Certification organization releases employer guides on updated crane operator requirements

Fairfax, VA — The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators has published three employer guides on OSHA’s updated crane operator requirements, a final rule scheduled to go into effect Dec. 10.

The two-page guides, released Nov. 21, address the rule’s training, certification and evaluation regulations, providing an overview of its essential elements in a question-and-answer format.

“Since OSHA has identified a three-step process to achieving qualification as a crane operator, it seemed to make sense to create individual guides for each,” NCCCO CEO Graham Brent said in a press release.

OSHA published the long-awaited updates to its crane operator certification requirements in the Nov. 9 Federal Register. The agency is mandating certification by only the type of crane, but will accept certifications by crane type and its lifting capacity.

OSHA specifies that “certification/licensing” must be accomplished via an accredited testing service, an independently audited employer program, military training, or compliance with qualifying state or local licensing requirements.

Employers also are required to “train operators as needed to perform assigned crane activities” and provide training when it is necessary to operate new equipment, OSHA states in a Nov. 7 press release. Organizations that have completed evaluations before Dec. 9 will not need to conduct them again, the agency adds, but will need to document the completion of those evaluations.