A Guide To Codes and Standards

Perspectives on Material Handling Practice
Papers in the Perspectives series have appeared in conference proceedings of

the Material Handling Institute between 1992 and the present. As such they
provide a point of reference as to how the industry is changing as well as insight
into accepted practice during this period. In many cases the authors credited have
either changed jobs or are no longer in the industry. Some companies as well have
been the subject of mergers or reorganization with a new corporate identity.
A GUIDE TO CODES AND STANDARDS

AN ENGINEER’S GUIDE TO CODES AND STANDARDS THAT IMPACT THE
APPLICATION OF MATERIAL HANDLING AND STORAGE EQUIPMENT
PROMAT 99 FORUM
DONALD H. DURBIN
CONSULTING ASSOCIATE, MHIA
DR. MICHAEL K. OGLE
MATERIAL HANDLING INDUSTRY OF AMERICA
ABSTRACT
Material Handling equipment users, whether they are purchasing a single piece of equipment or
an entire integrated system, need to know and understand applicable related codes, standards,
and regulations. They should insist upon receiving specific evidence from their supplier,
contractor, or integrator that the installation will meet these codes, standards, or regulations. The
user of equipment has the ultimate responsibility for compliance although all parties involved are
liable for the performance and safety of the equipment or systems with respect to the product or
service they have provided and the interfaces of their product/service with the equipment
provided by others.
This paper is concerned with awareness of building codes, available standards, and pertinent
regulations related to material handling equipment. Published codes, standards and regulations
cover many of the issues related to the installation and utilization of equipment. Where codes
and standards do not exist, manufacturer’s specifications and generally accepted best industrial
practice address the issues. Strict compliance with the codes, standards, and regulations should
protect employees from injury and minimize the company’s exposure to liabilities.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
8720 Red Oak Boulevard Suite 201 Perspectives on Material Handling Practice
Charlotte, North Carolina 28217-3992 Page 1 of 19
• Why should a Material Handling equipment purchaser be concerned about Codes,
Standards, and Regulations that he has never heard of?
• What are the applicable Codes, Standards, and Regulations for my project and where
do I go to find this information?
• How can I be certain that my Company is in compliance with appropriate Codes,

Standards, and Regulations when my project is completed?
These and other questions are important in your planning. All too often, some of these issues are
forgotten in the quest for appropriate technology and system selection.
Your physical facility most likely was built after securing a building permit. This permit
indicated designer acceptance and compliance with a building code. In addition, there were
probably inspections performed during construction and before a final acceptance and occupancy
permit was issued. The process assured you of two things; construction proposals could be
accepted with the expectation that they would be based upon a level playing field and the
building would be built to code assuring the expected performance and safety levels based on the
knowledge distilled into the building code.
Using this discussion of building construction as a comparison you can easily understand that
you would want your material handling equipment to meet all appropriate Codes, Standards, and
Regulations. You would also expect the installation and integration of this equipment to
similarly comply. In fact, you clearly will insist upon a properly operating safe system.
Compliance with Codes, Standards, and Regulations will help you to meet this goal.
The titles “Codes”, “Standards”, and “Regulations” are mentioned frequently in the foregoing
text. Many individuals are somewhat puzzled about the meanings of these words and tend to use
them interchangeably. Explanations of these terms are offered on the following pages.
2.0 CODES
The specific “Codes” we should be most concerned with are Building Codes. In addition, it is
necessary to consider Electrical Codes, Fire Codes, Plumbing Codes, and Mechanical Codes.
This latter list of Codes is usually part of the series of publications prepared by the Model
Building Code organizations.
Two slightly different definitions of Codes follow:
• “A systematically arranged and comprehensive collection of laws”
• “A systematic collection of regulations and rules of procedure or conduct”
Building Codes embrace all aspects of building construction. They are developed and
implemented for the safety and well being of a building and it’s occupants. There are also codes
to support Public Policy such as energy preservation, reduction of barriers for the disadvantaged
and to prevent or mitigate natural hazard damage such as fire, flood, wind, seismic activity or
other natural event.
Codes are REGULATORY and are typically enforced by government officials.
The following will illustrate the various Model Building Code organizations both present and
future and their areas of influence. More substantial information on each organization will be
provided as handouts and may be obtained from the Material Handling Industry organization.
2.1 Model Building Code Organizations:
Our discussion is based on the “Model” Building Codes, which are described in detail in a
Material Handling Industry (MHI) document entitled “Summary of Model Building Code
Organizations and Publications”[1]. These codes are extremely important because they are
usually the basis for all of the local codes. Typically a political entity adopts one of the model
codes verbatim or with some modified provisions by means of Council or other Legislative
action. Once a city, county or state has adopted a code, it is enforceable as a law (Ordinance).
2.2 The ICC and the IBC
The International Code Council (ICC) was formed as the result of efforts of the Board for the
Coordination of Model Codes (BCMC). Members of BCMC include representatives of BOCA
(National Building Code), SBCCI (Southern Building Code), ICBO (Uniform Building Code),
and CABO (one and two family dwelling code). All of these organizations are working on the
various tasks associated with writing appropriate code language. Ultimately, through the
Challenge and Public Hearing process, the final language will be “hammered out” and adopted
by the consensus process. The final product of this effort will be known as the International
Building Code (IBC). It will be available for adoption by the users in the year 2000. Once the
IBC is published the predecessor documents (National, Uniform, and Standard Building Codes)
will no longer be published. The developing organizations will continue to work on the IBC as
future editions are developed. It should be obvious to all that there are many benefits in having a
code that is used nationally instead of the many documents that equipment suppliers, facility
owners, architects and engineers, and many others have to understand and use.
3.0 STANDARDS
ISO Definition of “Standards”:
“A technical specification or other document available to the public, drawn up

with the cooperation and consensus or general approval of all parties affected by
it, based upon the consolidated results of science, technology and experience,
aimed at the promotion of optimum community benefits and approved by a
standardization body.”
Other Definitions:
• An acknowledged and generally accepted method or practice.
• An acknowledged measure or comparison for quantitative or qualitative values.
What can utilization of standards do for you?
• Standards eliminate excess costs, boost productivity, satisfy customer needs, and
protect the work force and the public.
• On the most basic level we must have assurance of at least a minimum acceptable
level of quality and performance.
• The best industry practice is to follow standards to assure compliance to system

performance requirements.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is the registrar and clearinghouse for
standards in the United States. ANSI also represents the US on the ISO committees. The
American National Standards are NOT developed by ANSI. ANSI provides the procedures for
standards development and reviews all actions taken during development of a standard to assure
that all procedures were correctly followed by the Standards Developing Organization (SDO)
and that due process was accorded to all interested parties and that consensus was achieved.
Some of the more well known SDO’s are ACI, AISC, AISI, ASCE, ASME, ASTM, AWS,
CEMA, HMI, CMAA, MHIA, NEMA, UL, etc.. There are many other SDO’s that we have not
listed that have equal importance and are also contributors to the approximately 13,000 existing
ANSI Standards. There are also many standards under development at any given time and yet,
there are many newer technologies in need of standardization.
Standards are VOLUNTARY unless your customer insists on or requests compliance or your
company has a compliance policy.
Some widely known organizations do not use the ANSI process for their standards development
but are cooperative standards developing organizations. Among these organizations is the
Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). The AIAG has been very successful working with
the major auto manufacturers and their vendors.
We, in the United States, are very used to the application of standards being voluntary. In most
of the world this is not the case. European countries, for example, have “directives” which must
be followed.
We suggest that you consider the necessity and benefits of involvement in and awareness of the
standards development process either as a committee member or as a canvassee. If you aren’t
involved as an influence in the development process you will be left out and a standard could be
to your disadvantage. It is suggested that the ANSI activities could be followed by means of a
subscription to ANSI’s Standards Action, a publication that reports on all standards activities on
a bi-weekly basis. You will find a selected list of material handling related ANSI specifications
at the end of this paper.
4.0 REGULATIONS
Regulations are, typically, ‘Rules of Law’ as in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or as in
the ADA (Act for Disabled Americans). The Code of Federal Regulations is one place where
we find the rules set down by the federal government to cover many different issues.
An example of one of these regulations is covered by 29CFR-1910 and is commonly referred to

as the OSHA regulation. This regulation is, of course, vigorously enforced. On a similar note
the “Act for Disabled Americans Accessibility Guidelines “(ADAAG) was developed by HUD
and is a Federal Regulation enforceable by law. This was HUD’s effort to comply with the “Act
for Disabled Americans”. The ANSI Standard A-117 covers implementation of the guidelines
and it was in place before the ADAAG rules came out. It appears that the rule to follow would
be ADAAG since it is a regulation but, don’t move too fast. In many cities and towns the A-117
has been adopted so it too has the force in those locations. The obvious question, since there is
conflict on some items in the two documents that could be followed is “What should you do?”
My thought is to follow a) the more rigorous of the two or b) go with the rules that are enforced
more regularly and rigorously in the area in question.
Generally we can say:
• A Regulation is typically enforceable by law
• A Standard is voluntary and is not enforceable unless it is a requirement of a project

specification, a code that requires compliance or a contractual issue
One other consideration is that ignoring a standard can sometimes be used against a defendant in
a lawsuit.
5.0 MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT: COMPLYING WITH CODES,

STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
Who is responsible for compliance with codes and regulations?
You, the owner or senior executive, have primary responsibility as with everything else at
your facility.
Who will enforce your compliance with codes and regulations?
The state and/or federal OSHA inspectors and local building officials will take care of the
enforcement issue.
Is this good? Certainly it is. These things helped give you the assurance of the structural design
integrity and other lifesaving features designed into your facility due to requirements of the
building codes. You also get to realize the advantages you have achieved by doing the safety and
reliability planning encompassed in the various standards you asked your vendors to follow.
Furthermore your demand for certification of compliance helped you to assure yourself that you
received what you specified.
What about the material handling equipment and the installation of this equipment? ----- Are you
addressing and complying with the appropriate standards? ----- Maybe you are. Who knows what
the vendor is doing relative to this subject and just “maybe” you should be demanding
compliance from your vendors and their subcontractors.
If this all sounds like a big pain, then believe me, it gets worse if you don’t address the subject.
As system planners, how can you reassure yourself and your client now and in the future that the
system installed will perform as planned? Standards implementation and an ongoing audit
program are the only way.
Your warehouse or plant managers should educate themselves and their purchasing department
personnel regarding the absolute need to specify certified compliance with all appropriate codes,
standards, and regulations. When this approach is taken you can expect to receive equipment
designed to meet your performance demands based upon design and testing to compliance with a
standard. These steps will bring you a “right sized” system purchased at a competitive price that
will do the job.
If you are unfortunate enough to have a failure or personal injury accident at your site and a
forensic engineer hired by some lawyer comes calling you will be able to prove that your
planners complied with the rules and did all possible to prevent that kind of an event.
Unfortunately, we occasionally encounter sales people and other employees of resale

organizations who are not fully schooled and conversant with codes, standards, and regulations
applicable to the equipment they sell and/or install. In addition, imported equipment may not
comply with U.S. standards and the buyer, in many cases, becomes aware of this lack of
compliance when it is too late. For these reasons we strongly recommend the insistence on
certification of compliance with appropriate published documents.
Vendor Benefits that may be realized when appropriate Standards, Codes, and Regulations are
observed:
• Perception of favorable comparison to competitive brands
• Reassurance of users
• Peer pressure if non-compliant
• Mitigate costs and awards associated with litigation
• Provide appropriate interfaces with associated technology
• Provide a smoothly operating, trouble free system
• Provide yourself with a happy client
6.0 WHAT’S NEXT?
New concepts in formatting and writing of codes and standards are rapidly appearing . I am
referring to “Performance Based Specifications” as opposed to many of the current prescriptive
documents, especially the Building Codes. The Model Code organizations are now moving
toward performance specifications which will begin appearing in the second edition (2003) of
the International Building Code.
Many other SDO’s are moving rapidly to performance based standards in order to realize the
potential for technological advancements and associated cost savings that may become available
with performance based requirements. For example, The US Department of Defense has come a
long way down this road with their suppliers and realized considerable savings simply by
removing the “chains” known as MIL-SPECS that bound these suppliers in the past. There are
articles available that discuss what performance specifications are and why they should be
considered[2][3]. These articles are provided as handouts and may be obtained from Material
Handling Industry. Also available is a recently completed Pallet Performance specification for
use with mechanized/automated systems. Information on the three current Model Code
organizations is also available in a booklet named Codes Forum and is published bi-monthly by
the Forum that consists of three members; BOCA, ICBO, and SBCCI. This is the group that has
been working together to write the single model building code to be used throughout the US and
to be known as the International Building Code.
There is one other issue that you must also take under consideration. The NIOSH
recommendations and formulas for Ergonomic issues have not yet been accepted and written
into the OSHA specifications. However, this may not be too long in coming although it is a
highly political matter. We have heard reports that some OSHA inspectors are already enforcing
these recommendations using the General Duty clause as their justification. This should be
watched closely because the recommendations will result in dramatic changes from previous
practice. We are also aware of several other efforts at standardization on ergonomic issues.
There is a proposed ANSI standard (developed by the ANSI Z365 committee) under
development that is in the process of seeking consensus and expects to get approval and publish
in 1999. There is also an effort underway at ASTM to be known as E34485. This is also
expected in 1999. Finally we hear that CAL-OSHA is trying to get some ergonomic standards
on the street. With all of this going on it would appear that everyone should keep their eyes and
ears open.
7.0 ANSI, MHI, AND STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT METHODS
Those companies that choose to get involved in the standards process will be in a stronger
competitive position. Those persons responsible for standards work at a company or
organization should have some idea of how the ANSI standards process takes place. What
follows is an overview of the standards development process and how Material Handling
Industry (MHI) acts as a facilitator to help the member companies get involved in the standards
setting process.
Many of you recognize the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a source of U.S.
standards. Keep in mind that ANSI does not develop standards. MHI does not develop
standards. MHI acts as a facilitator to aid groups of member companies in the development of
standards. Individuals within groups of MHI member companies develop standards through
MHI, then ANSI determines whether a fair and proper process was followed in developing the
standard. ANSI has sets of rules that guide the standards development process. The first set of
rules helps determine whether an organization is accredited to develop standards. Shown below
are the three categories of ANSI accreditation and the number of organizations or groups of
organizations within each category (according to the ANSI document Accredited Standards
Developers, dated March 12, 1998 and available on the web at http://web.ansi.org/public/ref-
lib.html):
Accredited Sponsors Using the Canvass Method (90)

Accredited Standards Committees (102)
Accredited Organizations (53)
7.1 The Canvass Method
Most of the standards development effort within MHI’s accreditation follows the first method:
standards development using the canvass method. This method allows the sponsoring
organization to conduct a canvas or mail poll of persons known to be directly or materially
affected by the subject covered by the scope of the standard. Organizations using the canvass
method include Underwriters Laboratories (as in the familiar UL listing), National Electrical
Manufacturers Association (NEMA), MHI, and eighty-seven others. The canvass method allows
member companies within a product section or affiliated trade association to form a committee
(which can include and has included non-member companies) and develop a standard. The
committee essentially has a life only for the duration of the standards setting process. MHI’s
ANSI approved scope of standard activities by the canvass method consists of the following:
underhung cranes and monorails; industrial metal containers; overhead traveling

cranes; storage racks; shelving; welded wire rack decking; demountable
remountable/relocatable multiple use platforms; portable, dock face mounted and
fixed loading dock levelers; industrial scissors lifts.
The process begins with submission of a Project Initiation Notification System (PINS) form to
ANSI. This form registers the standards development effort with ANSI. ANSI then publishes
this information in a publication called Standards Action (available in print or on the web at
http://web.ansi.org/rooms/room_14/). PINS forms are submitted when a new standard is being
developed and when an existing standard is being revised, reaffirmed, or withdrawn. A list of
potential canvassees is developed. We generally call this the pre-canvass list. Nobody is voting
at this time, they are just saying, “Yes, I am directly and materially affected by the subject matter
in your standard”. This list is submitted to ANSI for review and they will announce the call for
canvassees in the Standards Action publication in order to solicit additional canvassees who may
not have been contacted during the pre-canvass. Once the product section or affiliated trade
association based committee has developed a proposed standard, it will be sent to the canvass
list. The canvassees may then approve, object (with reasons), abstain (with comment), or not
participate in the canvass mail ballot. All objections are given proper consideration by the
committee and canvassees, but approval only requires a majority of the canvass list and at least
two-thirds of those voting, excluding abstentions. A public review period is also required to
ensure that all interested parties have a chance to state any objections. Public review is
announced in Standards Action, appropriate trade publications, and to appropriate U.S. Technical
Advisory Groups. If objections result in substantive changes, canvassees will receive those
changes and a new ballot must be circulated. Once all objections have been appropriately
addressed, the proposed standard is submitted to ANSI. The Board of Standards Review (BSR)
at ANSI is responsible for the final review of standards. Once the board provides its approval,
you have a genuine ANSI standard. The process is not complex in theory, but takes much work
and patience by individuals on the standards committee.
7.2 MH10: Developing Standards by the Accredited Committee Method
MHI is also involved in the standards development process using the second category of
accreditation by serving as secretariat of the accredited standards committee ASC MH10 Unit-
Loads and Transport-Packages. This committee is concerned with standards development in the
areas of unit-loads and transport-packages. Committee activities include work on sizes, heights,
testing, terminology, sacks and bags, and coding and labeling.
The scope of the committee effort is as follows:
To facilitate freight movement within transportation and distribution systems by

providing standards for transport-packages and unit-loads, including their
dimensions, definitions, terminology, coding, labeling, and performance criteria;
and to represent the United States’ interests within the scope of ISO/TC 122 -
Packaging
The information below from ANSI provides a good description of why the committee method is
best to serve these interests:
“The committee method is most often used when a standard affects a broad range
of diverse interests or where multiple associations or societies with similar
interests exist. The committee serves as a forum where many different interests,
without a common membership in an organization or society, can be represented.
Accredited standards committees are administered by a secretariat, an
organization that takes the responsibility for providing administrative oversight of
the committee’s activities and ensuring compliance with the pertinent operating
procedures.”
The last sentence describes the MHI role in MH10, as the secretariat that oversees and
coordinates the overall committee efforts.
The scope of MH10’s efforts are currently divided into a set of subcommittees as shown below:
SBC-1 Unit-Load & Transport-Package Sizes

SBC-3 Package Testing Standards
SBC-4 Definitions and Terminology
SBC-6 Standardization of Unit-Load Heights
SBC-7 Sacks & Multi-Wall Bag Standards
SBC-8 Coding & Labeling of Unit-Loads
These subcommittees may be further divided into working groups (WG) to address specific
issues or to work on specific standards.
When you look at a committee member list of an MHI sponsored standards development effort
using the canvass method, you typically see a list of individual companies. Most, if not all, of
these companies are members of MHIA and members of a product section of MHI.
Representatives of those companies gather together, facilitate development of a standard, vote on
internal approval of the proposed standard, then send the proposed standard out to a canvass list
of materially affected organizations, companies, and consultants. At this point, the committee has
only one vote, just like each of the external materially affected parties. Some of you have
experienced this process through your work with an MHI product section.
When you look at the list of committee members for the MH10 accredited committee, you see a
list of organizations rather than individual MHIA member companies. The organizations have
individual contacts that are responsible for voting their organization’s position on proposed
standards. In contrast, a canvass list may contain a mixture of organizations, individual
companies, and consultants. There is no canvass list for an accredited standards committee. The
committee is assumed to already contain all of the materially affected organizations. Outside
expertise may be solicited to provide additional information or reports, but all of the voting is
internal.
The MH10 committee is also the US Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ANSI for ISO/TC 122
– Packaging. The TC stands for Technical Committee. In this capacity, MH10 acts as the US
voice to the international standards development community concerning packaging issues.
As part of its international activities, the United States, through MH10 convened a working
group to develop the world’s first bar coding standard for unit loads and transport packages. The
document was recently approved as an international standard (the last designation was as a Draft
International Standard (DIS) 15394).
The MH10 committee developed the standard ANSI MH10.8.M – 1993: Unit Loads and
Transport Packages – Bar Code Symbols, to facilitate the movement of goods and information
between trading partners. The standard provides guidance for the labeling and direct marking of
unit loads and transport packages by providing requirements for printing, physical parameters,
orientation, and placement of bar codes.
Other significant standards efforts by MH10 are itemized below:
MH10.1M For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Heights

MH10.6M For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Size
MH10.8 For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Bar Codes
MH10.8.2 For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Data/Application
Identifiers
MH10.8.3 For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Two Dimensional Labels
8.0 HOW CAN I OBTAIN ANSI AND/OR OTHER STANDARDS?
There is still no single source for ordering all standards, but it is getting much easier to find
standards thanks to the internet and to the efforts of the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) and the International Standards Organization (ISO). You should place the following
sites in a Standards bookmark folder for future reference:
www.ansi.org American National Standards Institute

www.nssn.org National Standards Systems Network (also an ANSI site)
www.iso.org International Organization for Standardization
www.wssn.net World Standards Services Network
8.1 American National Standards Institute
ANSI is well known as the national resource for standards information. Material Handling
Industry has a policy that all standards created within the product sections will follow ANSI
canvass procedures (as previously described). You can find information on standards
development methods, ANSI’s procedures, Standards Action, accredited developers and
contacts, and all ANSI personnel and their areas of responsibility. If you want to get into the
standards development process, you might also take a careful look at the training materials and
courses that ANSI has available.
8.2 National Standards Systems Network
NSSN is a good central point to find standards from a variety of standards developing
organizations. NSSN allows you to search for a specific standard, lets you track the status of
standards work in progress, or aids in identifying contact persons to interpret standards. The
national in the title is a bit of a misnomer because NSSN goes well beyond national standards.
The site now contains standards information from more than 600 national, foreign, regional and
international bodies.
8.3 International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was established in 1947 and is a
worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 130 countries, one from each
country. ANSI places our one vote in the international arena. ISO promotes the development of
standards internationally in much the same way as ANSI promotes the development of standards
nationally. ISO's work results in international agreements which are published as International
Standards.
You very likely notice that the short form of the name, ISO, and the long form, International
Organization for Standardization, do not seem to match. ISO states that the ISO is not an
acronym, but is “derived from the Greek isos, meaning "equal"”
The ISO site contains much of the same procedural and organizational information as the ANSI
site. A good introduction to ISO may be found at the following web address:
http://www.iso.ch/infoe/intro.html
8.4 WORLD STANDARDS SERVICES NETWORK
The World Standards Services Network (WSSN) acts as a central resource for ISO in the same
way the NSSN is a central resource for ANSI. It has links to publicly accessible World Wide
Web servers of standards organizations around the world. Information on international, regional
and national standardization and related activities and services is provided through member’s
web servers.
9.0 REFERENCES
[1] Durbin, Don (1998). “Summary of Model Building Code Organizations and
Publications”, Material Handling Industry
[2] Tubbs, Beth, Armstrong, Paul, and Bowman, David (1997). “Performance-based Codes
– What are They Anyway?”, Building Standards, May-June 1997, pp. 4-6.
[3] Evans, Douglas (1997). “Changing Mindsets Is Key to Performance-based Codes”,

Building Standards, May-June 1997, pp. 7-8.
MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT
SELECTED LIST OF RELATED ANSI SPECIFICATIONS
Revised 10-12-98
American National Standards 1997 Catalog
SPECIFICATION AFFECTED PRODUCT GROUPS
ANSI A10.5-1992 HMI, CMAA

Material Hoists, Safety Requirements for
ANSI A10.13-1989 AMM, SMA, RMI, AS/RS, CMAA

Steel Erection, Safety Requirements for
ANSI A10.18-1983 AMM, SMA, RMI

Floor and Wall Openings, Flat Roofs, Stairs, Railings and
Toeboards, Construction Safety Requirements for Temporary
ANSI/CABO A117.1-1992 ALL

Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
ANSI C2-1993 HMI,CMAA, AS/RS, AGV,

AEM,MMA,LODEM
National Electrical Safety Code CONVEYOR
ANSI MH2-1991
Steel Drums and Pails, Universal
ANSI MH5.1.5-1990
Road/Rail Closed Dry Van Containers
ANSI MH5.1.3M-1982
Tank Containers for Liquids and Gases, Requirements for
ANSI MH5.1.9
Freight Containers, Automatic Identification
ANSI MH5.3M-1982
Identification and Marking Cargo Containers, Specifications for
ANSI MH5.6-1990
Basic Interface Requirements for Cargo Container Chassis
ANSI MH10.1M-1980 RMI, AS/RS,CONVEYOR,AGV

Unit-Load and Transport Package Sizes (includes supplement
ANSI MH10.1Ma)
ANSI MH10.1Ma-1983 RMI, AS/RS, CONVEYOR,AGV

Unit-Load and Transport Package Sizes (supplement to
ANSI MH10.1M-1980)
ANSI MH10.6M-1990 RMI, AS/RS, CONVEYOR,AGV

Surface Vehicles - Unit-Load Heights for Palletized Loads
ANSI MH10.8M-1993 RMI, AS/RS,CONVEYOR,AGV
Bar Code Symbols on Transport Packages and Unit Loads,
Specifications for
ANSI MH10.8.2-1995
Data application identifier standard
ANSI MH10.8.3M-1996
Material Handling Unit Loads and Transport Packages
Two Dimensional Symbols
ANSI MH16.2-1984(r 1996) RMI

Industrial and Commercial Steel Storage Racks, Safety
Practices for the Use of
ANSI MH26.1-1991 IMC

Industrial Metal Containers(in process)
ANSI MH26.2-1997 RMI,SMA,IMC

Wire Rack Decking (in process)
ANSI MH27.1-1981 CMAA,AEM,MMA

Cranes and Monorail Systems, Specifications for
Underhung
ANSI MH28.1-1982(in process) SMA

Industrial Grade Steel Shelving, Specification for
the Design, Testing, Utilization, and Application of
MHI Standard revised version waiting for printing
ANSI MH29.1-1994 LIFT

Safety Requirements for Industrial Scissor Lifts
(in process)
ANSI MH30.1-1993 LODEM

Safety, Performance and Testing of Dock Leveling
Devices(in process)
MHI Standard undergoing revision.
ANSI Z94.0-1989 ALL

Industrial Engineering Terminology
ANSI Z244.1-1982(R1993) AS/RS,MMA,AEM,CMAA

Lock Out/Tag Out of Energy Sources, Safety
Requirements for the
ANSI Z535.1-1991 ALL
Safety Color Code
On hand

Environmental and Facility Safety Signs
On hand
Criteria for Safety Symbols
On hand

Product Safety Signs and Labels
On hand

Accident Prevention Tags
On hand
ANSI/ACI 301-84 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM
Structural Concrete for Buildings, Specifications for
ANSI/ACI 318-89 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM

Building Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete and Commentary
ANSI/ACI 318M-83 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM

Building Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete
ANSI/ACI 318.1-83 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM

Structural Plain Concrete, Building Code
Requirements for
ANSI/ACI 318.1M-83 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM

Building Code Requirements for Structural
Plain Concrete
ANSI/ASCE 7-95 RMI,SMA,AS/RS,AMM

Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and
Other Structures
On hand
ANSI/ASME B20.1-1993 CONVEYOR

Conveyors and Related Equipment, Safety Standards for
(includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B29.24M-1995 HMI

Roller Load Chains for Overhead Hoists
ANSI/ASME B30.2-1996 CMAA

Overhead and Gantry Cranes (Top Running Bridge, Single
or Multiple Girder, Top Running Trolley Hoist) (includes
revision service)
ANSI/ASME B30.9-1996 CMAA,HMI,AEM,MMA

Slings, (includes revision service)

Hooks, (includes revision service)

Monorails and Underhung Cranes (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B30.13-1996 AS/RS
Storage/Retrieval (S/R) Machines and Associated
Equipment (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B30.14-1996 ITA

Side Boom Tractors (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B30.16-1993 HMI,CMAA

Overhead Hoists (Underhung) (includes revision
service)

Overhead and Gantry Cranes (Top Running Bridge,
Single Girder, Underhung Hoist) (includes revision
service)
Stacker Cranes (Top or Under Running Bridge,
Multiple Girder with Top or Under Running
Trolley Hoist) (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B30.20-1993 OCM

Below the Hook Lifting Devices (includes
revision service)

Low Lift and High Lift Trucks (includes
revision service)
ANSI/ASME B56.5-1993 AGV

Guided Industrial Vehicles (includes
revision service)

Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks (includes
revision service)
ANSI/ASME B56.7-1987 (R 1992) ITA

Industrial Crane Trucks (includes
revision service)

Personnel and Burden Carriers (includes
revision service)

Operator Controlled Industrial Tow Tractors
ANSI/ASME B56.11.1-1992
Double Race or Bi-Level Swivel and Rigid
Industrial Casters (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B56.11.3-1992 ITA

Load Handling Symbols for Powered Industrial
Trucks (includes revision service)
ANSI/ASME B56.11.4-1992 ITA

Forks and Fork Carriers for Powered Industrial
Fork Lift Trucks, Hook Type (includes revision
service)
ANSI/ASME HST-1M-1989 (R 1995) HMI,CMAA

Hoists, Performance Standard for Electric Chain
ANSI/ASME HST-2M-1989 (R 1995) HMI

Hand Chain Manually Operated Chain Hoists,
Performance Standard for
ANSI/ASME HST-3M-1991 (R 1996) HMI

Chain Hoists, Performance Standard for Manually
Lever Operated

Overhead Electric Wire Rope Hoists, Performance
Standard for

Air Chain Hoists, Performance Standard for
Performance Standard for Air Wire Rope Hoists
ANSI/ASME MH1.1.2-1989 (1996) RMI,AS/RS,RPCPA

Pallet Definitions and Terminology
ANSI/ASME MH1.2.2M-1989 (1996) RMI,AS/RS,RPCPA

Pallet Sizes
ANSI/ASME MH1.4.1M-1989 (1996) RMI,AS/RS,RPCPA

Testing Pallets, Procedures for
ANSI/ASME 1.5M-1993 RMI,AS/RS,RPCPA

Slip Sheets
ANSI/ASME MH1.6-1996
Standard Procedures for Determination of Durability
of Wooden Pallets and Related Structures (includes
revision service)
ANSI/ASME MH1.7M-1996 N/A

Driven Fasteners for Assembly of Pallets and
Related Structures
ANSI/ASME 1.8M-1996
Wood Pallets
ANSI/ASME MH1.9-1993
Export Pallets
ANSI/ASME NOG-1-1989 CMAA

Cranes, Overhead and Gantry (Top Running Bridge,
Multiple Girder), Rules for Construction of
ANSI/ASME PALD-11-1993
Wheel Dollies (includes revision service)
ANSI/AWS D1.1-1996
Structural Welding Code - Steel
ANSI/AWS D14.1-85 (R 1991) RMI,SMA,AS/RS,CMAA

Cranes and Other Material Handling Equipment,
Specification for Welding of Industrial and Mill
ANSI/CEMA 102-1994 CONVEYOR

Terms and Conveyor Definitions

Screw Conveyors, Dimensional Standards

Screw Conveyors

Unit Handling Conveyors - Roller Conveyor -
Non-Powered

Unit Handling Conveyors - Belt Conveyors
Unit Handling Conveyors - Belt Driven
Live Roller Conveyors

Unit Handling Conveyors - Chain Driven
Live Roller Conveyors

Package Handling Conveyors - Slat Conveyors
ANSI/CEMA 501.1-1988 CONVEYOR

Welded Steel Wing Pulleys, Specifications for
ANSI/CEMA B105.1-1992 CONVEYOR

Specification for Welded Steel Conveyor Pulleys
ANSI/NAAMM MBG 531-93 AMM,RMI,SMA

Metal Bar Grading Manual
ANSI/NAAMM MBG 532-1994 AMM,RMI,SMA

Heavy-Duty Metal Bar Grating Manual
ANSI/NFPA 70-1996 AGV,AEM,CMAA,MMA

National Electrical Code
ANSI/NFPA 70B-1994
Electrical Equipment Maintenance
ANSI/NFPA 70E-1995
Employee Work Places, Electrical Safety Requirements for
ANSI/NFPA 70 Handbook - 1996
National Electrical Code Handbook (includes
ANSI/NFPA 70-1990) (NOT AN AMERICAN
NATIONAL STANDARD)
ANSI/NFPA 203-1995 AMM,RMI,SMA

Roof Coverings and Floor Deck Construction
ANSI/NFPA 231C-1995 RMI,SMA,AS/RS

Rack Storage of Materials
ANSI/NFPA 232-1995 RMI,SMA

Protection of Records
ANSI/NFPA 232A-1995 RMI,SMA

Archives and Record Centers
ANSI/NFPA 505-1992 ITA

Powered Industrial Trucks, Including Type
Designations, Areas of Use, Maintenance,
and Operation
ANSI/RIA R15.06-1992
Industrial Robots and Industrial Robot Systems,
Safety Standard for
ANSI/SAE AMS 2825A (R 1993) ALL

Material Safety Data Sheets
ANSI/SAE ARP 1372A

Minimum Requirements for Air Cargo Unit Load
Device Ground Handling and Transport Systems
ANSI/SAE ARP 1395 (R 1989)
Wide-Body Aircraft Cargo Systems and
Compartments (Intermodal), Minimum
Requirements for Future
ANSI/SAE ARP 1554A

Auto Transport Unit Load Devices
ANSI/SAE J96-MAR86 ITA,AGV

Lamp for Industrial Equipment,
Flashing Warning
ANSI/SAE J180-MAY87 ITA,AGV

Electrical Charging Systems for
Construction and Industrial Machinery
ANSI/SAE J297-Aug. 94 ITA,CMAA,HMI

Operator Controls on Industrial Equipment
ANSI/SAE J699-NOV85 LODEM

Average Vehicle Dimensions for Use In Designing
Docking Facilities for Motor Vehicles
ANSI/SAE J721-FEB93 ITA

Operating Requirements for Tractors and Power
Take-Off Driven Implements
ANSI/SAE J959-MAY91 HMI,CMAA

Lifting Crane, Wire-Rope Strength Factors
ANSI/SAE J999-OCT80 HMI,CMAA

Crane Boom Hoist Disengaging Device
ANSI/SAE J1042-JUN93 ITA

Operator Protection for General Purpose
Industrial Machines
ANSI/SAE J1092-JUNE86 ITA

Nomenclature - Industrial Tractors (Wheel)
ANSI/UL 508-1988 AGV,ISC

Industrial Control Equipment
ANSI/UL 558-1991 ITA

Internal-Combustion-Engine-Powered
Industrial Trucks
ANSI/UL 583-1991 ITA,AGV

Electric-Battery-Powered Industrial Trucks
This listing of standards is not necessarily all inclusive. Standards for plastics or other specific materials as well as those
covering electrical or electronic issues are not referenced. The listing was developed as an effort to list the more common
and frequently referenced standards applying to material handling equipment and devices.

A Guide To Codes and Standards

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Perspectives on Material Handling Practice

Papers in the Perspectives series have appeared in conference proceedings of

A GUIDE TO CODES AND STANDARDS

• How can I be certain that my Company is in compliance with appropriate Codes,

Two slightly different definitions of Codes follow:

• “A systematically arranged and comprehensive collection of laws”

• “A systematic collection of regulations and rules of procedure or conduct”

Codes are REGULATORY and are typically enforced by government officials.

2.1 Model Building Code Organizations:

2.2 The ICC and the IBC

ISO Definition of “Standards”:

“A technical specification or other document available to the public, drawn up

• An acknowledged measure or comparison for quantitative or qualitative values.

What can utilization of standards do for you?

• The best industry practice is to follow standards to assure compliance to system

An example of one of these regulations is covered by 29CFR-1910 and is commonly referred to

Generally we can say:

• A Regulation is typically enforceable by law

• A Standard is voluntary and is not enforceable unless it is a requirement of a project

5.0 MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT: COMPLYING WITH CODES,

Who is responsible for compliance with codes and regulations?

Who will enforce your compliance with codes and regulations?

Unfortunately, we occasionally encounter sales people and other employees of resale

• Perception of favorable comparison to competitive brands

• Peer pressure if non-compliant

• Mitigate costs and awards associated with litigation

• Provide appropriate interfaces with associated technology

• Provide a smoothly operating, trouble free system

6.0 WHAT’S NEXT?

7.0 ANSI, MHI, AND STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT METHODS

Accredited Sponsors Using the Canvass Method (90)

7.1 The Canvass Method

underhung cranes and monorails; industrial metal containers; overhead traveling

7.2 MH10: Developing Standards by the Accredited Committee Method

The scope of the committee effort is as follows:

To facilitate freight movement within transportation and distribution systems by

SBC-1 Unit-Load & Transport-Package Sizes

MH10.1M For Unit Loads and Transport Packages - Heights

8.0 HOW CAN I OBTAIN ANSI AND/OR OTHER STANDARDS?

www.ansi.org American National Standards Institute

8.1 American National Standards Institute

8.2 National Standards Systems Network

8.4 WORLD STANDARDS SERVICES NETWORK

[3] Evans, Douglas (1997). “Changing Mindsets Is Key to Performance-based Codes”,

SELECTED LIST OF RELATED ANSI SPECIFICATIONS

SPECIFICATION AFFECTED PRODUCT GROUPS

ANSI A10.5-1992 HMI, CMAA

ANSI A10.13-1989 AMM, SMA, RMI, AS/RS, CMAA

ANSI A10.18-1983 AMM, SMA, RMI

ANSI/CABO A117.1-1992 ALL

ANSI C2-1993 HMI,CMAA, AS/RS, AGV,

ANSI MH10.1M-1980 RMI, AS/RS,CONVEYOR,AGV

ANSI MH10.1Ma-1983 RMI, AS/RS, CONVEYOR,AGV

ANSI MH10.6M-1990 RMI, AS/RS, CONVEYOR,AGV

ANSI MH16.2-1984(r 1996) RMI

ANSI MH26.1-1991 IMC

ANSI MH26.2-1997 RMI,SMA,IMC

ANSI MH27.1-1981 CMAA,AEM,MMA

ANSI MH28.1-1982(in process) SMA