On May 22, OSHA published a Trade News Release stating its intent to extend the compliance date for crane operator certification requirements. See www.osha.gov for specific details.

An excerpt from this release is as follows:

“Washington- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced that it will propose to extend the compliance date for the crane operator certification requirement by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. The proposal would also extend to the same date the existing phase-in requirement that employers ensure that their operators are qualified to operate the equipment.”

NACB, Inc. anticipates that this proposal will be accepted and that the compliance date will change from 2014 to 2017.  For those organizations that have been proactive in getting their operators certified before the effective date – congratulations, you are ahead of the curve. It has always been, since the inception of OSHA, the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace for its workers; and this has not changed. The certification process, administering written and practical testing by type and capacity, via an accredited testing agency, is a viable means of determining a baseline of competency. However, the employer still has the responsibility to verify the ability of an operator to safely operate any specific piece of equipment that the employee is assigned to operate.

Operating cranes is a very demanding and responsible career path, and competency must never be assumed, nor taken for granted. NACB, Inc. encourages you to take proactive measures to make certain that all of your operators are competent, qualified crane operators for the equipment they operate.