Currently, state legislation demands that cranes are erected, maintained and used, or modified, according to manufacturers specifications. Crane owners are required to ensure that crane operators are trained and experienced, must maintain cranes to manufacturers’ specifications and must perform regular inspections.
The new bills will introduce a programme of certification, for cranes and for crane operators. The State Department of Labor and Industry would be required to establish a system of certification for third party crane inspectors, who would inspect and certify cranes. Crane owners would be required to ensure cranes are inspected and load tested at least once a year, and after significant modification or repair of structural parts.
Tower cranes and tower crane components would need to be certified both prior to erection and after assembly. Where non-standard foundations were used, these too would need to be inspected. In the Bellevue accident, the crane had been supported on a base constructed out of steel beams, rather than being anchored directly into a concrete foundation.
The bills would set standards for qualified crane operators, who would need to possess a valid crane operator certificate for the crane used. This would need to be issued by a crane operator testing organisation, accredited by a nationally recognised agency. They would need to have 2,000 hours of experience, and be recertified every five years. Echoing concerns raised at the time of the Bellevue collapse, operators would need to be drug tested.
The Washington state senate’s labour, commerce, research and development committee will hold a public hearing into the bill today, February 19, with the equivalent house committee holding a public hearing later in the week. The house bill has 52 co-sponsors, and the senate bill has 30.
