OSHA issues proposal to extend crane rule compliance deadline

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to extend the compliance deadline for crane operator certification by one year to Nov. 10, 2018.

A final rule for crane operator certification requirements in Cranes and Derricks in Construction, as well as the employer’s responsibility to ensure that crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely, was issued by OSHA in September 2014, but the deadline was extended by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. The agency has now proposed a further extension of the enforcement deadline.

This rule would require crane operators working in construction to have third-party certification every five years. According to Rick Roldan, president and CEO of the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA), requiring such certification could initially cost the propane industry upwards of $21 million.

The issue was a topic of discussion at Propane Days in June. A bipartisan letter from members of Congress calls on Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to exempt routine propane tank delivery operations from the regulation, NPGA reports. More than 1,700 members of the propane industry contacted 324 members of Congress about the issue, NPGA adds.

Over the next year, OSHA will address stakeholder concerns over certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction standard, according to the agency. OSHA is accepting comments on the rule until Sept. 29.