I just read the cover story on crane-operator certification called "Higher Learning". Be it a school, union or whatever, it still takes a person willing to do what is right regardless of what some foreman tells you to do. If you don’t have a backbone, you don’t have a real crane operator.

 He or she also has to understand that going to work is not a social event. People who are afraid of their jobs make poor crane operators.

George R. Wancata
Owner
Crane Certification Services Inc.
Cleveland

I just read your article about crane training, and it was interesting. You should investigate how a crane operator for a taxi-crane rental service spends a week. The following was a typical week for this crane operator:

Monday: Operated a 200-ton Demag, setting concrete-box culverts.

Tuesday: Ran a 65-ton Tadano, setting a precast vault around a "hot" underground power line.

Wednesday: Operated a 90-ton Link Belt, using full boom and jib, setting four truckloads of roof sheets.

Thursday: Operated a 90-ton Link Belt, picking modular house sections over prison fences.

Friday: Ran a 40-ton city crane, scoping a chiller through a 10-ft doorway.

James M. Switzer II
Clark Rigging and Rental
Lockport, N.Y.

In "Proposed Crane Rule Gets Mixed Reviews," the individuals in the article seemed to be pointing the accusatory finger at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for not being responsive. OSHA, like most government agencies, is reactive. It does not keep regulations up to date unless there are major accidents or cries for action by major industry groups.

The president of the AFL-CIO’s Building & Construction Trade Department accuses OSHA of being negligent. This claim is ironic since the unions have apprenticeship programs for training their members on the means, methods and procedures for performing their work. Do the apprenticeship programs only include the OSHA regulations? Or do they include the crane manufacturer’s recommendations, OSHA rules and applicable American Society of Mechanical Engineers industry standards?

Crane manufacturers usually have a decal or other literature on the cranes that indicates their cranes were manufactured to meet a specific ASME standard.  Employers, unions and OSHA can always refer to the latest ASME revision to see what requirements are for setting up, operating and maintaining cranes.

Some of these standards already are codified in current regulation. Subpart N of 29 CFR 1926 states, "The employer shall comply with the manufacturer’s specifications and limitations applicable to the operation of any and all cranes and derrick." Subpart C states, "The employer shall instruct each employee in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the regulations applicable to his work environment to control or eliminate any hazards or other exposure to illness or injury." Both subparts place responsibility on the employer to ensure employees are properly trained to know  the requirements of the manufacturer.

OSHA provides the minimum safety and health requirements. It is up to  employers to ensure their employees are properly trained. If a company or individual relies only on OSHA standards to protect  the worker, then there will continue to be catastrophic mobile- and tower-crane accidents. OSHA also should help by updating its regulations in a timely manner, rather than waiting 40 years.

J. Robert Harrell
President
Safety Management Services
San Diego

Clarifications

The cover story "Higher Learning" about crane-operator certification contained an error (ENR 11/3-10 p. 28). The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators has offered mobile-crane exams since 1996 and tower-crane exams since 2004. It was first accredited in 1998.