-1995 on digger derricks. Does the dual purpose mechanical equipment have to meet ANSI A92.2-1990 when used as an aerial lift?

Sections 1910.67 and 1926.453 apply to this dual purpose mechanical equipment when used as an aerial lift. Under §1910.67 and §1926.453, an aerial lift must meet the applicable requirements in ANSI A92.2-1969.

It is OSHA's policy to encourage an employer to use a current national consensus standard in place of an earlier revision cited in OSHA regulations as long as the current revision provides at least a level of safety and health that would be provided by meeting the applicable OSHA standard. This use would be considered a"de minimis violation. [De minimis violations are violations of existing OSHA standards which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Such violations of the OSHA standards result in no citations, no penalty and no required abatement.]

Question 2:

If the provisions of §1910.67 are met, can the aerial lift of this dual purpose mechanical equipment be used as an elevated platform to perform work on energized transmission power lines, that is, glove 7200 volts in a 12470 "y" system and be in compliance with OSHA requirements?

Reply:

No. When employees work on or near exposed electric power transmission and distribution conductors and equipment, 29 CFR 1910.269 which includes mechanical equipment requirements in paragraph 1910.269(p) applies.

We appreciate your interest in employee safety and health. If we can be of further assistance, please contact the Office of Safety Compliance Assistance, Mr. Ronald J. Davies, telephone (202) 219-8031, extension 110.

Sincerely,

John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs