July / August 2008
Accidents highlight need for crane operator training
The tragic death of a young B.C. ironworker has cast a spotlight on the issue of crane operator safety. The 22-year-old apprentice ironworker was crushed when the nine-tonne crane he was operating on a rapid transit line under construction toppled over the side of a bridge. A WorkSafe BC inspection report released after the accident concluded the worker had only received between
20 and 90 minutes of training on the machine, although it also said he had 31 days hoisting experience. Five days after the report came out, another crane tipped in Vancouver, this time over a busy highway. Incredibly, no one was hurt, although the highway was blocked for several hours.
While crane accidents are relatively rare in Canada, in the United States they are all too common. Acccording to www.craneaccidents.com, a website that tracks such incidents, 241 crane accidents have occurred in the U.S. in 2008, with 118 deaths so far this year. The month of August isn’t even over yet, and already five crane operators have been killed, according to the website.
Some observers attribute this high number of crane accidents to the lack of operator certification programs available in the United States. Currently only 15 states and a few U.S. cities require certification or licensing of crane operators.
Contrast this situation to Canada, where the Red Seal certification and apprenticeship program requires a minimum of 2,000, 4,000, or 6,000 hours of hands-on experience plus classroom training, depending on provincial requirements and the crane classification being applied for.
It should be noted, however, that this program only applies to mobile cranes, not tower cranes or boom trucks. While certification will never be the “magic bullet” that prevent accidents, considering the complexities and number of variables in play on a jobsite – not the least of which is the level of experience and/or training of the operator – the evidence suggests that crane certification programs do reduce accidents. A study in Ontario, for example, found that crane-related deaths dropped 77.3 percent after NCCCO (National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators) certification became compulsory in the province in 1983.
Other provinces have not been so proactive, but changes are in the works. In B.C., for example, certification is well underway.
A pilot program for testing crane operators was recently completed, and is proving popular. In fact, thousands more crane operators applied for the program than anticipated, creating a backlog which delayed its implementation. The B.C. Association for Crane Safety expects the program to launch this fall.
20 and 90 minutes of training on the machine, although it also said he had 31 days hoisting experience. Five days after the report came out, another crane tipped in Vancouver, this time over a busy highway. Incredibly, no one was hurt, although the highway was blocked for several hours.
While crane accidents are relatively rare in Canada, in the United States they are all too common. Acccording to www.craneaccidents.com, a website that tracks such incidents, 241 crane accidents have occurred in the U.S. in 2008, with 118 deaths so far this year. The month of August isn’t even over yet, and already five crane operators have been killed, according to the website.
Some observers attribute this high number of crane accidents to the lack of operator certification programs available in the United States. Currently only 15 states and a few U.S. cities require certification or licensing of crane operators.
Contrast this situation to Canada, where the Red Seal certification and apprenticeship program requires a minimum of 2,000, 4,000, or 6,000 hours of hands-on experience plus classroom training, depending on provincial requirements and the crane classification being applied for.
It should be noted, however, that this program only applies to mobile cranes, not tower cranes or boom trucks. While certification will never be the “magic bullet” that prevent accidents, considering the complexities and number of variables in play on a jobsite – not the least of which is the level of experience and/or training of the operator – the evidence suggests that crane certification programs do reduce accidents. A study in Ontario, for example, found that crane-related deaths dropped 77.3 percent after NCCCO (National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators) certification became compulsory in the province in 1983.
Other provinces have not been so proactive, but changes are in the works. In B.C., for example, certification is well underway.
A pilot program for testing crane operators was recently completed, and is proving popular. In fact, thousands more crane operators applied for the program than anticipated, creating a backlog which delayed its implementation. The B.C. Association for Crane Safety expects the program to launch this fall.
Andrew Topf
