CAWP Legislative News 10-10

OSHA’s Cranes and Derricks Rule Released

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a new rule on July 28, 2010 addressing the use of cranes and derricks in construction. The previous rule, which dated back to 1971, was based on 40-year-old standards. The rule will be published in the August 9 Federal Register and take effect November 8, 2010.

Background on the new rule

In 1998, OSHA's Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) established a workgroup to develop recommended changes to the current standard for cranes and derricks. In 1999, ACCSH recommended that the Agency use negotiated rulemaking to develop the rule. The Cranes and Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (C-DAC) was convened in 2003 and reached consensus on its draft document in 2004. In 2006, ACCSH recommended that OSHA use the C-DAC consensus document as a basis for OSHA's proposed rule, which was published in 2008. Public hearings were held in March 2009, and the public comment period on those proceedings closed in June 2009.

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) participated on the C-DAC Committee and commented extensively on the proposed rule. AGC’s comments centered on crane operator qualification and certification, as well as the scope, definitions, fall protection, inspections, and assembly/disassembly requirements of the rule. To view AGC’s comments on the proposed regulations, click here.

Summary of the new rule

The new rule is designed to prevent the leading causes of fatalities, including electrocution, crushed-by/struck-by hazards during assembly/disassembly, collapse and overturn. OSHA expects the final standard to prevent 22 fatalities and 175 non-fatal injuries each year.

The following is a list of the main changes in the new rule:

• This new standard will comprehensively address key hazards related to cranes and derricks on construction worksites, including the four main causes of worker death and injury: electrocution, crushed by parts of the equipment (assembly/disassembly), struck-by the equipment/load (overturn/collapse), and falls.
• Significant requirements in this new rule include: qualification or certification of crane operators, assessment of ground conditions; use of synthetic slings in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions during assembly/disassembly work; and procedures for working in the vicinity of power lines.
• Operators of most types of cranes must be qualified or certified under one of the options set forth in § 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 operator requirements. *
• Employers must comply with local and state operator licensing requirements which meet the minimum criteria specified in § 1926.1427. The certification requirements in the final rule are designed to work in conjunction with state and local laws. *
• Employers must pay for all training required by the final rule and for certification or qualification of their currently uncertified or unqualified operators.
• 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.

* Note, in accordance with the state’s Crane Operators Licensure Act, crane operators will have to be certified to operate a crane in Pennsylvania by October 8, 2010.

To read/download the standard now, click here.
The complete rule is available here.

CAWP will be providing a series of educational resources in the near future to inform the industry of upcoming changes to your crane operations and operator licensing requirements.

For questions regarding this new rule, contact Jason Koss at CAWP at jasonk@cawp.org or 412-343-8000.