 |
|
PaintSquare Daily News is available in three editions: Industrial Only Commercial Only Combined Industrial & Commercial Your free subscription also includes: Special topical editions and Weekend Brief—a recap of the week’s top news and some great in-depth reads. Subscribe now: paintsquare.com/psdn |
OSHA Adds 3 Years for Crane Rule
Federal safety officials are giving employers an extra three years to make sure crane operators are competent to operate the equipment safely.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule extending the deadline for crane operator certification requirements to Nov. 10, 2017.
The extension for the Cranes and Derricks in Construction final rule was published in the Federal Register Sept. 26 and becomes effective Nov. 9, 2014.
The rule was originally published Aug. 9, 2010, with operator certification requirements to be completed by Nov. 10, 2014.
Addressing Concerns
According to OSHA, after publishing the final rule with the 2014 deadline, "a number of parties" raised concerns about a requirement to certify operators by type and capacity of the crane and also questioned if a certification was sufficient for determinging whether and operator could safely use their equipment on a construction site.
On Feb. 12, 2014, OSHA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposed to extend the deadline for operator certification as well as the employer's duty to ensure competent crane operation for three years.
OSHA then analyzed comments and made the decision to extend the deadline.
OSHA says it will use the extra three years to address operator qualification requirements for the cranes standards including the role of operator certification and has already started the process of developing a standard to ensure crane operator qualifications.
