About This Course and Where the Rules Are Found

This course is awareness training aligned with the federal rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on handling and storing materials. It is written for workers and supervisors in warehouses, production areas and construction sites: the people who stack, move, lift, convey and store materials every shift.

You will learn what the rules require, why they exist, and how to spot the common failures: a leaning stack, a blocked aisle, a damaged pallet, an unguarded conveyor, a worn sling. The course is written for beginners. It explains what things are and what the rule says; it does not train you to operate any particular machine.

Where the rules are

Federal OSHA rules are published in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Two parts matter here:

• 29 CFR 1910, the general industry standards. Subpart N, Materials Handling and Storage, starts with section 1910.176, Handling materials — general. Subpart N also holds the rules for powered industrial trucks (1910.178), overhead and gantry cranes (1910.179) and slings (1910.184).
• 29 CFR 1926, the construction standards. Subpart H, Materials Handling, Storage, Use, and Disposal, holds sections 1926.250 (storage), 1926.251 (rigging equipment) and 1926.252 (disposal of waste materials).