The first phase of the crane rules for operator certification, crane certification and crane certifier requirements has gone through the public hearing stage. The current adoption date is November 4, 2008 with the effective date being January 1, 2009.
The crane legislation states that “No person may operate a crane unless he or she is a qualified crane operator. Qualified crane operator requirements must include that the crane operator have a valid crane operator certificate for the type of crane to be operated and issued by a nationally recognized accrediting agency.” At the present time there is only one nationally recognized accrediting agency and that is the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).
If you have crane operators, they must be certified and keeping track of their hours of operation by the type(s) of crane operated. On January 1, 2010 they will have to be certified by the state to operate any and all types of construction cranes. The hours of operation required differs by type of crane. There will be no grandfathering of operators; in other words, if they do not have their NCCCO certification and hours of experience, they will no longer be able to operate a crane until they meet the training requirements.
ABC/WW will be offering its first NCCCO Mobile Crane training in October 2008. Overton Safety Training, Inc., an authorized NCCCO trainer, will be our provider. The class is offered October 14 - 18. There will be classroom study for the first three days and then the written test will be on the 17th with the practical exam on the 18th. Both the written and practical exams must be passed in order to receive operator certification. To register for this class contact Safety Coordinator
Stacie Elledge at (800) 640-7789.
ABC/WW and Overton Safety Training, Inc. will be offering more NCCCO crane certification classes in 2009. Check out the ABC Website and your monthly training flyers for the dates. If you have any questions contact
Ann Jarvis, vice president of safety and education at (800) 640-7789.