To clear up the confusion surrounding the effective dates of OSHA’s crane operator certification requirements lets look at five key elements of the final rule.
- Crane Operator Certification is now in effect. The final rule took effect on November 10, 2018. If you are not certified for the type of crane you are operating, your time is up – Get Certified!
- Certification can be by type alone. OSHA is accepting certifications issued by type only, rather than by type and capacity.
- Employers must evaluate their Certified Operators. Effective February 7, 2019, employers must also evaluate their operators to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge necessary to operate the crane(s) they are assigned to, as well as the hoisting activities. The operator must demonstrate the ability to “recognize and avert” risk. If an employer has already evaluated operators employed prior to December 10, 2018, those evaluations will suffice.
- The evaluations must be documented. The documented evaluation must be made available at the worksite and must include the names of both the operator and the evaluator, the date the evaluation was conducted, along with the make, model and configuration of the crane.
- Employers are still responsible for training. Operators who are not yet certified are classed as “operators-in-training”. Employers must provide them with formal and practical instruction to ensure they have the skills, knowledge, and ability to recognize and avert risk needed to operate the cranes. Operators-in-training are allowed to operate cranes without being certified (subject to certain restrictions) and they must be continuously monitored. The employer is also responsible for retaining as necessary.
For more information on Crane Operator Certification or Evaluation, contact the Subject Matter Experts at CICB. You can also view our certification courses here.
