Major Points of OSHA Crane Regulation Changes

Some of the major points of the new crane regulation are:

New OSHA crane regulation goes into effect November 8, 2010.
Crane operators will need to be certified on cranes over 1 ton capacity.
Calculators are allowed to be used when taking written examinations.
Employers must provide operator certification/ qualification at no cost to the employee.
Riggers and signalpersons must meet qualification requirements.
Spotters are required to watch separation between powerlines and equipment.
Crane operators must be given the authority to stop operations when lifts could be unsafe.
Multi-crane lifts must be planned by a qualified engineer.
Inspections are required each shift and monthly and annually with documentation.
A crane must be shut down if it has a defective safety device.
The controlling entity is responsible for ensuring that necessary ground preparations are provided for the crane.
Forklifts when configured like a crane come under this regulation.

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Industry Trainers Offer Their Thoughts on What it Takes to be a Top-Flight Member of the Crew

(Excerpted from Crane Hotline
July 2010 Issue)

Following is an excerpt from James Headley, Director at CIA, in the Article, Crane & Rigging Resume:

Each role in the crane and rigging crew requires a different set of skills, aptitude, training, and experience. There is overlap in some areas, but each crew member plays his or her own part on a team. And with the sophisticated level of training and certification opportunities available today, employers now have a greater expectation for crane and rigging team members to have mastered critical skills for their position as well as other job duties.

But it wasn't always that way. Jim Headley of Crane Institute of America tells a story with a familiar theme, indicating just how crucial training, experience, and certification are to the crane and rigging industry:

"I was doing expert witness work representing the plaintiff in a case where a crane failure caused extensive injury. I was at the deposition and helping the attorneys ask a witness questions. He was a very nice, humble man, who had probably forgotten more about the inner workings of a crane than I'll ever know. He was a mechanic and he had done the inspection on the crane," explains Headley.

When asked what standards he's used, he didn't know and his checklist was not as good as it could have been. "They made him look bad. They were professional, but they asked him a lot of questions he didn't have answers to. OSHA standards? He didn't know what an OSHA standard was. ASME standards? He didn't know what an ASME standard was," he continues.

Headley says he felt sorry for the man and it occurred to him that a good training class might have provided him with the tools to give him more competence in the deposition. "I outlined a crane training and certification program on the spot. Ironically, it became the most popular training and certification program the Crane Institute offers," says Headley.

In the next issue we will have another excerpt written by Jim Headley on Signalperson and Crane Inspector.