ISO 3691-2:2016 gives safety requirements and the means for their verification for self-propelled industrial variable-reach trucks and variable-reach container handlers/reach stackers as defined in ISO 5053‑1 (hereafter referred to as trucks), equipped with forks or integral load-handling devices for normal industrial duties (e.g. fork arms or means, such as spreaders, for handling containers).

It is not applicable to

- rough-terrain variable-reach trucks,

- rough-terrain variable-reach trucks for handling containers,

- machines designed primarily for earth-moving (e.g. loaders and dozers), even when their buckets and blades are replaced with forks,

- machines from which the load can swing freely in all directions.

For the purposes of this part of ISO 3691, fork arms and integrated attachments are considered to be a part of the truck, whereas attachments/equipment mounted on the load carrier or on the fork arms which are removable by the user are not. Nevertheless, requirements for such attachments are also given by the document.

Any regional requirements additional to the provisions of this part of ISO 3691 are addressed in ISO/TS 3691‑7 and ISO/TS 3691‑8.

ISO 3691-2:2016 deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations or hazardous events, as listed in Annex B, with the exception of the following, relevant to the applicable machines when used as intended and under conditions of misuse which are reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer.

It does not establish requirements for hazards that can occur

- during construction,

- when using trucks on public roads,

- when operating in potentially explosive atmospheres, or

- when lifting persons.