NCCCO Certifies 100,000th Crane and Rigging Professional

June 30, 2014 - The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) reached a new milestone in May when it certified its 100,000th crane and rigging professional. The nationally accredited program was launched in April 1996.

In total, more than 850,000 written and proactical exams have been administered in the 18 years since NCCCO began offering its certfications. The majority have been mobile crane operators, but other programs like tower cranesa nd overhead cranes have shown sustained interest in the decade since their launch, and crane-related certifications like riggers and signal persons continue to grow in popularity. “There are now more than 10,000 CCO-certified signal persons active today, and almost 7,000 CCO-certified riggers engaged in their craft,” said Graham Brent, NCCCO's executive director.

According to Brent, improved crane safety is the most important achievement of this numerical milestone. "Ample evidence now exists," he said," of the positive impact of nationally accredited crane operator certification on death and injury rates." For example, a 2008 Cal-OSHA study reported that there is an 80% decrease in crane-related fatalities since the state began requiring crane operator certification.

Testimony from participants in NCCCO’s Committed to Crane Safety employer recognition program also detailed the significant safety and productivity benefits, as well as actual cost-savings, that accrue from professionally developed and administered certification, Brent said.

“The original industry leaders whose dream provided the basis for CCO certification a quarter of a century ago had high hopes for its success,” said former NCCCO President, Carson Huneycutt. “I doubt if anyone back in the early 1990s, when we took the first hesitant steps to build a national skills and knowledge assessment system in this country, dared hope this program might have such a profound impact on crane safety that is so clearly reflected in the achievement of this milestone.”