The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) exams are not meant to be easy. They are meant to challenge a crane operator’s knowledge, skills and abilities to determine if they know the information necessary to keep their lifts safe.

But how do those questions get on the test and who ensures that the questions are correct? The NCCCO Exam Management Committees that is who. The NCCCO Exam Management Committees are made up of crane users and subject matter experts from manufacturers, union representatives, training companies, construction and industry.

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We were recently asked about boom trucks equipped with a personnel platform and the need for operator certification under OSHA when the personnel platform is strictly being used as an aerial lift.  Here’s the question and our response:

Q: “Select employees of ours use an Elliott Boom Truck that is equipped with a man-lift basket as an aerial lift. If these employees are not using it for its picking abilities but solely for its aerial lift capabilities are they required to possess a Crane Operators Certification?

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In the absence of training, workers often do what ever they need to do in order to get the job done. At Crane Tech we often find untrained riggers are unaware of the dangers from using slings or rigging gear incorrectly. When riggers use what they were “taught by co-workers” or just copy what their previous other co-worker did, they could be putting their loads and lives on the line.   Don’t get us wrong, we think hand-me-downs are fine for clothes and toys, when it comes to lifting and rigging knowledge, a casual “here let me show you this” probably isn’t the best policy.

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Construction sites are most always an organized chaos. Equipment and materials are all over the place and the terrain is rough at best. One of the most frequently used pieces of equipment is a mobile elevated work platform (MEWP), also known as an aerial lift or boom lift in the U.S. These work horses are typically selected for their ease of use, maneuverability and the ability to safely lift workers to perform tasks at height.

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Most overhead cranes are in a production environment. They are used for extended hours of time and do a great deal of repetitive work.  During this time what part of the crane works the hardest?

If you answered, an electric motor or the holding break, then you were close, but not correct. It’s the wire rope. Wire ropes by their very nature are simple machines that must bend, move and stretch in order to hold the load they are lifting. Unfortunately, many times this simple fact is forgotten. Inspection of the rope often gets overlooked for other more noticeable issues and maintenance of the wire rope is often put off due to the production schedule. (more…)