The deadline for crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction final rule has been extended three years by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This means the deadline is now Nov. 10, 2017.
OSHA’s extension also means the employers’ responsibility to ensure crane operators are proficient in safe practices is pushed back three years.
“During the three-year period, OSHA will address operator qualification requirements for the cranes standards including the role of operator certification,” the agency said in a recent press release. “The final cranes and derricks rule required crane operators on construction sites to meet one of four qualification/certification options by Nov. 10, 2014. After publishing the final rule, a number of parties raised concerns about the Standard’s requirement to certify operators by type and capacity of crane and questioned whether crane operator certification was sufficient for determining whether an operator could operate their equipment safely on a construction site.”