OSHA Calls Committee Meeting on Crane Operator Certification Rule Revision

February 27, 2015 – The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will hold a special meeting in late March in Washington, DC, to consider a proposed rule to revise OSHA’s crane operator qualification requirement in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction regulation. ACCSH will meet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 31, 2015, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

 

The meeting, open to the public, follows a House committee’s call for OSHA to address operator certification delays. ACCSH recently met in December 2014, when David Maddux, OSHA’s director for the Directorate of Construction indicated that OSHA anticipated presenting ACCSH with draft regulatory text regarding crane operator qualification/certification at the spring ACCSH meeting. 

 

ACCSH advises the Secretary of Labor and the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA in the formulation of standards affecting the construction industry.

 

OSHA has called the meeting for ACCSH members to “consider a proposed rule to revised OSHA’s crane operator qualification requirement in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard.” The Federal Register notes that a tentative agenda for the meeting will include a presentation on the proposal to revise the operator qualification requirement.

 

In February, the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce wrote to OSHA, noting concerns the committee has about delays in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction regulation implementation process. In September of 2014, OSHA extended the deadline for crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction final rule by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. The rule also extends by three years the employer’s responsibility to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely.