Would you get on an airplane knowing that the pilot and co-pilot could have up to 30% of bad information with flying that plane? That the 30% of bad information wasn’t the same for each pilot, so technically you could have 60% of bad information in that cockpit. There’s more too; neither pilot had to demonstrate their ability to taxi the plane from the tarmac to the runway, take off, land and return to the terminal. But once in the air, they did have to perform maneuvers within a time frame monitored by someone holding a stop watch. I should mention here that the stopwatch guy doesn’t have to be a pilot either. Safe to say, most if not all of us would all consider alternate forms of transportation. And yet, our crane operators are considered certified using a very similar standard.
There is a critical difference between a CCO (Certification Crane Operator) and Crane Operator Competency. Answering test questions at a desk and getting enough correct answers to become eligible to take the next step, the practical field test, is seriously flawed.
Unfortunately, this is currently the standard for Crane Operator Certification. Their field tests do NOT require an operator to set a crane up properly for use in a specific environment nor does it require the operator to secure the crane in the proper and safe condition when the work day is over.
The familiarity and the comfort level of operators with their crane doesn’t seem to be a consideration. Here is one of their practical tests that I found useless. During this particular test, the operator maneuvers the crane hook through a maze of vertical posts with tennis balls resting on top. The operator is allowed to knock off up to 24 balls and still pass. Really! If that were an actual job site, he just likely damaged the cargo he was moving or possible crushed someone or something along the way. Outside of a ‘virtual reality’, one knocked over tennis ball should be disqualifying. In the real crane world, a tag line attached to the load is a requirement. It’s a team effort between the crane operator and at least one other person holding the other end of the tag line. This prevents the load from coming into contact with anything it is not supposed to.
Operator certification requires 70% of correct answers on the written test. Incorrect answers should be thoroughly discussed so that the operator is corrected with important information about what they got wrong, but this does not happen. Further, operators taking written tests should indicate any correct answers that were the result of their best guess. Points would not be removed but the rational behind the guess should be discussed so it was not just a ‘coin toss’. They will only tell the operator of one of the many categories where the question was rooted from. That is the next thing as close to absolutely no help at all.
Operator Certification MUST include written and operational tests. The crane set up and lock down too, as well as enough discussion between the operator and test monitor so that the Examiner is able to confidently attest to the operator’s competency first, then certification.
It is only a matter of time before the first operator asserts that the mistake he or she made that resulted in an accident was the same as the questions they got wrong on the test and was refused by the test authority to be set straight. Suppose this accident caused multiple deaths, injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage. I would still support any operator with a credible claim agains the test authority that declared them a certified crane operator. I have been an expert witness in civil cases involving cranes and because of that experience I have a strong sense this case would end favorably for the operator or family if the operator did not survive.
Would State and Federal OSHA departments be collaterally liable too for not addressing this from the very start and is still allowing it to continue today? there’s a repeated phrase used in civil cases the plaintiff will use. It is, “you either knew or you should have known”. In this case, I can’t think of any convincing arguments that the defendants could use in a deposition setting or in a court trial.
A claim is made by the current (Certified Crane Operator) organizations, that since the onset of their programs, accidents have diminished significantly. According to my OSHA sources crane accidents aren’t reported unless there is an injury or death, or it occurred in a densely populated area, or if an employee filed an OSHA complaint. According to a line graph from the US Department of Labor showing a crane fatality line chart, it indicates an increase, not a decrease.
So, where are these statistics coming from? The accident pictured below was not reported in California, nor did it have to be. Fortunately, no one was killed or even hurt but it easily could have been different. The primary cause of this accident was due to an incorrect crane setup. A professional crane accident investigator gave a presentation at the CCAA (Crane Certifiers Association of America) conference in 2019 at Portland, Oregon, and according to his statistics there has been absolutely no decrease in crane accidents since the onset of CCO programs. His name is being withheld in this blog pending his permission, but I was there and I heard it along with about 40 other crane certifiers and associated members. There were NCCCO members there too and none of them challenged his figures.
NCCCO started around 1995 and since 2005 in California CCO has been mandatory before crane operators can work on job sites that require it. Other states have varying requirements. But in after 25 years and several millions of dollars taken from the crane industry, including its operators, there is next to nothing substantial to show for it.
It is way past time to fix this.
I have been working around cranes since 1974. I became a crane certifier in 1990 and I am still going strong at 70 years old. I am a member of the Crane Certifiers Association of America. I am on the Board of Directors and I am also the Director o Performance Standards. CCAA is a professional organization for crane inspectors, and not specifically a crane operator support group. We mainly deal with cranes, not operators. Having stated that, everything you have just read is my professional and personal opinion based on years of experience and in no way a reflection of CCAA or any affiliate.
Competency vs CCO Certification – You Decide.
