Training, Technology and Testing Take the Bite Out of Crane Operation
When crane picks go awry, they can do so with catastrophic consequences to life, limb and property. These periodic punctuations to the need for greater safety are stimulating a nationwide appetite for more operator training, certification and licensing, and new technology in simulators is reducing risk in early stages of training.
Partially in response to some serious accidents, the International Union of Operating Engineers started developing its own certification program in the mid-1990s. But in 1997, it threw its support behind a crane operator certification program called the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators.