OSHA Issues Proposed Rule to Extend Certification Deadline

(August 2017) — OSHA published a Proposed Rule that would delay the deadline for crane operator certification by a further year until November 17, 2018. 
 
The Proposed Rule, which was expected, is intended to provide additional time for the Agency to fix language in the crane rule relating to certification by type and capacity, as well as to define the additional steps OSHA will require to ensure certified operators are qualified.
 
The current rule is due to come into effect on November 10 of this year and OSHA is concerned it no longer has sufficient time to address these issues before the current deadline.
 
OSHA is inviting comments on its proposal which must be submitted no later than 30 days from the date of the notice.  The full text of the Proposed Rule can be read here. 
 
NCCCO, and a majority of the industry (including the labor-management Coalition for Crane Operator Safety, CCOS) is supportive of the delay on the basis that the current language as interpreted by OSHA would not have the desired safety benefits and is not in line with the intent of the Cranes and Derricks Advisory Committee (C-DAC) that wrote the original draft of the rule.  OSHA notes in its announcement that the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety & Health (ACCSH) also unanimously recommended earlier this year that OSHA delay the operator certification compliance date.

For more information, visit NCCCO.