(1) Each tractor, skidder, log stacker and mechanical felling device, such as tree shears or feller-buncher, placed into initial service after February 9, 1995, must be equipped with falling object protective structure (FOPS) and/or rollover protective structure (ROPS). The employer must replace FOPS or ROPS which have been removed from any machine.

(2) ROPS must be installed, tested, and maintained in accordance with the Society of Automotive Engineers SAE J1040, April 1988, "Performance Criteria for Rollover Protective Structures (ROPS) for Construction, Earthmoving, Forestry, and Mining Machines."

(3) The ROPS must be high enough and wide enough so that it will not impair the movements of the operator or prevent his immediate escape from the vehicle in emergencies and must allow as much visibility as possible. Clearance above the deck and the ROPS of the vehicle at exits must be at least fifty-two inches (1.3 meters).

(4) Certified roll-over protective systems must be identified by a metal tag permanently attached to the ROPS in a position where it may be easily read from the ground. The tag must be permanently and clearly stamped, etched or embossed indicating the name and address of the certifying manufacturer or registered professional engineer, the ROPS model number (if any) and the vehicle make, model or serial number the ROPS is designed to fit.

(5) Roll-over protective structure systems must be maintained in a manner that will preserve their original strength. Welding must be performed by qualified welders only. (A qualified welder is defined under "welder qualification" in American Welding Society A.W.S. A3.0-69.)

(6) FOPS structures must be installed, tested and maintained according to:

(a) The society of automotive engineers SAE J231-1971, "minimum performance criteria for falling object protective structures (FOPS) prior to February 9, 1995."

(b) Society of automotive engineers SAE J231, January 1981, "minimum performance criteria for falling object protective structures (FOPS) for each tractor, skidder, log stacker, log loader and mechanical falling device, such as tree shears or faller-buncher, placed into initial service after February 9, 1995."

(7) You must replace FOPS that have been removed from any machine.

(8) Vehicles with ROPS or FOPS as required in subsection (1) of this section, must comply with the society of automotive engineers SAE J397a-1972, "deflection limiting volume for laboratory evaluation of roll-over protective structures (ROPS) and falling object protective structures (FOPS) of construction and industrial vehicles." Vehicles placed into initial service after February 9, 1995, must meet the requirements of SAE J397-1988.

(9) The opening in the rear of the ROPS on the crawler or rubber-tired tractors (skidders) must be covered with 1/4-inch diameter woven wire having not less than 1-1/2 inches or more than 2-inch mesh, or material which will afford equivalent protection for the operator.

(a) The covering must be attached to the structural members so that enough clearance is provided between the screen and the back of the operator.

(b) Structural members must be free from projections that would tend to puncture or tear flesh or clothing.

(c) Suitable safeguards or barricades must be installed, in addition to the screen, to protect the operator when there is a possibility of being struck by any material that could enter from the rear.

(10) Crawler and rubber-tired tractors (skidders) working in areas where limbs or brush may endanger the operator must be guarded.

(a) Shear or deflector guards must be installed on each side of the vehicle at an angle leading forward and down from the top front edge of the canopy of the vehicle, which will tend to slide the brush or limbs up and over the top of the canopy.

(b) Open mesh material with openings of a size that will reject the entrance of an object larger than 1-3/4 inches in diameter, must be extended forward as far as possible from the rear corners of the cab sides to give the maximum protection against obstacles, branches, etc., entering the cab area.

(c) Deflectors must also be installed ahead of the operator to deflect whipping saplings and branches.

(d) Deflectors must be located so as not to impede entrance to or exit from the compartment area.

(e) The floor and lower portion of the cab must be completely enclosed with solid material, except at entrances, to prevent the operator from being injured by obstacles which otherwise could enter the cab compartment.

(11) Each machine manufactured after August 1, 1996, must have a cab that is fully enclosed with mesh material with openings no greater than 2 inches (5.08 cm) at its lease dimension. The cab may be enclosed with other material(s) where the employer demonstrates such material(s) provides equivalent protection and visibility.

Enclosures for agricultural and industrial tractors manufactured after September 1, 1972, must be constructed, designed and installed as detailed in the society of automotive engineers technical report J168.

(12) Overhead protection and other barriers must be installed to protect the operator from lines, limbs, and other moving materials on or over all loading or skidding machines and on all yarding machines where the operator's station is mounted on board. The overhead covering of each cab must be of solid material and extend over the entire canopy. A skylight in a logging machine must be made of safety glass or provide equivalent protection.