1926.702: Concrete and Masonry Equipment and Tools
Employers must equip concrete and masonry equipment with required safeguards: bulk cement bins with tapered bottoms and flow starters, lockout before entry, guardrails on mixer skips, automatic shutoff on power trowels, and safety latches on concrete buckets. The rule also covers concrete buggies, pumping systems and tremies.
Key takeaways
- 1926.702 is part of OSHA's construction standards (29 CFR Part 1926, Subpart Q).
- OSHA cited it 16 times in the last 3 years, in 16 inspections, with $63,506 in current penalties.
- 1 death is linked to inspections that cited this rule.
- Most citations: TX (6), FL (2), MN (2).
- Most-cited part: 1926.702(i) Masonry saws (7 citations).
- Free 5-minute toolbox talk for your crew below.
In this article
What this rule covers
29 CFR 1926.702, "Requirements for equipment and tools", is an OSHA construction standard (Part 1926, Subpart Q). It has 24 numbered paragraphs. The official text below is copied word for word from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). The numbers, injury cases and training on this page show how OSHA enforces it on real job sites.
Official text
Show the full text of 1926.702 (24 paragraphs)
(a) Bulk cement storage. Open (a)
(1) Bulk storage bins, containers, and silos shall be equipped with the following:
(i) Conical or tapered bottoms; and
(ii) Mechanical or pneumatic means of starting the flow of material.
(2) No employee shall be permitted to enter storage facilities unless the ejection system has been shut down, locked out, and tagged to indicate that the ejection system is not to be operated.
(b) Concrete mixers. Concrete mixers with one cubic yard (.8 m3) or larger loading skips shall be equipped with the following: Open (b)
(1) A mechanical device to clear the skip of materials; and
(2) Guardrails installed on each side of the skip.
(c) Power concrete trowels. Powered and rotating type concrete troweling machines that are manually guided shall be equipped with a control switch that will automatically shut off the power whenever the hands of the operator are removed from the equipment handles. Open (c) 1 citations
(d) Concrete buggies. Concrete buggy handles shall not extend beyond the wheels on either side of the buggy.
(e) Concrete pumping systems. Open (e)
(1) Concrete pumping systems using discharge pipes shall be provided with pipe supports designed for 100 percent overload. Open (e)(1)
(2) Compressed air hoses used on concrete pumping system shall be provided with positive fail-safe joint connectors to prevent separation of sections when pressurized.
(f) Concrete buckets.
(1) Concrete buckets equipped with hydraulic or pneumatic gates shall have positive safety latches or similar safety devices installed to prevent premature or accidental dumping.
(2) Concrete buckets shall be designed to prevent concrete from hanging up on top and the sides.
(g) Tremies. Sections of tremies and similar concrete conveyances shall be secured with wire rope (or equivalent materials) in addition to the regular couplings or connections.
(h) Bull floats. Bull float handles, used where they might contact energized electrical conductors, shall be constructed of nonconductive material or insulated with a nonconductive sheath whose electrical and mechanical characteristics provide the equivalent protection of a handle constructed of nonconductive material. 3 citations
(i) Masonry saws. Open (i) 7 citations
(1) Masonry saws shall be guarded with a semicircular enclosure over the blade. 7 citations
(2) A method for retaining blade fragments shall be incorporated in the design of the semicircular enclosure. Open (i)(2)
(j) Lockout/Tagout Procedures. Open (j) 5 citations
(1) No employee shall be permitted to perform maintenance or repair activity on equipment (such as compressors, mixers, screens or pumps used for concrete and masonry construction activities) where the inadvertent operation of the equipment could occur and cause injury, unless all potentially hazardous energy sources have been locked out and tagged. Open (j)(1) 5 citations
(2) Tags shall read Do Not Start or similar language to indicate that the equipment is not to be operated.
Source: eCFR, text current as of 2026-10-15.
Injuries linked to this rule
1 death is linked to inspections where OSHA cited 1926.702.
At 3:45 a.m. on December 3, 2024, an employee working as a construction laborer for a building contractor was cleaning out a concrete mixer at the end of the shift. The employee was caught by the auger paddles and pulled into the mixer when it…
Where and how often it was cited
| Year | Citations |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 7 |
| 2026 | 4 |
Top states: TX (6), FL (2), MN (2), ND (1), GA (1)
Largest penalties
| Employer | Location | Penalty for this rule |
|---|---|---|
| PHILLIPS AND JORDAN, INCORPORATED | LABELLE, FL | $16,550 |
| C.C. CARLTON INDUSTRIES, LTD. | LIBERTY HILL, TX | $9,930 |
| JLG STRUCTURES, INC. | SEABROOK, TX | $5,625 |
| CASH CONCRETE LLC | FARGO, ND | $4,688 |
| 317738165 - PATRICK JOHN ZWEIFEL | MANZANITA, OR | $4,611 |
Free toolbox talk
A 5-minute crew talk on 1926.702, plus alerts when this rule changes. Free.
OSHA interpretation letters
- Standards and enforcement policy for construction concrete pumping operations using 'concrete boom pump trucks. ' (2013-05-02)
- Whether OSHA prohibits the use of a double D-bend elbow ("Rams Horn") shut-off valve at the end of a concrete pumping hose. (2010-07-29)
- Whether it is mandatory to use a wet saw when cutting brick or concrete block. (2006-07-20)
- Requirements for leaving construction equipment and powder-actuated tools unattended on a construction building site; impalement protection from reinforcing steel for masonry workers on a scaffold. (2005-05-11)
- Guard requirements for concrete mixers with loading skips. (2000-11-02)
- Materials used for constructing guardrails. (1994-08-17)
- OSHA standard addressing the materials used for constructing guardrails. (1994-08-17)
- Recommendations to Increase Availability of SAVES to the Field (1990-03-19)
- Centrifugal safety switch for a concrete trowel machine is acceptable. (1986-07-29)
Most-cited parts of this rule
- 1926.702(i) Masonry saws 7 citations
- 1926.702(j) Lockout/Tagout Procedures 5 citations
- 1926.702(j)(1) 5 citations
- 1926.702(c) Power concrete trowels 1 citations
- 1926.702(e)(1)
- 1926.702(i)(2)
- 1926.702(a) Bulk cement storage
- 1926.702(b) Concrete mixers
- 1926.702(e) Concrete pumping systems
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Frequently asked questions
Can a worker enter a bulk cement storage bin?
Only after the ejection system has been shut down, locked out, and tagged.
What safety feature must a power trowel have?
A control switch that automatically shuts off power whenever the operator's hands are removed from the handles.
What must concrete pumping pipe supports handle?
Pipe supports must be designed for 100 percent overload.
About this page
Sources
- 29 CFR 1926.702 (eCFR), text current as of 2026-10-15
- U.S. Department of Labor enforcement data: OSHA inspections, citations and accident records, copied nightly; data as of 2026-10-20
3-year window. Federal OSHA only; state-plan rules are not counted. Plain-language text is a summary, not legal advice; the official text controls. Black Belt Safety is not part of OSHA or the Department of Labor.