NCCCO marks 20 years of activity

Current president Thom Sicklesteel said: "Over the past two decades, CCO certification has made an indelible contribution to crane safety by establishing a national benchmark of the knowledge and skills needed to operate cranes. CCO certification, without question, is one of the most powerful tools available to an employer in ensuring only qualified personnel work with and around cranes.

The organization was established in January 1995 as an independent, non-profit personnel certification body, after almost a decade of effort from a group of industry volunteers in improving the safety of lifting operations.

Chief executive Graham Brent said: "They believed a major part of the solution to reducing the high rate of crane accidents lay in establishing effective performance standards for crane operators and those who work with them.

"We want to make sure that we recognize this historic milestone appropriately. There's a tremendous amount that administering almost one million examinations can tell us, and we're excited about sharing that information with the industry, as well as outlining the role we believe professional certification can play in addressing such issues as the nation's skills shortage."

Activities will also focus on the organisation's achievements, including the fact that studies have noted an 80% drop in crane-related fatalities in areas where professionally-developed certification has been adopted.

The organisation also passed another milestone last year, said vice president Kerry Hulse, when the NCCCO passed the 100,000th person through its certification programme.