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ASME PALD 13-1988 — Swing Type Mobile Lifts Safety Standard
🚗 ASME/ANSI PALD-13-1988 is the Swing Type Mobile Lifts volume of the Safety Standard for Portable Automotive Lifting Devices. Approved by ANSI on May 19, 1988 and issued on June 30, 1988, it comes with an automatic addenda subscription service so that revisions can be published annually. The volume covers mobile lifting devices used in automotive service to raise the wheels of one end of a vehicle free of the ground, prescribing complete safety requirements spanning design, marking, testing, operation, maintenance, and inspection.
💡 PALD-13 is one of the 17 PALD volumes. It covers swing type mobile lifts — devices with a pair of laterally spaced lifting members that raise and lower in unison, contacting the vehicle at two points across its axis of symmetry on the bumper, bumper supports, axle, or frame members.
1. Scope and Framework 📌
The volume is organized into seven sections plus an illustration:
| Section | Content | Key Points |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Scope, Purpose, Classification, and Illustration | Equipment types and classification |
| Section 2 | Definitions | base, dynamic restraint, proof load, rated capacity, etc. |
| Section 3 | Design | Operating controls, travel limits, overload capacity, proof load |
| Section 4 | Product Marking and Identification | Capacity, manufacturer ID, date code, warnings |
| Section 5 | Design Qualification Testing | Proof, travel limit, load loss, sustaining, and release tests |
| Section 6 | Product Instructions and Warnings | Operator instruction content |
| Section 7 | Operation, Maintenance, and Inspection | Usage precautions and inspection procedures |
The boundary with B30.1 is explicit: PALD-13 applies to swing type mobile lifts used in automotive service, maintenance, and storage; similar lifting devices designed for other commercial or industrial use that fall within ANSI B30.1, Jacks, are excluded.
⚠️ The use of swing type mobile lifts involves hazards that cannot be fully precluded by mechanical means — dropping, tipping, or slipping of vehicles or components caused by improperly secured loads, overloading, off-centered loads, use on other than hard level surfaces, or use for purposes for which the equipment was not designed. Only careful, competent, trained, and qualified personnel should operate them.
2. Technical Requirements and Specifications 🔧
Section 3 design requirements form the backbone of the volume, and Section 4 marking ensures traceability:
- Operating Controls (3.1): readily visible and accessible, free of pinch points, sharp edges, and snagging hazards; the release system requires intentional positive action to prevent accidental lowering.
- Travel Limit (3.2): a positive means prevents the load from being raised or moved beyond the design limit of travel.
- Overload Capacity (3.3): all lifts shall meet para. 3.4 as minimum overload capacity.
- Proof Load (3.4): lifts shall perform the proof load test with a proof load of 150% of rated capacity.
- Secondary Load Holding Means (3.5): a device prevents unrestricted lowering in the event of loss of air pressure.
- Saddles (3.6): raised protrusions, such as a tang or rail, on the edges act as a load restraint.
| Design Item | Requirement | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Operating controls | Visible, accessible, no pinch points; positive-action release | Prevent misoperation and accidental lowering |
| Travel limit | Positive limiting means | Prevent travel beyond design limits |
| Proof load | 150% of rated capacity | Confirm structural integrity |
| Secondary holding | Automatic stop on loss of air pressure | Prevent unrestricted lowering |
| Saddles | Raised edge restraint | Prevent load slippage |
| Marking | Capacity, manufacturer, date code, warning | Traceability and operator warnings |
3. Design Qualification Testing 🔬
Section 5 requires that for each design or design change that may affect the lift’s ability to meet this volume, sample lifts built to design specifications shall be proof tested, with no functional damage and no detriment to operating characteristics:
- Proof Load Test (5.1.1): apply the proof load to the saddles; lift, sustain, and lower through the entire range of travel.
- Travel Limit Test (5.1.2): fully extend with no external load and verify the limiting means prevents further extension.
- Instantaneous Load Loss Test (5.1.3): at rated capacity, raise to maximum momentum height and remove the load instantly; the lift must leave the ground no more than 12 in. (300 mm).
- Load Sustaining Test (5.1.4): descent no more than 1/8 in. (3 mm) in the first minute and 3/16 in. (4.8 mm) in 10 minutes.
- Secondary Load Holding Means Test (5.1.5): on release of internal air pressure, the means automatically stops the lift within 7 in. (178 mm) of descent.
- Release Test (5.1.6): descent rate no more than 3 in./sec (75 mm/s).
🚨 The instantaneous load loss test is unique to pneumatic lifts: when the load is suddenly removed, the lifting member must not over-travel (ground clearance ≤ 12 in./300 mm), and the lifting member, saddles, and attachments must remain affixed to the lift assembly. This is the key protection against “bounce” injuries.
4. Engineering Practice Essentials 🛠️
- 🔍 Procurement and acceptance: verify rated capacity, manufacturer identification, and date code; obtain design qualification test records.
- 🔧 Operating discipline: use only on hard level surfaces; keep loads evenly distributed on the saddles per the vehicle manufacturer’s specification; transfer the vehicle to appropriate supports immediately after lifting — never leave the lift supporting the vehicle.
- 📊 Inspection and maintenance: per Section 7, regularly inspect pneumatic component sealing, structure, and saddles; take the lift out of service on any anomaly.
- 📋 Instruction management: keep operator instructions and warning labels complete and legible; ensure operators are trained and qualified.
💡 This edition became effective 3 months after issuance, with prospective application only. Follow the addenda subscription service to track subsequent revisions issued annually.
5. Frequently Asked Questions ❓
❓ Q: What distinguishes a swing type mobile lift from a fixed lift?
A: Swing type mobile lifts are portable, with laterally spaced lifting members that swing up and down to raise one end of a vehicle; they are not fixed platforms and exclude similar devices within the scope of B30.1, Jacks.
A: Swing type mobile lifts are portable, with laterally spaced lifting members that swing up and down to raise one end of a vehicle; they are not fixed platforms and exclude similar devices within the scope of B30.1, Jacks.
❓ Q: Why emphasize the 150% proof load?
A: The proof load exceeds rated capacity and is applied at the lifting points to confirm structural integrity; the 150% overload test quantifies the safety margin so that occasional overload does not cause structural failure.
A: The proof load exceeds rated capacity and is applied at the lifting points to confirm structural integrity; the 150% overload test quantifies the safety margin so that occasional overload does not cause structural failure.
❓ Q: What air supply requirements apply to pneumatic lifts?
A: The Standard focuses on safe performance with compressed air as the force-transmitting medium: a secondary holding device must stop the lift on loss of air pressure, controls must prevent accidental lowering, and supply pressure must match the lift’s rated capability.
A: The Standard focuses on safe performance with compressed air as the force-transmitting medium: a secondary holding device must stop the lift on loss of air pressure, controls must prevent accidental lowering, and supply pressure must match the lift’s rated capability.
🔍 Q: How do PALD-13 and PALD-14 differ?
A: PALD-13 covers swing type mobile lifts (lifting members swing about a pivot); PALD-14 covers scissors type mobile lifts (members raise and lower in a scissors action). Different mechanisms carry correspondingly different design and test requirements.
A: PALD-13 covers swing type mobile lifts (lifting members swing about a pivot); PALD-14 covers scissors type mobile lifts (members raise and lower in a scissors action). Different mechanisms carry correspondingly different design and test requirements.
