PDFWAC 296-155-55405
Lifting personnel using a boatswain's chair.
(1) The employer must not load the boatswain's chair in excess of its rated load capacity.
(2) The employer must only use the boatswain's chair for employees, their tools, and the materials necessary to do their work. Do not use the chair to hoist materials or tools without hoisting employees.
(3) The employer must secure materials and tools during lift.
(4) The employer must assign a signal person any time the lift will take the employee out of the direct sight of the crane operator.
(5) The employee being lifted must use personal fall protection equipment, including a full body harness with the lanyard attached independent of the chair. The employer must secure the lanyard to the lift line above the headache ball or to the crane hook itself.
(6) Only one employee can be lifted at a time.
(7) The operator must:
(a) Lift the chair in a slow, controlled manner with no sudden movements;
(b) Remain at the crane/equipment controls at all times when the chair is occupied.
(8) The employer must engage all brakes and locking features when the occupied chair is in a stationary working position.
(9) The employer must stop operations if any safety device quits working properly during the use of the boatswain's chair.
(10) The employer must repair the safety device before resuming operations. Alternative measures are not permitted.
(11) Any other lifting on the crane/equipment's load lines is prohibited while personnel are suspended in a chair.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060, and chapter 49.17 RCW. WSR 25-16-089, s 296-155-55405, filed 8/5/25, effective 9/5/25. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.060. WSR 16-09-085, § 296-155-55405, filed 4/19/16, effective 5/20/16. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.010, 49.17.040, 49.17.050, 49.17.440, 49.17.060, and 29 C.F.R. 1926, Subpart CC. WSR 12-01-086, § 296-155-55405, filed 12/20/11, effective 2/1/12.]