A New Standards-Based Crane Operator Certification Program

NCCER and North American Crane Bureau (NACB), based in Orlando, Fla., announce a strategic partnership to develop and deliver certification mechanisms for mobile crane operators. "The partnership brings together decades of combined expertise in the areas of technical skill training and test development," said Don Whyte, NCCER president. Subject matter experts (SMEs) from across the nation and from companies large and small, have participated in written and practical test development meetings since May of 2006. Guided by Prov, NCCER's test-development-partner, SMEs pinpointed critical knowledge and skill areas (KSAs) grounded in the ASME B30.5 and OSHA 1910 standards. These KSAs became the benchmarks for the exam developments. "We base our exams on the ASME/OSHA standards because we want those earning our certification to know what's acceptable," said Ted Blanton, NACB president. "Safety is number one-it's the whole reason for this certification-a certification that will be required, not only by companies, but by state, and eventually, by the federal government." The NCCER/NACB mobile crane certification program consists of a two-part process: a written exam and a practical field evaluation. An immediate benefit of this program is that the written exams address only the specific type of equipment certification being sought. The practical field evaluation is also crane specific and is performed on the actual type of crane that will be operated. One of the major selling points of this program is the quick turnaround on test results. "NCCER has structured their certification so a crane operator can take both the written and practical components and receive the results back the same day," said Richard Nickel of Carolina Bridge Inc., Orangeburg, S.C. Written exams will be administered by NCCER assessment centers and the practical exams will be administered by NACB certified practical examiners. Practical examiner certification workshops are offered nationwide.