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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on July 28 that it is issuing a new rule addressing the use of cranes and derricks in construction, which will replace a decades-old standard. Approximately 267,000 construction, crane rental and crane certification establishments employing about 4.8 million workers will be affected by the rule.
"The significant number of fatalities associated with the use of cranes in construction led the Labor Department to undertake this rulemaking," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "After years of extensive research, consultation and negotiation with industry experts, this long overdue rule will address the leading causes of fatalities related to cranes and derricks." OSHA predicts the final rule will prevent 22 fatalities and 175 injuries every year.
In a July 28 media briefing, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels said the most significant requirements of the new rule are: pre-erection inspection of tower crane parts; assessment of ground conditions; third-party certification requirements for crane operators; qualification requirements for riggers; and procedures for working in the vicinity of power lines.
The final rule requires operators of most types of cranes to be qualified or certified under one of the options set forth in Section 1926.1427. Employers have up to four years to ensure that their operators are qualified or certified, unless they are operating in a state or city that has its own operator requirements. In cities or states with their own licensing programs, OSHA mandates compliance with those requirements provided they meet the minimum criteria set forth in Section 1926.1427 of the new rule.
Several provisions of the proposed rule have been modified in this final rule, including:
- Employers must comply with local and state operator licensing requirements which meet the minimum criteria specified in § 1926.1427.
- Employers must pay for certification or qualification of their currently uncertified or unqualified operators.
- Written certification tests may be administered in any language understood by the operator candidate.
- When employers with employees qualified for power transmission and distribution are working in accordance with the power transmission and distribution standard (§ 1910.269), that employer will be considered in compliance with this final rule's requirements for working around power lines.
- Employers must use a qualified rigger for rigging operations during assembly/disassembly.
- Employers must perform a pre-erection inspection of tower cranes.
In 2003, the secretary of labor appointed 23 experienced Cranes and Derricks Advisory Committee members representing manufacturers and trade associations, who met 11 times until a consensus on the regulatory text was reached in July 2004. The proposed rule was published Oct. 9, 2008, and the public was invited to submit comments until Jan. 22, 2009. Public hearings were held in March 2009, and the public comment period on those proceedings closed in June 2009. OSHA staff incorporated input from the public comments and testimony to develop the final regulatory text.
OSHA has promised it will have additional compliance assistance material available within the next month.
The complete rule is available at http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-17818_PI.pdf. The regulatory text is available at http://www.osha.gov/cranes-derricks/index.html. The new rule will take effect on November 8, 2010.
