Safety on the line

Despite a dramatic fall in overall injury rates in the US, construction deaths have risen in recent years, partly due to an increase in construction activity, but also because more heavy equipment is used. Crane-related deaths now account for 8 per cent of construction deaths in the US - around 30 annually. This makes the proficiency of crane operators a key to keeping sites safe.

One to way to improve site safety is to assess and certify the skills and knowledge required for safe crane operation, and the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) has been in the vanguard of this process in the US for the past 10 years.

The Commission points to the Canadian experience as an example of best safety practice. In 1978, the Canadians passed a requirement for training, and its positive impact on their accident and death rate has been impressive. Between 1969 and 1978 the Canadians suffered 85 deaths - around 8.5 a year, equating to 3.95 per 100,000 workers. From 1979 to 2002 this figure had plummeted to 51 - around 2.1 a year, and 0.76 per 100,000 workers.

Although they have yet to have the impact of the Canadian initiative, US authorities have also laid down a series of training requirements.

The NCCCO has a simple charter - to develop technical performance standards for crane operators, and to "provide a fair, independent and reliable assessment of operator knowledge and skills. But the effort behind these two apparently straightforward aims is tremendous".

Earlier this year, the NCCCO launched its tower crane operator certification program. This followed a mobile crane program released in 1996, and preceded a program for overhead cranes due to out in mid-January.

According to Philip Kinser, the NCCCO's program development manager, certification is simply a way to assess, through written and practical tests, what training an operator has received, and whether it was successful.

The NCCCO does not set the standard for training or the qualification criteria for an operator - these already exist through the ASME B30.3 requirements. Rather, its operator certification process provides independent verification of an operator's skills and knowledge, and that is important because the NCCCO is not, itself, involved in training.

The development process for the tower crane certification program began with a Task Force, comprising participants from ASME, constructors/owners, insurance companies, labour, manufacturers, and training companies. It generated a “job task analysis” - a list of skills that an operator needs in order to operate a tower crane safely and effectively, including:

* Swing the load/hook in a controlled manner.

* Demonstrate distance/depth perception.

* Demonstrate lateral load control (trolley/booming).

* Demonstrate vertical control of load (hoisting /booming/ lowering)

The knowledge areas for the written exam were identified as:

* Site - 10% of the exam

* Erecting, climbing, and dismantling - 25% of the exam

* Operations - 50% of the exam

* Technical knowledge - 15% of the exam

The Task Force drew up a survey based on these skills, and sent it to companies that it knew had several operators. It then pulled the results together into a single document, which would determine the content of the exams.

Finally, it identified the most important knowledge and skills statements, and drew up the final certification program, containing written and practical tests. The program was pilot tested, and launched on July 6 this year.

BOX 1

Some industry experts are concerned that the tower crane program includes self erectors, which, they say, differ significantly from top slewing tower cranes in terms of operating procedures, sight lines, and so on.

Kinser disagrees: "The self-erecting and hammerhead cranes share more in common than not. For example, both have towers and jibs, and both require that an operator know how to swing, trolley, hoist, and control the load. Although sight lines may vary, there are self-erectors that have cab and operator station controls as well as ground remote control options. There are self-erecting cranes that have 150ft hook heights and 150ft and longer jib lengths. Hammerhead cranes also have cab or ground remote control options."

Indeed, in establishing its certification criteria, the tower cranes Task Force does not suggest that self-erecting crane operators are competent, but that they have demonstrated - through a written and practical exam - that they are aware of the safe operating procedures and basic machine operations associated with the different types of tower cranes.

Kinser argues that the certification categories are broad because, generally, the skills needed to operate the spectrum of machines are similar. "However," he adds, "the Task Force has mandated that tower cranes (self erecting, luffer, or hammerhead) with capacities less than 40 meter tonne and/or push-button controls cannot be used to take the practical exam."

BOX 2 - OPTIONAL

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - the organisation responsible for administering safety in US workplaces - relies on the ASME B30.3 standard for construction tower cranes drawn up by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

OSHA enforces its regulations by inspecting workplaces. Most US States apply the Federal regulations ("Fed OSHA"), but 25 have their own version of the regulations.

Kinser does not see this as an obstacle to effective certification: "Although several States have ownership of their programs, the minimum requirement of Federal OSHA must be met or be more stringent. This does not generally create a problem because the same concepts of crane safety and operation are covered."

Pic captions

NCCCO 1

Earlier this year, the NCCCO launched its tower crane operator certification program. This followed a mobile crane program released in 1996, and preceded a program for overhead cranes due to out in mid-January

NCCCO 2

The NCCCO’s operator certification process provides independent verification of an operator's skills and knowledge, and that is important because the NCCCO is not, itself, involved in training