Operator certification and licensing is a hot topic across the industry right now. In the USA, the new Federal Rule on Cranes & Derricks in Construction requires all mobile and tower crane operators to be certified by an accredited body. In Europe, where requirements vary from country to country, there is a new initiative to harmonise regulations or at least introduce some mutual recognition of different countries’ qualifications. Elsewhere in the world, other countries either tightened their requirements in recent years, or have plans to do so.
Certification means the award of credentials that demonstrates the operator has undergone an approved training scheme and shown him- or herself to be competent. A licensing scheme takes this forward a step, where the licence is an entitlement to operate. Often, a certificate acts in practice as a licence, and thus the difference between licensing and certification can be slight.
The USA’s new Federal Rule has been in the works for almost a decade. It was back in 2002 that the Federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) started proceedings and 2004 when the Cranes & Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (C-DAC), made up of industry representatives, produced its proposed document. It is not known how or if the final rule, expected to be published in early July, will differ from the proposed rule that went out to consultation, but the requirement for certification is not expected to have been significantly altered by OSHA.
Under section 1427 of the lengthy proposed document, all crane operators in the USA will require certification when working on construction sites to show that they have passed written and practical tests. Certification of some kind is already a requirement in 17 states and certain cities, but this is the first time Federal (central) government has required it.
Crane operators will be able to choose one of four routes to certification: through an accredited testing organization; through an employer qualification programme (audited by an accredited testing organization); through the US military; or by having a State or local government licence (valid only in the local authority’s area). Option one is clearly the best choice for crane operators as it is the only one that allows them to work anywhere and does not lapse when moving between employers.
In effect, the US government is putting its weight behind the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO), an industry body established in 1995 by the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association to introduce a formal certification regime to the USA with the goal of improving safety. Since day one, executive director of NCCCO has been former Cranes Today editor Graham Brent. After 15 years hard work, chipping away at client organizations and State governments to back its work, Brent and the NCCCO have finally achieved their ultimate goal.
The new crane rule requires that the certification body is accredited by a recognised accreditation body, which effectively means the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). While other organisations, including the International Union of Operating Engineers, may be able to meet the criteria to certify operators, NCCCO is accredited by both NCCA and ANSI. Under the new rule, operators will have four years’ grace to become certified.
Brent says that those states that have developed their own crane operator certification requirements since 1995 are likely to largely comply with the new Federal laws. North Carolina adopted the Federal rule in its proposed format in 2009, a year ahead of publication, writing it into its state statute books, without waiting for the long federal process to conclude. There were moves afoot in Wisconsin to push through an operator licensing law ahead of publication of the Federal Rule, which caused much controversy. The proposal was supported by labour unions but opposed by crane owners on the grounds that it failed to take into account existing industry standards and required training and experience that goes beyond the NCCCO programme.
Some cities also have their own requirements, which can be stricter than state programmes in some ways but not in others. In Philadelphia, for example, there is a requirement for signallers to be certified. The proposed rule does set out a requirement for signallers to be trained and qualified, though not necessarily certified, which Brent does not see becoming a national requirement anytime soon.
Across the States, more than 50,000 crane operators have achieved NCCCO certification since testing began in 1996. Operators are required to recertify every five years by sitting a written exam and attesting to 1,000 hours of crane-related experience. Those without 1,000 hours have to do a practical exam too.
The requirement for operator certification in the USA is seen by some as a model for the European Union to follow. ESTA, the European association for cranes and heavy transport, has initiated a programme to develop a unified European crane licence so that a certified operator from one country is recognised as competent to work in another country. While a practical first step might be multilateral mutual recognition of qualifications between those countries that already have certification (just as drivers’ licences are recognised), the ultimate goal is a single EU licence for crane operators.
The first step, agreed at the ESTA council meeting in Munich in April, is to fund a study to map the current situation. The resulting report will paint a very mixed picture.
Some countries have no regulations at all, such as Poland and Romania. In Greece, there is a requirement for experience, but how much is not specified.
Some countries that do require training or certification do not distinguish between categories of cranes. Pass a course on a 20t telescopic, and you are free to operate a 1,000t lattice giant.
Some countries have regulations, some have limited schemes, some have none (Greece, Poland, Romania).
In Denmark, Norway and Sweden it is a legal requirement to have a certificate. A crane operator certificate in Denmark requires a two-year apprenticeship at acrane company. Apprentices also study crane theory part-time at one of two special crane schools in the country. At the end of the two-year period, the apprentice has to pass both a written test and a practical test at the school.
In the UK there is no legal requirement for crane operator certification—only a general requirement that machine operators are adequately trained. The Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires that “every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken”.
However, there are industry-led certification schemes for construction machinery, the most prominent of which is the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS), introduced in 2003. A CPCS card is widely accepted as proof of the skills of the operators and has been adopted by the construction contractors’ association as a requirement for working on any member’s sites.
A CPCS card is also required on major construction sites for slinger/signallers and lifting operation supervisors. The mobile crane card has two categories: blocked duties and pick-and-carry duties. Both theory and practical skills are tested at approved centres. All card holders are required to maintain a log book of their work experience and subsequent refresher training.
Like the UK, Germany has no legal requirement for certification, but there is a widely adopted and formalised industry training scheme.
The Netherlands is thought to be the only EU country with a programme accredited to the international standard for personnel certification and training, ISO:17024. A licence is a legal requirement on construction sites, though not in ports or if working in logistics or demolition in your own facility. There is an exemption for four months on a single construction site, to allow a foreign contractor to bring in its own operators for a one-off project.
The ESTA licensing project is being led by Ton Klijn, managing director of Dutch rental company Wagenborg Nedlift and an ESTA vice president. Klijn has first-hand experience of the frustrations that can be caused by a lack of harmonisation. Wagenborg Nedlift bought a small company in Germany and wanted its operators to be able to work on both side of the Dutch/German border. “The first thing we had to do was teach them all Dutch so they could take the Dutch exam. They were all experienced operators but could not work in Holland without it. A truck driver can cross borders with a national licence, but a crane operator cannot. He can drive the crane into another country but he cannot operate it.”
Klijn says: “We want to take away the barriers for operating and diminish red tape. Secondly, we think safety would be greatly enhanced as licences from some countries do not guarantee skill.” Hand signals would also be harmonised, he says.
Once the study into the current situation has been completed, ESTA plans to follow the lead of the SC&RA and set up its own equivalent of NCCCO within the next two years.
“In the USA, the SC&RA devised the standard, and then certified the trainersand examiners. ESTA has this in mind. We would set a standard for the quality of the programme and we would certify the trainers,” he says. “For example, if BSK[the German crane association] introduce an ESTA certified exam, they can awardan ESTA licence that would be recognized Europe-wide.”
He recognises that there may be political challenges in getting support forthe idea from national bodies that derive funding from their own schemes. Big endsers such as oil companies are already being targeted for support since, as crossnational operators, they would be major beneficiaries. “For example, Shell in Greece has to have its own system in place to check and control crane safety. They could do away with that if there was a European scheme they could trust,” Klijn says.
It took 15 years for the SC&RA to get nationwide mandatory operator certification. Klijn is hoping that it does not take so long in Europe.
Canada
The only national scheme is the ‘Red Seal’ programme for mobile crane operators, but requirements for certification vary from province to province.
In British Columbia, it is mandatory to possess a credential to operate a crane. This requirement was introduced in July 2007 and WorkSafeBC is still in the process of assessing all operators. The deadline for all operators to get their credentials is 28 February, 2011.
Training can be accomplished in a number of different ways, including apprenticeship programmes, private training providers or in-house training. Assessment, which consists of both practical and theory elements, is conducted by a third party.
The mobile crane category has five classifications: Lattice Boom Friction (Conventional); Lattice Boom Hydraulic; Unlimited Hydraulic; Hydraulic 80t and under; and Hydraulic 20t and under. There is a separate credential for tower cranes. A logbook must be maintained during training but there is no requirement after qualification. The BC Association for Crane Safety (BCACS) was established in 2005 to promote the development of an industry-driven crane operator qualification system in British Columbia. It has developed a programme that offers crane operators the opportunity to receive a CraneSafe certificate.
Crane operators who posses a crane trade qualification previously issued in BC, such as a ‘Red Seal’ crane operator certificate, are validly certified to operate in BC and do not need further testing or assessment.
Japan
Japan introduced mandatory licences for crane operators way back in 1947. In 1972 separate licences were brought in for mobile cranes (including railway cranes and floating cranes) and fixed cranes such as overhead travelling cranes, jib cranes and portal bridge cranes.
The registered training institution grants the skill training course completion certificate and the Director of the Prefectural Labour Bureau grants the licence after a test of both theory and practical skills.
Hiroyuki Okada of the Japan Crane Association says: “Usually, a person who wants to get the operator’s licence receives the theoretical training and the practical skill training at the registered training institution. It takes six days to receive this training. A person who has completed the practical training course is exempt the whole of skill test of the licence examination.”
Once issued, a licence is valid for life, with no requirement for re-testing.
Australia
The government workplace safety body SafeWork Australia, introduced the National Occupational Health and Safety Certification Standard for Users and Operators of Industrial Equipment in 2001. This specifies nationally uniform certification classes and competency standards for: crane and hoist operation; scaffolding and rigging; and pressure equipment operation.
This standard was the culmination of years of trying to achieve national uniformity in the area of certification of users and operators of industrial equipment.
“Initially it used to be state-based but all of the individual states have now agreed to have the same legislation in place in all states based on Model Legislation written by SafeWork Australia. All mobile crane operators must be trained and certified. Some are still state-based but all will eventually have a National Certificate,” says Jeff Brundell, director of CraneSafe Australia.
Most mobile crane operators can train at a technical school and then take a written and practical test. This is followed by on the job training. The industry is currently developing a threeyear traineeship scheme, Brundell says.
There are different classes of licences for different crane sizes: up to 20t; up to 60t; up to 100t; over 100t. There is a separate licence for tower cranes.
Tests must be retaken every five years. Most companies are now instituting operator logbooks, but the larger companies have had this in place for a number of years, Brundell says.
New Zealand
“There has been a major shift in the past couple of years,” says Ian Grooby, chief executive of the Crane Association of New Zealand.
There has long been a requirement for “adequate training” but no definition of what this means. Therefore CANZ produced a code of practice that came into effect on 7 January, 2010. Although it does not have the force of law behind it, it has government support and although it has yet to be tested in court, it is expected that in the event of an accident an employer would have to prove to the court that the operator had been trained at least to the standard of the industry code of practice.
The code of practice states that: “Controllers and employers should be able to provide evidence that their crane operators have the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to safely operate their cranes. An appropriate qualification from an appropriate industry training organisation may provide such evidence.”
Consequently, there is now significant demand for training and assessment.
CANZ has its own training organisation, Opportunity, which is one of 39 Industry Training Organisations that accredit training providers. Opportunity sets standards for cranes, scaffolding, rigging, industrial rope work and elevating work platforms. The standards set are registered on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority Framework.
There are more than 50 unit standards relating to the crane industry, and each unit is worth up to 25 credits. Units range from “Configure mobile crane and lift and place loads“ (22 credits) to “Diagnose and rectify mechanical faults in overhead cranes” (15 credits).
“In the qualifications regime it is estimated that people need between 10 and 12 hours of training time per credit,” says Grooby, although people with experience already can go straight to the assessment.
Qualifications are made up of packages of unit standards, tailored to meet the learning needs of individuals. A slinger/signaller, for example, needs only have unit “3789: Sling regular loads and communicate during crane operations”.
Once a person has achieved all of the required unit standards for a National Certificate, Opportunity notifies the NZ Qualifications Authority and a certificate is issued and is valid for life. There are separate National Certificates for mobile, crawler, tower and overhead crane operation, as well as for crane supervision, crane dispatch supervision and advanced crane operation.
Singapore
The law in Singapore states that: “No person shall install, repair, alter or dismantle a mobile crane or a tower crane unless he is an approved crane contractor—approved and registered with Commissioner for Workplace Safety & Health.”
This year, all operators have to attend half-day Crane Safety Awareness Workshops to renew their licences. The safety workshops were developed by the National Crane Safety Taskforce, which was set up in July 2009.
The taskforce is also reviewing all training courses for members of the lifting team: operator, supervisor, rigger and signalman. Enhanced courses for lifting supervisors are to be rolled out by August 2010, and the rest by early 2011.
