Home » Accidents » Crane Accident »

Certification test may raise crane operators’ standards

Jun 7, 2010 | Richard Mize | NewsOk

Tulsa-based Flintco Inc. got a jump on possible new state regulations by having a certification exam for a dozen of its signal specialists who guide construction crane operators.

Fred Cox, crane operator with Allied Steel, sits inside the cab of a 140-ton Link-Belt crane set up with a 250-foot boom in October at a construction site at Memorial Road and MacArthur Boulevard.

Certification is not required, although state Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields and industry leaders are working on legislation that could mandate it for signal specialists, crane riggers and operators.

Crane accidents spiked this year, with 377 incidents and 187 fatalities so far, more than three times the numbers of a decade ago, according to Flintco, citing statistics from CraneAccidents.com. In July, a man was killed when a crane collapsed while setting a steeple on an Oklahoma City church.

The International Assessment Institute, testing for the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, conducted the signal exam for Flintco in Oklahoma City.

"We're certain that the certification of our employees who work with crane operators will make Flintco job sites a safer place for workers and those close to construction sites," said Mark Grimes, Flintco's Oklahoma City Division president.

Flintco is the first open-shop contractor in Oklahoma to provide such training, said Dick Anderson, a consultant and former executive vice president of Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma-Building Chapter. Flintco is known for safety on its job sites, he said.