By Anna DeBattiste

In the October edition of Crane Hotline Magazine, the editor reported the following from the SC&RA workshop last month:

“Presenters reminded the audience that although everyone is talking about provisions they think will be included in the final published rule [referring to Cranes and Derricks in Construction], no one knows for sure what it says until OSHA actually publishes it, and OSHA is being very tight-lipped about it. However, one of the speakers said that the word from the Directorate is that the organization plans to have the new rule published by November 10th.”

As a reminder, we are waiting to hear final decisions on a number of important issues, most significantly what employers will need to do to ensure operator qualification on top of getting their operators certified. The most recent proposal put forth an annual, in-house evaluation process by employers to document that operators are qualified to run the specific equipment they are assigned to run.

Other components of the proposed rule include:

1.  Capacity is out. Certification must be by type, but not capacity.  In anticipation that this part of the proposal will hold, an assumption that has general stakeholder agreement, NCCER has already dropped capacity from their certification process. Our NCCER classes are organized by the following types: boom truck, telescoping boom, lattice boom, and industrial (e.g. carrydecks and other all-purpose cranes).

2.  Smaller cranes are still covered. A number of industries, most notably the propane industry, continued to lobby OSHA this year for an exclusion for small capacity cranes that perform repetitive tasks, such as setting propane tanks. OSHA’s position is that these cranes are subject to “many of the crane hazards presented by larger cranes,” and therefore they have rejected such lobbying efforts. There is still an exemption, however, for cranes with a capacity of 2000 pounds or less.

3. The former rule specified that employers must pay for their operators to get certified only for operators who were employed when the rule was first published, in 2010. The new proposed rule extends that requirement to any operator currently employed. As far as the November 10th deadline goes, we are taking a “better safe than sorry” approach and proceeding as if it will hold. Last spring, OSHA asked for public comment on whether they should extend it another six months, which would put us at April of 2019. There is still no word on this, however. NCCCO suggests one possibility is that OSHA will uphold the November 10th deadline but perhaps not enforce it until April. 

Our October operator certification class in Concord was over-full and had a waiting list, so we have just added one more class to our 2018 schedule, in the Portsmouth/Dover area on December 11 – 14th. Call or email soon if you need a spot, anna@newenglandcraneschool.com, 303-817-5663.

Moores Crane Rental Corp. is seeking a full-time, experienced hydraulic crane operator for daily crane rental business. Applicants must have a minimum of three years experience operating hydraulic cranes, possess a CDL B driver’s license, have a good driving record, pass a security background check and drug testing, and have a crane license or certification. Benefits Include: Health insurance, dental insurance, and retirement program. Applicants must be familiar with crane set-up, crane break-down, maintenance of cranes, and have experience in various types of crane operations.

Send resumes to:

Moores Crane Rental Corp.

33 Littleworth Road Dover, NH 03820

Tel. (603) 742-0071

Fax: (603) 742-0183

Or email to: info@moorescranerental.com

Moores Crane Rental Corp. is an equal opportunity employer.