California Code of Regulations
Title 8 - Industrial Relations
Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations
Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety
Subchapter 20 - Tunnel Safety Orders
Article 19 - Shafts and Hoisting Systems
Section 8493 - General

(1) At the tops of all shafts and inclines, barriers shall be installed which are a minimum of 42 inches high and designed to withstand reasonably expected loads, such as a person with a tool or parts carrier, utility lines and a suspended load with a person tending a tag line.

(2) Barriers shall be a minimum of 6 feet high and designed to withstand reasonably expected loads where the depth of the shaft exceeds 100 feet.

EXCEPTION: A small designated section of the barrier, where the toplander observes and/or signals to the crane operator, shall be a minimum of 42 inches high.

(3) The ground adjacent to the top of all shafts shall be sloped away from the shaft collar to prevent the entry of liquids and provided with effective barriers to prevent mobile or rail-mounted equipment from falling into the shaft.

(4) At all intermediate shaft stations 6-foot high barriers shall be installed.

(5) Gates in the barriers shall be kept in place except when necessarily removed for loading operations.

(6) Where there is a hazard of material falling into the shaft, the cage and skip compartments shall be screened or timbered off from other shaft compartments. This divider shall extend high enough upon the head frame to confine in the skip compartment any muck that might become dislodged during the dumping of the skip.

(7) If a shaft is not provided with a separate, enclosed compartment for the handling of materials, a warning signal appropriate for the conditions shall be provided to warn employees at the bottom of the shaft and all intermediate stations whenever a load is being hoisted over, or through the shaft. The area around the bottom of the shaft station shall be barricaded or posted with appropriate notices or warnings.

(8) All stations and skip pockets shall have sufficient passageway so that crossing through the hoisting compartment of shafts is unnecessary.

(9) All sumps must be covered or protected with standard guard rail.