A Matter of Oversight

We applaud the selection of Joe Collins as one of ENR’s 2010 “Top Newsmakers” (“Hoisting Hero Sent Clear Message to Industry When Voting for Higher Safety,” 1/12/2011) for his vote of conscience during negotiations that ultimately led to inclusion of third-party certification for crane operators in OSHA’s 2010 Crane and Derrick Standard. It was Joe’s knowledge and integrity that led to his nomination to represent the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) on the negotiated rule making committee.

300 E. Randolph, a tall office building in Chicago

However, as someone who was involved in the entire process, I take umbrage with ENR’s assertion that the panel members were “under pressure from key lobbying groups, such as ARTBA, to vote the rule down on the grounds that mandatory certification would be bad for business.” In the case of ARTBA, this is simply not true.

In the rule making process, ARTBA fully supported certified training. The critical question at hand, however, was who would or could oversee the certification.

Many of our mid-sized and small contractor members, concerned about the cost implications of third-party certification, were interested in flexibility and self-certification in meeting the OSHA requirement. The proposed vote was on third-party certification or nothing.

For the most part, the construction industry today accepts the final rule as promulgated by OSHA, which is a testament to Joe Collins and other members of the committee for their commitment to safety—one that ARTBA has also repeatedly demonstrated for nearly 110 years.

Bradley M. Sant
ARTBA Vice President of Safety & Education

Correction

On page 18 in the "Best of 2010" story of the December/January 2010 issue of Midwest Construction (now ENR Midwest), we ran a large photo of 300 E. Randolph, a tall office building in Chicago. That photo was taken before its "vertical completion." The finished building was pictured later in the story, but some readers were confused about which was which. On p. 30, as part of this year's national Best of the Best winners, we provide a photograph of the award-winning project that more accurately depicts its current appearance.