Articulating Cranes Under Stricter Rules in California

May 15, 2012—When it comes to articulating boom cranes used in construction in California, owners and operators should be aware that the California regulation is more strict than the federal crane rule (29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC—Cranes and Derricks in Construction). The language in Fed-OSHA’s exemption to the rule does not limit the size of articulating boom cranes for delivery of construction materials; however, the California rule does.

 

California adopted its original crane operator certification regulation under General Industry Safety Orders (GISO) Section 5006.1 on June 1, 2005. All mobile (including articulating boom cranes) and tower cranes were—and are—covered. California will allow for some exceptions for smaller and specialized cranes; most notably, those with a rated capacity of less than 15,000 pounds or a boom length of less than 25 feet.

 

While Cal-OSHA followed Fed-OSHA’s concept of exempting articulating boom cranes when simply delivering materials to a construction jobsite, it used its previous GISO language to limit the size of cranes that can be exempted. This means that if an articulating boom crane has a boom length of 25 feet or greater or a maximum rated load capacity of 15,000 pounds or greater and is used to deliver construction materials to jobsites in California, a certified operator will continue to be required after July 7, 2015.