Industry Responds to C-DAC Proposal

July 21, 2004 -OSHA announced last week that its Cranes and Derrick Advisory Committee (C-DAC) had reached consensus on language for a revised construction crane and derrick regulation. Lift and Access 360 talked with industry professionals to get their reaction to the news.

C-DAC was established in June 2003 to function as a part of OSHA's Negotiated Rulemaking Committee to revise the existing regulations—last updated in 1972—for cranes and derricks in construction. For nearly 30 years, most crane owners have relied on ANSI B30.5 standards to fill the gap left in the outdated OSHA regulation, which left many worrying that OSHA was starting from scratch and ignoring the groundwork set by B30.5 and other professional organizations.

Not so, according to members of the committee. “ASME furnished OSHA and the C-DAC committee members with copies of the applicable ANSI standards, which were referenced often in the process,” said committee member Larry Means of Means Engineering and Consulting, St. Joseph, Mo. Means, a retired Wire Rope Corp. executive, represented the Wire Rope Technical Board on the committee and was a liaison to ASME. He further qualified that assertion, however, by saying that OSHA was concerned that B30.5 language contained too many “should” statements, which are non-enforceable. The committee attempted to change much of the language to “shall” statements, thus making them more stringent.

The most contentious provisions in the proposed regulations relates to crane operator certification. The committee was still hammering out that portion right up to the deadline, but in the end, compromise and consensus was reached.

This provision calls for crane operators to be certified by one of four ways. These include by 1) any crane operator testing organization approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency; 2) an employer's own qualification program, which must be audited by a testing organization's approved auditor; 3) the military; or 4) government entity, such as a city.

Only option No. 1 is considered a portable certification. All others are no longer valid if the certified operator is no longer employed by the employer or the military or if the operator works outside the reach afforded in option No. 4. For example, Means explained, New York City has a particularly stringent crane operator certification program. A certified operator working outside NYC city limits would not be covered.

Currently, the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (CCO) is one such organization that meets the method outlined in option No. 1.

A second area the committee spent a great deal of time on was electrocution issues. In order to prevent electrocution, a leading cause of crane-related fatalities, employers must choose from a list of options for ensuring that equipment does not come within a prescribed distance of power lines. Provisions for working within three zones—green, yellow, or red—deal with the reality that work sometimes must occur around live lines. The new language closely follows that previously outlined by B30.5.

 

• Other key provisions include the following.
• The scope section covers a wide range of new types of cranes that have been developed over the past 30 years.
• A qualified person must address a list of key hazards associated with equipment assembly and disassembly.
• Ground conditions must be made adequate for crane set-up to help prevent tipovers.
• Signal persons must meet specified qualification requirements.
• Updated requirements for cranes on barges.
• Safety devices, operational aids, signals, specific types of equipment (such as derricks and tower cranes), inspections, wire rope, prototype design and testing, crushing and overhead hazards, fall protection and equipment modification are also addressed.

 

Regarding new language addressing wire rope, Means commented that “allowing for wire rope with a design factor less than 5 on highly engineered, rotation-resistant wire ropes is a first step in this country.”

While at least one industry observer called the proposal “exceptionally inarticulate” everyone Lift and Access 360 spoke to had nothing but praise for the committee. “This was a great committee made up of excellent people,” said Graham Brent. “My observation is that the process was much smoother than previous Negotiated Rulemaking procedures.”

“In this case, 23 industry experts participated on the committee. OSHA is pleased with the results, and the industry is pleased because they have input in the standard development,” said committee member Dave Ritchie. Ritchie is a senior risk control specialist with St. Paul Travelers Co., Bastrop , Texas .

The next step for the standard revision is for OSHA staff members to write out the committee's consensus agreement into detailed regulatory language and submit it to OSHA Administrator John Henshaw. From there, it will be reviewed by other agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget, where it is subjected to an economic analysis.

This being an election year may only serve to slow the process down, plus public comment periods are often complicated. Brad Closson, executive vice president of NACB Technical Services, Bonita , Calif. , predicts the comment period for this regulation will be “wild and wooly.” Closson provides accident investigation services and has served on several B30 subcommittees. In all, it is anticipated that it will take another two years to complete the process, get public comment, and finalize the regulation.