OSHA 3433-10R 2014

Small Entity Compliance

Guide for the Final Rule for

Cranes and Derricks

in Construction
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

“To assure safe and healthful working

conditions for working men and women;

by authorizing enforcement of the

standards developed under the Act; by

assisting and encouraging the States in

their efforts to assure safe and healthful

working conditions; by providing for

research, information, education, and

training in the field of occupational safety

and health.”

This publication provides a general

overview of a particular standards-related

topic. This publication does not alter or

determine compliance responsibilities

which are set forth in OSHA standards

and the Occupational Safety and Health

Act. Moreover, because interpretations

and enforcement policy may change over

time, for additional guidance on OSHA

compliance requirements, the reader

should consult current administrative

interpretations and decisions by the

Occupational Safety and Health Review

Commission and the courts.

Material contained in this publication is in

the public domain and may be reproduced,

fully or partially, without permission.

Source credit is requested but not

required.

This information will be made available

to sensory-impaired individuals upon

request. Voice phone: (202) 693-1999; teletypewriter (TTY) number: 1-877-889-5627.
Small Entity Compliance

Guide for the Final Rule for

Cranes and Derricks

in Construction

U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA 3433-10R

2014
Contents

Introduction 6

Employer Responsibilities 9

Section 1400 – Scope 14

Section 1401 – Definitions 17

Section 1402 – Ground Conditions 20

Sections 1403-1406 – Assembly and Disassembly 21

Sections 1407-1411 – Power Lines 25

Section 1412 – Inspections 34

Section 1413 – Wire Rope Inspection 42

Section 1414 – Wire Rope – Selection and

Installation Criteria 44

Sections 1415 Safety Devices &

1416 Operational Aids 46

Section 1417 – Operation 48

Section 1418 – Authority to Stop Operation 51

Sections 1419-1422 – Signals 51

Section 1423 – Fall Protection 53

Section 1424 – Work Area Control 55

Section 1425 – Keeping Clear of the Load 56

Section 1426 – Free Fall and Controlled

Load Lowering 57

Section 1427 – Operator Qualification

and Certification* 59

Section 1428 – Signal Person Qualifications 61

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Section 1429 – Qualifications of Maintenance

& Repair Employees 62

Section 1430 – Training 62

Section 1431 – Hoisting Personnel 64

Section 1432 – Multiple-Crane/Derrick-Lifts 69

Section 1433 – Design, Construction and Testing 69

Section 1434 – Equipment Modifications 71

Section 1435 – Tower Cranes 72

Section 1436 – Derricks 75

Section 1437 – Floating Cranes/Derricks and

Land Cranes/Derricks on Barges 79

Section 1438 – Overhead and Gantry Cranes 80

Section 1439 – Dedicated Pile Drivers 80

Section 1440 – Sideboom Cranes 81

Section 1441 – Equipment with a Rated

Hoisting/Lifting Capacity of 2,000 Pounds

or Less 81

Appendix A – Directory of States with Approved

Occupational Safety and Health Programs 82

Workers’ Rights 87

OSHA Assistance, Services and Programs 88

NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Program 91

OSHA Regional Offices 92

How to Contact OSHA 95

* On September 26, 2014, OSHA published a final rule

extending the deadline for crane operator certification

by 3 years, to November 10, 2017.
Introduction

This guide is intended to help small businesses

comply with OSHA’s standard for Cranes and Derricks

in Construction. It is designed to address the most

common compliance issues that employers will face

and to provide sufficient detail to serve as a useful

compliance guide. It does not, however, describe all

provisions of the standard or alter the compliance

responsibilities set forth in the standard, which is

published at 29 CFR 1926.1400 - 1442. The reader

must refer to the standard itself, which is available

on OSHA’s website and in the Federal Register and

will be published in the Code of Federal Regulations,

to determine all of the steps that must be taken to

comply with the standard.

In addition to this guide, other information that will

be helpful in complying with the standard can be

found on OSHA’s website.

If you are seeking advice about complying with the

standard, OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program

offers free and confidential advice to small and

medium-sized businesses in all states across the

country, with priority given to high-hazard worksites.

On-site Consultation services are separate from

enforcement and do not result in penalties or

citations. Consultants from state agencies and

universities work with employers to identify workplace hazards, provide advice on compliance with

OSHA standards, and help establish safety and health

management systems. To find the OSHA On-site

Consultation Program office nearest you, go to:

https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult_directory.html.

In 21 states and one territory, occupational safety and

health standards are enforced by the state agency

responsible for the OSHA-approved state program.

These states are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii,

Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan,

Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina,

Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee,

Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

New York, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and the

Virgin Islands also operate OSHA-approved state programs limited in scope to state and local government

employees.

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States operating OSHA-approved state programs

must adopt and enforce standards that are either

identical to or at least as effective as federal standards.

Therefore, these states must adopt a standard for

cranes and derricks in construction that is at least as

effective as OSHA’s standard and must extend that

protection to state and local government employees.

If you are operating a small business in one of the

above-listed states or territories, you must determine

whether requirements in addition to those in the

OSHA standard apply. For example, the OSHA

standard requires that crane operators be qualified

or certified by November 10, 2014, but states may

require such qualification or certification by an earlier

date. In addition, state or local licensing requirements

may apply. (A list of phone numbers and addresses

for the state programs is included in Appendix A).

Who must comply with the standard?

Employers who use cranes and derricks in construction work must comply with the standard. In addition,

other employers on construction sites where cranes

and derricks are used are responsible for violations

that expose their employees to hazards and, therefore, need to know the requirements of the standard

that may affect their employees. Crane lessors who

provide operators and/or maintenance personnel

with the equipment also have duties under the

standard. See the section of this guide entitled

“Employer Responsibilities” for additional information

on the compliance responsibilities of different

employers.

Who should read this guide?

Employers who have compliance responsibilities

under the standard should read this guide. In

addition, crane operators and other workers who

work with or near cranes on construction sites can

find information in this guide that will make them

aware of the hazards that cranes present to them and

their coworkers and the steps that employers must

take to protect against those hazards.

How do I use this guide?

This guide is divided into chapters that correspond to

the sections of the standard. The guide focuses on

the standard’s provisions that address the most

serious hazards and the compliance issues that

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employers will face most frequently. Some issues

that arise less frequently are addressed briefly or not

at all. In some places, the guide refers the reader to

sections of the standard for more detailed information

about particular topics.

When this guide uses the word “you,” it is referring

to an employer who operates a crane on a construction

site unless the context indicates otherwise. However,

as noted above, other employers may also have

responsibilities under the standard.

How does the new standard differ from the old

standard it replaces?

Most requirements of the prior OSHA standard for

cranes and derricks used in construction work (29

CFR 1926.550) incorporated requirements of certain

pre-1970 national consensus standards. This standard

sets forth most of its requirements in the text of the

standard and incorporates national consensus

standards by reference in only a few locations. In

addition, this new standard includes a number of

new provisions designed to improve safety. Several

significant changes are:

■ New requirements during assembly and disassembly

will protect workers from being struck or crushed

by unanticipated movement of crane components

and will ensure that equipment is properly

assembled.

■ New requirements are included for maintaining

sufficient clearance distances from power lines and

protecting against electrocution hazards.

■ New requirements for pre-erection inspection of

tower cranes, use of synthetic slings during climbing

of tower cranes and other assembly activities, and

use of qualified riggers for those activities, will

ensure the structural stability of such equipment.

■ The new standard covers equipment (such as

floating cranes) that was subject to very few

requirements in the prior standard because the

prior standard did not incorporate national

consensus standards applicable to such equipment.

It also covers equipment (such as dedicated pile

drivers) that was not subject to the prior standard

at all.

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Employer Responsibilities

Employers who operate cranes on a construction site

are responsible for complying with all aspects of the

standard, but other employers whose personnel work

at the site have responsibilities as well. These

employer duties are consistent with OSHA’s

multi-employer policy, which recognizes that the

Occupational Safety and Health Act imposes

compliance duties on (1) employers who create or

control hazards, (2) employers whose employees are

exposed to hazards, and (3) employers with general

supervisory authority over a worksite.

The following Questions and Answers explain the

compliance duties of different employers under

various common situations.

Question 1: I own and operate a crane on a

construction site. The crane operator is my

employee. What are my responsibilities under the

standard?

Answer 1: You must comply with all requirements of

the standard, as you control all hazards the crane

may create.

Question 2: I operate a leased crane on a construction

site. The crane’s lessor has informed me that the

crane meets OSHA’s standard. Can I rely on the

lessor’s word and assume that the crane complies

with the standard?

Answer 2: No. As the employer operating the

crane you are responsible for complying with all

requirements of the standard. Even if the lessor

states that the crane meets the standard, you must

take steps to verify that claim. One way to verify their

claim is to ask the lessor for the most recent monthly

and annual inspections reports, which will identify

any problems found by the inspectors that either

needed to be fixed or that need to be checked in

future inspections. These documents must be made

available to all persons who conduct inspections

under the standard, including the shift inspections

you must conduct while operating the crane. See

Sections 1412(k) and 1413(e). If the lessor cannot

produce the required inspection documents, you will

need to conduct an annual inspection and document

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the results of that inspection before operating the

crane. See Section 1412 for a description of the

inspections required by the standard.

Question 3: I lease a crane to a construction contractor

and provide an operator for the crane. While on the

site, the operator is supervised exclusively by the

lessee’s foreman. Do I have any responsibilities under

the standard?

Answer 3: Yes. You must comply with all requirements of the standard because your employee, the

operator, would be exposed to any hazards resulting

from the crane’s operation. Moreover, you are

responsible for any violations caused by the crane

operator because you are the operator’s employer

and the lessee is relying on the operator’s knowledge

and skills to ensure that operations are conducted

safely. See section 1427(a) (Operator qualification and

certification).

Question 4: I lease a crane to a construction contractor. I do not provide an operator with the crane. However, when the lessee tells me that the crane requires

maintenance or repair, I send my mechanic to do the

necessary work. Do I have any responsibilities under

the standard?

Answer 4: Yes. Because the mechanic is your

employee, you must comply with section 1429

(Qualifications of maintenance and repair workers),

and you are responsible for any hazards that result

from the actions of your mechanic that expose

other workers on the site to hazards. In addition, you

are responsible for any violations to which your

mechanic is exposed while he/she is working on

the crane.

Question 5: I lease a crane to a construction contractor.

I do not provide an operator for the crane, nor do I

have anyone inspect or repair the crane while it is on

the site. Do I have any responsibilities under the

standard?

Answer 5: No. An employer who leases (or sells) a

crane but does not send any employees to the worksite where the crane is used is not subject to the

standard. However, as noted in Answer 2, the lessee

is responsible for the condition of the crane and

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may ask you to produce written records of past

crane inspections or to provide other information

about the crane.

Question 6: I am a contractor on a construction site.

Another contractor is using a crane on the site. None

of my work involves the crane. Do I have any responsibilities under the standard?

Answer 6: Yes, because your employees may be

exposed to hazards caused by the crane’s operation.

For example, if a crane collapses due to being overloaded, employees working elsewhere on the site can

be killed or injured. And if, for example, a crane makes

electrical contact with a power line, any employee

touching or even near the crane can be electrocuted.

Even though you are not operating the crane, you

must be aware of potential crane hazards and are

responsible for protecting your employees against

hazards you can reasonably foresee. You must take

reasonable steps to protect your employees. For

example, if you are concerned with a crane’s stability

due to potential overloading, unstable ground conditions, or high winds, you must satisfy yourself that

the crane is stable before allowing your employees

to work where they would be in danger if the crane

collapses. One way is to ask the company operating

the crane or the controlling contractor on the site

whether all necessary precautions are being taken to

ensure the crane’s stability. Also, you have a duty to

train your employees in the hazards associated with

their work, including those that might arise from

working near a crane.

Question 7: What training must I provide to my

employees?

Answer 7: Training that must be provided under the

standard to equipment operators, signal persons,

competent and qualified persons, maintenance and

repair workers, and workers who work near the

equipment is referenced primarily in Section 1430.

Additional training requirements are specified in

other provisions of the standard. In addition,

1926.21(b)(2) requires employers to train construction

workers how to recognize and avoid the hazards

associated with their work and, depending on the

circumstances, may require training in topics not

listed in the cranes and derricks standard.

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Question 8: I operate a lumberyard and deliver sheet

goods (such as drywall or plywood) or packaged

goods (such as roofing shingles, bags of cement, or

rolls of roofing felt) to a construction site using a

flatbed truck equipped with an articulating crane. At

the site, I use the crane to place the material either

onto the ground or onto the structure being erected.

Must I comply with the standard?

Answer 8: If you only place materials on the ground

without arranging the materials in a particular order

for hoisting, you are not engaged in construction

work and have no duties under the standard. If you

place materials onto the structure, you are engaged

in construction work, and the standard applies to

your work. However, if you deliver only building

supply sheet goods or building supply packaged

materials onto the structure and your articulating/

knuckleboom truck crane is equipped with a properly

functioning automatic overload prevention device,

you have no further duties under the standard.

Otherwise, you must comply with the entire standard

when using the crane to place material onto the

structure.

Question 9: I deliver prefabricated roof trusses and

wall panels to a construction site using a flatbed truck

equipped with an articulating crane. At the site, I use

the crane to place the material either onto the ground

or onto the structure being erected. Must I comply

with the standard?

Answer 9: You must comply with the standard if you

unload the material onto the structure. You need not

comply with the standard if you unload the material

onto the ground without arranging the materials in a

particular order for hoisting because that activity is

not construction work.

Question 10: I am the general contractor on a homebuilding project. The framing subcontractor informs

me that he will be bringing a crane onto the site to

lift roof trusses onto the structure. Do I have any

responsibilities under the standard?

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Answer 10: You are responsible for seeing that the

ground on which the crane will operate is sufficiently

firm and level to enable the crane to operate safely.

See Section 1402 (Ground conditions). In addition,

you must inform the framing contractor of the

location of hazards beneath the equipment set-up

area (such as voids, tanks, utilities) if those hazards

are identified in documents (such as site drawings,

as-built drawings, or soil analyses) that are in your

possession or the hazards are otherwise known to

you. If there is more than one crane on the site and

the working radii of the cranes overlap, you must

establish a system to control their operations. See

Section 1424(b). In addition to these specific duties

under the standard, as the controlling contractor on

the site you have the same responsibility under this

standard as you have under other OSHA standards:

you must exercise reasonable care to prevent and

detect violations on the site. See OSHA Instruction

CPL 2-0.124, “Multi-Employer Citation Policy,” (Dec.

10, 1999), section X.E (available on OSHA’s website).

Question 11: I notice that certain provisions of the

standard direct my employees, such as my crane

operator, to take certain steps. Do I have any

responsibilities under such provisions?

Answer 11: Yes. Where provisions of this standard

direct an operator, crewmember, or other employee

to take certain actions, Section 1400(f) requires you

to establish, effectively communicate to the relevant

persons, and enforce work rules to ensure compliance with such provisions.

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Section 1400 – Scope

COVERED AND EXCLUDED EQUIPMENT: The

rule applies to power-operated equipment used

in construction work that can hoist, lower and

horizontally move a suspended load, unless such

equipment is specifically excluded from coverage.

Section 1400 lists specific types of equipment that are

covered and specific types that are excluded from

coverage.

COVERED EQUIPMENT: The types of cranes and

derricks that are most commonly used in construction

are covered, including:

■ Mobile cranes, including crawler mounted, wheelmounted, rough terrain, all-terrain, commercial

truck-mounted, and boom truck cranes.

■ Tower cranes, including those with a fixed jib (i.e.,

“hammerhead boom”) those with a luffing boom

and self-erecting tower cranes.

■ Articulating cranes, such as knuckle-boom cranes.

(See below for rules that apply when such cranes are

used to deliver material to a construction site).

■ All derricks, except for gin poles used for the erection of communication towers. (Note that, despite

their name, “digger derricks” are not “derricks”

under the standard. As noted below, the standard

applies to “digger derricks” unless they are used for

certain work).

The rule also applies to the following more specialized

types of equipment when used in construction:

■ Floating cranes

■ Cranes on barges

■ Locomotive cranes

■ Multi-purpose machines when configured to hoist

and lower (by means of a winch or hook) and horizontally move a suspended load

■ Industrial cranes (such as carry-deck cranes)

■ Dedicated pile drivers

■ Service/mechanic trucks with a hoisting device

■ Monorail mounted cranes

■ Pedestal cranes

■ Portal cranes

■ Overhead and gantry cranes (except that such

cranes that are permanently installed in a facility are

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subject to OSHA’s General Industry standard, 29 CFR

1910.179, even when used for construction work.)

■ Straddle cranes

■ Sideboom cranes

■ Digger derricks (except when used for augering

holes for poles carrying electric and telecommunication lines, placing and removing the poles, and for

handling associated materials to be installed on or

removed from the poles).

ATTACHMENTS: Equipment that is covered under

the standard continues to be covered when used with

crane-attached or crane-suspended attachments.

Such attachments include, but are not limited to:

hooks, magnets, grapples, clamshell buckets, orange

peel buckets, concrete buckets, drag lines, personnel

platforms, augers or drills, and pile driving equipment.

EXCLUDED EQUIPMENT: The following types of

equipment are specifically excluded from coverage:

■ Equipment that would otherwise be covered while

it has been converted or adapted for a nonhoisting/lifting use. Such conversions/adaptations

include, but are not limited to, power shovels,

excavators, and concrete pumps.

■ Power shovels, excavators, wheel loaders, backhoes,

loader backhoes, and track loaders. This machinery

is also excluded when used with chains, slings, or

other rigging to lift suspended loads.

■ Automotive wreckers and tow trucks when used to

clear wrecks and haul vehicles.

■ Digger derricks when used for augering holes for

poles carrying electric and telecommunication

lines, placing and removing the poles, and for

handling associated materials to be installed on or

removed from the poles. Digger derricks used in

such pole work must comply with either 29 CFR

1910.269 (electric lines) or 29 CFR 1910.268

(telecommunication lines).

■ Machinery originally designed as vehicle-mounted

aerial devices (for lifting personnel) and selfpropelled elevating work platforms.

■ Telescopic/hydraulic gantry systems.

■ Stacker cranes.

■ Powered industrial trucks (forklifts), except when

configured to hoist and lower (by means of a winch

or hook) and horizontally move a suspended load.

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■ Mechanic’s truck with a hoisting device when used

in activities related to equipment maintenance and

repair.

■ Machinery that hoists by using a come-a-long or

chainfall.

■ Dedicated drilling rigs.

■ Gin poles when used for the erection of

communication towers.

■ Tree trimming and tree removal work.

■ Anchor handling or dredge-related operations with

a vessel or barge using an affixed A-frame.

■ Roustabouts.

■ Helicopter cranes.

SPECIAL RULES FOR ARTICULATING/KNUCKLEBOOM CRANES USED TO DELIVER MATERIAL

TO A CONSTRUCTION SITE:

It is common for material to be delivered to and

unloaded on a construction site using a truck on which

is mounted an articulating/knuckle-boom crane. Such

equipment is covered by the standard when used in

construction work.

When such equipment delivers materials by placing

them on the ground without arranging them in a

particular sequence for hoisting, the activity is not

considered construction work and is not covered

under the standard. This exclusion applies regardless

of the type of material being delivered.

However, when the delivery equipment is used to

transfer the materials onto a structure, the activity is

considered construction work. Nevertheless, the

activity is excluded from the standard if all of the

following conditions are met:

■ The materials are sheet goods (such as sheet rock,

plywood, or sheets of roofing shingles) or packaged

goods (such as roofing shingles, bags of cement, or

rolls of roofing felt).

■ The equipment uses a fork/cradle at the end of the

boom to deliver the materials.

■ The equipment is not used to hold, support, or

stabilize the material to facilitate a construction

activity, such as holding material in place while it is

attached to the structure.

■ The equipment is equipped with a properly functioning automatic overload prevention device.

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This exception, as noted, is limited to delivery of sheet

goods and packaged goods. It does not apply to

delivery of prefabricated components or building

sections, such as roof trusses and wall panels. It also

does not apply to delivery of structural steel members

or components of a systems-engineered metal

building.

Section 1401 – Definitions

Section 1401 defines numerous terms that are used

in the standard. The terms discussed below are of

general interest and deserve particular attention. The

definitions are in bold, and following each definition

is an explanation of its significance.

A/D director (Assembly/Disassembly director) means

an individual who meets this subpart’s requirements

for an A/D director, irrespective of the person’s formal job title or whether the person is non-management or management personnel.

All assembly and disassembly operations must be

carried out under the direction of an A/D director.

The A/D director must be both a “competent person”

and a “qualified person,” or must be a “competent

person” assisted by one or more “qualified persons.”

“Competent person” and “qualified person” are

defined below.

Assembly/Disassembly means the assembly and/or

disassembly of equipment covered under this

standard. With regard to tower cranes, “erecting

and climbing” replaces the term “assembly,” and

“dismantling” replaces the term “disassembly.”

Regardless of whether the crane is initially erected to

its full height or is climbed in stages, the process of

increasing the height of the crane is an erection

process.

All assembly and disassembly operations must

comply with either the procedures specified by the

manufacturer or procedures developed by the

employer that meet the criteria listed in Section 1406.

Under either alternative, procedures must comply

with all manufacturer prohibitions.

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Competent person means one who is capable of

identifying existing and predictable hazards in the

surroundings or working conditions which are

unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees,

and who has authorization to take prompt corrective

measures to eliminate them.

A competent person must conduct shift and monthly

inspections of all equipment. The A/D director must

meet the test for a competent person (as well as a

qualified person – see below). In addition, duties

under the sections of this standard governing

Operations, Hoisting Personnel, Multiple Crane/

Derrick Lifts, Derricks, and Floating Cranes must be

carried out by competent persons. In general, a

qualified crane operator who has the authority to

take corrective measures will be a competent person

under this definition.

Controlling entity means an employer that is a prime

contractor, general contractor, construction manager

or any other legal entity which has the overall

responsibility for the construction of the project – its

planning, quality and completion.

The controlling entity is responsible for seeing that

the ground conditions are adequate to support the

equipment. The controlling entity must also inform

the user and the operator of the equipment of the

location of hazards beneath the equipment set-up

area (such as voids, tanks, utilities) if those hazards

are identified in documents (such as site drawings,

as-built drawings, and soil analyses) in the possession

of the controlling entity (whether at the site or off-site)

or of any other hazards known to the controlling

entity. See section 1402(c). The controlling entity

must also establish a system to coordinate the

operations of two cranes that operate within each

other’s working radius. See Section 1424(b).

Dedicated spotter (power lines): To be considered a

dedicated spotter, the requirements of § 1926.1428

(Signal person qualifications) must be met and

his/her sole responsibility is to watch the separation

between the power line and the equipment, load line

and load (including rigging and lifting accessories),

and ensure through communication with the

operator that the applicable minimum approach

distance is not breached.

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The use of a dedicated spotter is one of the

safeguards used to prevent a crane, as well as its

load and load line, from breaching the applicable

minimum distance from a power line, and thereby

prevent death by electrocution and electric shock and

burn injuries. The minimum distances that must be

maintained, and the safeguards that must be used,

are addressed in sections 1407 – 1411.

Electrical contact occurs when a person, object,

or equipment makes contact or comes in close

proximity with an energized conductor or equipment

that allows the passage of current.

Equipment (including the load and load line) coming

into electrical contact with power lines is the leading

cause of crane-related fatalities. Note that the

equipment does not need to actually touch the power

line to make electrical contact, as electricity can arc

from a power line to nearby equipment. It is therefore

critical to maintain a safe minimum distance and not

merely prevent physical contact.

Fall protection equipment means guardrail systems,

safety net systems, personal fall arrest systems, positioning device systems or fall restraint systems.

This standard contains fall protection requirements

for cranes. The only provisions of OSHA’s general fall

protection requirements for construction (found in 29

CFR 1926 subpart M) that apply to cranes are specifically referenced in this standard. The listed types of

fall protection equipment are further defined in the

standard.

Qualified person means a person who, by possession

of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional

standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training

and experience, successfully demonstrated the ability to solve/resolve problems relating to the subject

matter, the work, or the project.

Numerous duties under the standard must be carried

out by a person who meets this definition. These

include conducting annual/comprehensive

inspections of all equipment as well as inspections of

modified equipment. The A/D director (see definition

above) must be a qualified person as well as a competent person. A qualified person also is responsible

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for duties under various provisions of the standard,

including those dealing with developing assembly/

disassembly procedures, wire rope safety, fall

protection, maintenance and repair, hoisting personnel,

multiple crane/derrick lifts, equipment modifications,

tower cranes, derricks, and floating cranes/derricks.

Rated capacity means the maximum working load

permitted by the manufacturer under specified working conditions. Such working conditions typically

include a specific combination of factors such as

equipment configuration, radii, boom length, and

other parameters of use.

Workers have been killed and injured when cranes

have collapsed because their rated capacity was

exceeded. Compliance with the rated capacity is

therefore one of the most critical protective measures

required by the standard.

Section 1402 – Ground Conditions

IMPORTANCE OF GROUND CONDITIONS:

Adequate ground conditions are essential for safe

crane operations because the crane’s capacity and

stability depend on such conditions being present.

If, for example, the ground is muddy or otherwise

unstable, a crane could overturn even if operated

within the load limits specified by the manufacturer.

BASIC RULE: You must not assemble or use a crane

unless ground conditions are firm, drained, and

graded to a sufficient extent so that, in conjunction (if

necessary) with the use of supporting materials (such

as blocking, mats, cribbing, or marsh buggies (in

marshes/wetlands)), the equipment manufacturer’s

specifications for adequate support and degree of

level of the equipment are met. The requirement for

the ground to be drained does not apply to marshes/

wetlands.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONTROLLING ENTITY:

A contractor operating a crane on a construction site

may not have the ability or authority to provide for

adequate ground conditions at the site. The standard

therefore places the responsibility for ensuring that

the ground conditions are adequate on the “controlling entity” at the site, that is the prime contractor,

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general contractor, construction manager, or other

legal entity with overall responsibility for the project’s

planning, quality, and completion.

The controlling entity must also inform the user and

operator of the equipment of hazards beneath the

equipment set-up area (such as voids, tanks, utilities)

if those hazards are identified in documents (such as

site drawings, as-built drawings, and soil analyses) in

the possession of the controlling entity (whether at

the site or off-site) and of any other hazards known to

the controlling entity.

If there is no controlling entity for the project, the responsibility for providing adequate ground conditions rests on the employer that has authority at the

site to make or arrange for ground preparations.

RESPONSIBILITY OF COMPANY OPERATING

CRANE: Although the controlling entity is responsible

for providing adequate ground conditions, the

company operating the crane will often be better able

than the controlling entity to determine whether

those conditions are adequate. If you are operating

a crane and decide that ground conditions are

inadequate, you must discuss the problem with

the controlling entity and see that the problem is

corrected before beginning or continuing operations.

Sections 1403-1406 – Assembly

and Disassembly

Accidents during assembly and disassembly of

lattice boom and tower cranes are one of the major

causes of crane-related fatalities. These sections are

designed to prevent such accidents by requiring safe

assembly/disassembly procedures for lattice boom

and tower cranes. Hydraulic-boom cranes are not

generally assembled on site, but these sections

contain some provisions, such as the requirement

(section 1404(q)) for proper setting of outriggers and

stabilizers, that apply to cranes with hydraulic booms.

REQUIRED PROCEDURES: When assembling or

disassembling a crane, you must comply with either:

■ Manufacturer procedures, or

■ Your own employer procedures, which must be

developed by a qualified person. Such procedures

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must, at a minimum (1) prevent unintended

dangerous movement or collapse of any part of

the equipment; (2) provide adequate support and

stability of all parts of the equipment; and (3) position

employees involved in the assembly/disassembly

operation so that their exposure to unintended

movement or collapse of part or all of the

equipment is minimized.

Regardless of which of these options you choose,

you must follow any manufacturer prohibitions that

apply to the assembly/disassembly operation.

THE A/D DIRECTOR: All assembly/disassembly

operations must be directed by an individual who

meets the criteria for both a competent person and a

qualified person, or by a competent person who is

assisted by one or more qualified persons. The A/D

director must understand the applicable assembly/

disassembly procedures. The A/D director must take

the following precautions to protect against potential

hazards associated with the operation, including:

■ Site and ground conditions must be able to support

the equipment during assembly/disassembly.

■ Blocking material must be the correct size, amount,

and condition. The blocking must be stacked so as

to sustain the loads and maintain stability.

■ When used to support lattice booms or components, blocking must be placed appropriately to

protect the structural integrity of the equipment,

and prevent dangerous movement and collapse.

■ When using an assist crane, the loads that will be

imposed on the assist crane at each phase of

assembly/disassembly must be verified as being

within its rated capacity.

■ The point(s) of attachment of rigging to a boom (or

boom sections, jib, or jib sections) must be suitable

for preventing structural damage and facilitating

safe handling of these components.

■ The center of gravity of the load must be identified

if necessary for the method used for maintaining

stability. Where there is insufficient information to

accurately identify the center of gravity, measures

designed to prevent unintended dangerous movement resulting from an inaccurate identification of

the center of gravity must be used.

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■ The boom sections, boom suspension systems

(such as gantry A-frames and jib struts), and

components must be rigged or supported to

maintain stability upon the removal of the pins.

■ Suspension ropes and pendants must not be

allowed to catch on the boom or jib connection

pins or cotter pins (including keepers and locking

pins).

■ Steps must be taken to prevent unintended movement from counterweights that are inadequately

supported or are being hoisted.

■ Each time reliance is to be placed on the boom

hoist brake to prevent boom movement during

assembly/disassembly, the brake must be tested

prior to such reliance to determine if it is sufficient

to prevent boom movement. If it is not sufficient,

a boom hoist pawl, other locking device/back-up

braking device, or another method of preventing

dangerous movement of the boom (such as

blocking or using an assist crane) from a boom

hoist brake failure must be used.

■ Backward stability must be assured before swinging the upperworks, travel, and when attaching or

removing equipment components.

■ The effect of wind speed and weather on the equipment must be taken into account.

THE CREW: Before the operation begins, the A/D

director must ensure that the crew members

understand all of the following:

■ Their tasks.

■ The hazards associated with their tasks.

■ The hazardous positions/locations that they need to

avoid.

Before a crew member goes to a location that is out

of view of the operator and is either in, on, or under

the equipment, or near the equipment (or load)

where the crew member could be injured by movement of the equipment (or load), the crew member

must inform the operator that he/she is going to that

location. Whenever the operator knows that a crew

member is in such a potentially dangerous position,

the operator must not move any part of the equipment

(or load) until the operator is informed in accord with

a pre-arranged system of communication that the

crew member is in a safe position.

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THE RIGGER: When rigging is used for assembly/

disassembly, the employer must ensure that the

rigging work is done by a qualified rigger, i.e., a rigger

who meets the definition of a qualified person.

WORKING UNDER THE BOOM, JIB OR OTHER

COMPONENTS: When pins (or similar devices)

are being removed, employees must not be under

the boom, jib, or other components, unless site

constraints require one or more employees to be in

such a position. In such a case, the A/D director must

implement procedures that minimize the risk of

unintended dangerous movement and minimize the

duration and extent of exposure under the boom.

SYNTHETIC SLINGS: When using synthetic slings

during assembly or disassembly, you must follow the

synthetic sling manufacturer’s instructions, limitations,

specifications and recommendations. Synthetic slings

must be protected from abrasive, sharp or acute

edges, and configurations that could cause a reduction

of the sling’s rated capacity, such as distortion or

localized compression.

OUTRIGGERS AND STABILIZERS. When the load

to be handled and the operating radius require the

use of outriggers or stabilizers, or at any time when

outriggers or stabilizers are used:

■ The outriggers or stabilizers must be either fully

extended or, if manufacturer procedures permit,

deployed as specified in the load chart.

■ The outriggers must be set to remove the

equipment weight from the wheels, except for

locomotive cranes. This provision does not apply to

stabilizers.

■ When outrigger floats are used, they must be

attached to the outriggers. When stabilizer floats

are used, they must be attached to the stabilizers.

■ Each outrigger or stabilizer must be visible to the

operator or to a signal person during extension and

setting.

■ Outrigger and stabilizer blocking must be the

correct size, amount, and condition. The blocking

must be placed only under the outrigger or stabilizer float/pad of the jack or, where the outrigger or

stabilizer is designed without a jack, under the

outer bearing surface of the extended outrigger or

stabilizer beam.

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DISMANTLING BOOMS AND JIBS: The following

precautions must be taken to prevent dangerous

movement of boom and jib sections that are being

dismantled.

■ None of the pins in the pendants are to be removed

(partly or completely) when the pendants are in

tension.

■ None of the pins (top or bottom) on boom sections

located between the pendant attachment points

and the crane/derrick body are to be removed

(partly or completely) when the pendants are in

tension.

■ None of the pins (top or bottom) on boom sections

located between the uppermost boom section and

the crane/derrick body are to be removed (partly or

completely) when the boom is being supported by

the uppermost boom section resting on the ground

(or other support).

■ None of the top pins on boom sections located

on the cantilevered portion of the boom being

removed (the portion being removed ahead of the

pendant attachment points) are to be removed

(partly or completely) until the cantilevered section

to be removed is fully supported.

FALL PROTECTION: During assembly/disassembly

work, fall protection is generally required when a

worker is more than 15 feet above an unprotected

side or edge. See section 1423.

Sections 1407-1411 – Power Lines

DANGER – HIGH VOLTAGE: Electrocutions caused

by a crane, load, or load line contacting a power line

have caused numerous fatalities. To prevent such

accidents in the future, the standard contains detailed,

systematic procedures that employers must follow

when operating cranes near power lines. These

procedures are designed to (1) prevent equipment

from making electrical contact with power lines; and

(2) protect workers in the event that such contact occurs.

NOTE: Special rules apply to work covered by 29

CFR, Subpart V, Power Transmission and Distribution.

This Guide does not cover Subpart V work.

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THE FIRST STEP – COULD THE CRANE GET

CLOSER THAN 20 FEET TO A POWER LINE?

Keeping a safe distance from power lines is the key to

preventing power line accidents. Therefore, the first

step you must take when planning to operate a crane

on a site where a power line is present is to identify

the crane’s work zone and use that work zone to

determine how close it could come to the power line.

If you determine that no part of the crane, load, or

load line could get closer than 20 feet to a power line,

no further precautions are required. If the initial plan

for the crane’s use changes during the project, you

must reevaluate whether the equipment could get

closer than 20 feet to the power line. [Note: If the

line’s voltage is over 350,000 volts, a 50-foot, rather

than 20-foot, minimum clearance must be maintained. This Guide assumes that the voltage is less

than 350,000 volts and uses the 20-foot clearance

distance.]

There are two ways to identify the work zone and use

it to determine whether the equipment could get

closer than 20 feet to the power line. First, if the

equipment (crane, load, load line, or rigging) could

not get closer than 20 feet to the line even if the crane

is operated at its maximum working radius, the 20-

foot requirement is satisfied. Alternatively, you may

establish a work zone by establishing boundaries

(using flags or a device such as a range limit device

or range control warning device) that are more than

20 feet from the power line and prohibiting the

operator from operating the equipment past those

boundaries.

ALTERNATIVE TO 20-FOOT CLEARANCE

(TABLE A): If you know the line’s voltage, you may

use the minimum clearance distance in Table A in lieu

of 20 feet. Table A provides:

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Table A - Minimum Clearance Distances

Voltage (nominal, kV, Minimum clearance

alternating current) distance (feet)

up to 50 10

over 50 to 200 15

over 200 to 350 20

over 350 to 500 25

over 500 to 750 35

over 750 to 1,000 45

over 1,000 (as established by the utility

owner/operator or registered

professional engineer who is a

qualified person with respect to

electrical power transmission and

distribution)

Note: The value that

follows “to” is up to and

includes that value. For

example, over 50 to 200

means up to and

including 200kV.

One way to determine the line’s voltage is to ask the

line’s owner or operator. The utility must respond to

such a voltage inquiry within two working days.

If you use Table A to determine the minimum clearance distance, you must determine whether any part

of the crane, load, or load line could get closer than

the Table A distance to a power line if the equipment

is operated up to its maximum working radius in the

work zone.

If you determine that part of the crane, load, or load

line could come closer to the power line than the

required minimum clearance distance (either 20 feet

or the Table A clearance), you must either deenergize

and ground the line or take specified steps to maintain the required minimum clearance distance. These

options will now be discussed.

DEENERGIZE AND GROUND: Deenergizing and

visibly grounding the line will protect against electrocution and avoid the need for additional precautions.

However, the employer must rely on the power line’s

owner or operator to take these steps, and utilities are

generally unwilling to deenergize their lines because

doing so will cut off service to their customers. As a

result, this precaution will usually not be available.

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You must assume that all power lines are energized

unless the utility owner/operator confirms that the

power line has been and continues to be deenergized

and the line is visibly grounded at the worksite.

STEPS YOU MUST TAKE TO MAINTAIN THE

REQUIRED MINIMUM CLEARANCE DISTANCE:

You must take all of the following steps.

■ Conduct a planning meeting with the crane

operator and the other workers who will be in the

area of the equipment or load to review the location

of the power line(s), and the steps that will be

implemented to prevent encroachment/

electrocution.

■ If tag lines are used, they must be non-conductive.

■ Erect and maintain an elevated warning line,

barricade, or line of signs equipped with flags or

similar high-visibility markings at the minimum

clearance distance. If the operator cannot see the

elevated warning line, a dedicated spotter must be

used to signal the operator that the crane is passing

the marked line.

In addition, you must use at least one of the following

precautions:

■ A dedicated spotter (a worker whose only duty is to

observe the clearance between the equipment and

the line) who is in continuous contact with the

operator.

■ A proximity alarm set to give the operator sufficient

warning to prevent encroachment.

■ A device that automatically warns the operator

when to stop movement, such as a range control

warning device. Such a device must be set to give

the operator sufficient warning to prevent

encroachment.

■ A device that automatically limits the crane’s range

of movement, set to prevent encroachment.

■ An insulating link/device installed between the end

of the load line and the load.

If you use a dedicated spotter, the dedicated spotter

must be able to judge the distance between the

equipment and the line and inform the operator if the

equipment is getting too close to the line. Therefore,

the spotter must:

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■ Be equipped with a visual aid (such as a clearly

visible line painted on the ground or a clearly

visible line of stanchions) to assist in identifying the

minimum clearance distance.

■ Be positioned to effectively gauge the clearance

distance.

■ Where necessary, use equipment that enables the

spotter to communicate directly with the operator.

■ Give timely information to the operator so that the

required clearance distance can be maintained.

■ Be trained to be able to perform his/her duties

effectively.

OPERATION BELOW POWER LINES GENERALLY

PROHIBITED: No part of the equipment, load line,

or load (including rigging and lifting accessories) is

allowed below a power line unless:

■ the employer has confirmed that the utility

owner/operator has deenergized and visibly

grounded the power line at the worksite, or

■ the highest point of the equipment’s boom, even if

completely extended and vertical, will be more than

the required minimum distance from the power line.

EMPLOYEE TRAINING: If the equipment contacts

a power line, death or injury may be avoided if the

workers in and on the crane know and understand

the steps they can take to protect themselves. In

general, the crane operator and any other person on

the crane will be safe as long as they remain on the

crane. The greatest danger is faced by a person who

simultaneously touches both the crane and the

ground, but a person who is near, but not touching,

the crane can also suffer electric shock. To ensure that

employees have the information they need to protect

themselves, you must train each operator and crew

member assigned to work with the equipment on

how to avoid electrocution in the event the

equipment contacts a power line. Such training must

include:

■ Information regarding the danger of electrocution

if a person simultaneously touches the equipment

and the ground.

■ The importance to the operator’s safety of

remaining inside the cab except where there is

an imminent danger of fire, explosion, or other

emergency that necessitates leaving the cab.

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■ The safest means of evacuating from equipment

that may be energized.

■ The danger of the potentially energized zone

around the equipment (step potential).

■ The need for crew in the area to avoid approaching

or touching the equipment and the load.

■ Safe clearance distance from power lines.

■ The limitations of an insulating link/device,

proximity alarm, and range control (and similar)

device, if used.

■ How to properly ground equipment and the

limitations of grounding.

ASSEMBLING A CRANE NEAR A POWER LINE:

The precautions described above for crane operations must also be taken when assembling or disassembling a crane near a power line. Under no

circumstances may a crane be assembled or disassembled beneath an energized power line.

PRECAUTIONS FOR MOVING EQUIPMENT: A crane

traveling with a load must comply with the minimum

clearance distance and associated precautions listed

above. If the crane is traveling with no load, the following clearance distances must be maintained.

Table T – Minimum Clearance Distances While

Traveling with No Load

Voltage (nominal, kV, While Traveling – Minimum

alternating current) clearance distance (feet)

up to 0.75 4

over .75 to 50 6

over 50 to 345 10

over 345 to 750 16

over 750 to 1,000 20

over 1,000 (as established by the utility owner/

operator or registered professional

engineer who is a qualified person

with respect to electrical power

transmission and distribution)

In determining whether the equipment will maintain

the required clearance distance, you must take into

account the effects of speed and terrain on the

equipment’s movement (including movement of the

boom/mast). In addition, if any part of the equipment

can get closer than 20 feet to the line, you must use a

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dedicated spotter to observe the clearance and signal

the operator in order to keep the required minimum

clearance.

LIMITED EXCEPTION TO

MANDATORY MINIMUM CLEARANCE

In some circumstances, it is impossible to perform

a required lift while staying the required minimum

distance from a power line. The standard provides a

limited exception for such circumstances that allows

operations closer than the minimum distance.

However, it requires additional precautions due to the

extreme danger of operating so close to a power line.

Before using this exception, you must determine that

specific work required to complete the project cannot

be performed while maintaining the Table A clearance. In making this determination, you must consider whether an alternative method of performing

the lift, such as repositioning the crane or the load,

will enable you to maintain the required minimum

distance. If you have decided that it is absolutely necessary to operate closer than the required minimum

distance, you must consult the utility that owns or operates the line to determine whether it is feasible to

deenergize and ground or relocate the line. Only if

deenergizing/grounding or relocation is not feasible

may you operate closer than the Table A distance to

an energized line. In such a case, you must take the

following precautions to protect workers:

FIRST: DETERMINE AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM

CLEARANCE. You must have the power line

owner/operator or a registered professional engineer

who is a qualified person with respect to electrical

power transmission and distribution determine

the minimum clearance distance that must be

maintained to prevent electrical contact in light of

the on-site conditions. The factors that must be considered in making this determination include, but

are not limited to: conditions affecting atmospheric

conductivity; time necessary to bring the equipment,

load line, and load (including rigging and lifting

accessories) to a complete stop; wind conditions;

degree of sway in the power line; lighting conditions;

and other conditions affecting the ability to prevent

electrical contact.

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SECOND: HOLD A PLANNING MEETING. You

must hold a planning meeting with the utility owner/

operator (or registered professional engineer who is

a qualified person with respect to electrical power

transmission and distribution) to determine the

procedures that will be followed to prevent electrical

contact and electrocution.

THIRD: USE PROTECTIVE PROCEDURES. The

procedures required by the standard and any

additional procedures developed at the planning

meeting must be followed. The following procedures

are required by the standard and must be followed

without exception:

■ If the power line is equipped with a device that

automatically reenergizes the circuit in the event of

a power line contact, before the work begins, the

automatic reclosing feature of the circuit interrupting device must be made inoperative if the design

of the device permits.

■ A dedicated spotter who is in continuous contact

with the operator must be used to ensure that

the equipment does not breach the minimum

clearance. The requirements for a dedicated spotter

are discussed above.

■ An elevated warning line, or barricade (not attached

to the crane), in view of the operator (either directly

or through video equipment), equipped with flags

or similar high-visibility markings, must be

erected.

■ An insulating link/device must be installed at a

point between the end of the load line (or below)

and the load. (NOTE: certain safety procedures

or devices may be substituted for a Nationally

Recognized Testing Laboratory-approved insulating

link during an interim time period. Refer to section

1926.1410(d)(4)(iv) and (v) of the standard for

details)

■ All employees who may come in contact with

the equipment, the load line, or the load (except

operators located on the equipment) must be

insulated or guarded from the equipment, the load

line, and the load by wearing insulating gloves

rated for the voltage involved or using another

effective means of insulating them from the

equipment.

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■ Nonconductive rigging must be used.

■ If the equipment is equipped with a device that

automatically limits range of movement, it must be

used and set to prevent any part of the equipment,

load line, or load (including rigging and lifting

accessories) from breaching the minimum

approach distance.

■ Any tag line that is used must be of the nonconductive type.

■ Barricades forming a perimeter at least 10 feet

away from the equipment must be erected to

prevent unauthorized personnel from entering the

work area. In areas where obstacles prevent the

barricade from being at least 10 feet away, the

barricade must be as far from the equipment as

feasible.

■ Workers other than the operator must be prohibited

from touching the load line above the insulating

link/device and crane. The operator is excluded

from this requirement because, while on the equipment, the operator is, in effect, touching the load

line above the insulating link/device. However, if

the operator is remotely operating the equipment

from the ground, he/she must use either wireless

controls that isolate the operator from the equipment or insulating mats that insulate the operator

from the ground.

■ Only personnel essential to the operation are

permitted in the area of the crane and load.

■ The equipment must be properly grounded.

■ Insulating line hose or cover-up must be installed

by the utility owner/operator except where such

devices are unavailable for the line voltages

involved.

■ Each operator and crew member assigned to work

with the equipment must be trained in the topics

listed earlier in this section.

FOURTH: APPOINT A PROJECT DIRECTOR.

You, along with the utility owner/operator (or

registered professional engineer) and all other

employers involved in the work, must identify one

person who will direct the implementation of the

procedures. That person must have the authority to

stop work at any time to ensure safety.

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FIFTH: RECONSIDER YOUR PLAN IF A

PROBLEM ARISES. The danger of operating a

crane close to a power line cannot be overemphasized. Procedures that may appear adequate at the

beginning of a job may not be adequate in practice.

For example, if electricity arcs from the line to the

equipment, whatever precautions are being taken are

not sufficient. Therefore, if there is any indication that

the procedures being followed are inadequate to

protect workers, you must safely stop operations and

either develop new, more protective procedures or

have the utility owner/operator deenergize and visibly

ground or relocate the power line before resuming

work.

Section 1412 – Inspections (with

section 1435(f) (Tower crane

inspections) and section 1436(p)

(Derricks inspections))

To ensure that equipment is in a safe condition, the

standard requires a variety of inspections. The

following inspections are required of all equipment:

■ Shift inspections

■ Monthly inspections

■ Annual inspections

■ Shift, monthly, and annual wire rope inspections

(if the equipment uses wire rope)

In addition, the following special inspections are required in particular circumstances:

■ Post-assembly inspections

■ Pre- and post-erection inspections of tower cranes

(section 1435(f))

■ Equipment used in severe service

■ Equipment not in regular use

■ Inspections of certain modified equipment

■ Inspections of certain repaired/adjusted equipment

As described below, certain inspections must be

conducted by a competent person and others by a

qualified person. See Section 1401 (Definitions) for an

explanation of these terms.

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SHIFT INSPECTIONS: A competent person must

visually inspect the equipment each shift the equipment is used. Taking apart equipment components

and booming down is not required as part of this

inspection unless the results of the visual inspection

or trial operation indicate that further investigation

necessitating taking apart equipment components

or booming down is needed. At a minimum the

inspection must include all of the following:

■ Control mechanisms for maladjustments interfering

with proper operation.

■ Control and drive mechanisms for apparent

excessive wear of components and contamination

by lubricants, water or other foreign matter.

■ Air, hydraulic, and other pressurized lines for

deterioration or leakage, particularly those which

flex in normal operation.

■ Hydraulic system for proper fluid level.

■ Hooks and latches for deformation, cracks,

excessive wear, or damage such as from chemicals

or heat.

■ Wire rope reeving for compliance with the

manufacturer’s specifications.

■ Wire rope (see section 1413 for the rules for wire

rope inspections).

■ Electrical apparatus for malfunctioning, signs of

apparent excessive deterioration, or dirt or

moisture accumulation.

■ Tires (when in use) for proper inflation and

condition.

■ Ground conditions around the equipment for

proper support, including ground settling under

and around outriggers/stabilizers and supporting

foundations, ground water accumulation, or similar

conditions.

■ The equipment for level position within the tolerances specified by the equipment manufacturer’s

recommendations, both before each shift and after

each move and setup.

■ Operator cab windows for significant cracks,

breaks, or other deficiencies that would hamper

the operator’s view.

■ Rails, rail stops, rail clamps and supporting

surfaces when the equipment travels on rails.

■ Safety devices and operational aids for proper

operation.

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■ For derricks, guys for proper tension (section

1436(p)).

■ Deficiencies identified during the most recent

annual inspection that the inspector determined

must be monitored in the monthly inspections.

If the inspection shows that a safety device (see

section 1415 for a list of required safety devices) is

not working properly, the equipment must not be

used. If it shows that an operational aid (see section

1416 for a list of required operational aids) is not

working properly, the equipment may be used for

a limited period of time (7 or 30 calendar days

depending on the type of operational aid) as long as

specified temporary alternative precautions are taken.

For the other items covered by the inspection, if the

inspector finds any deficiency in an item, he/she must

determine if the deficiency is serious enough to be a

safety hazard. If so, the equipment must not be used

until the deficiency is corrected. Shift inspections

need not be documented.

MONTHLY INSPECTIONS: The monthly inspection

is the same as a shift inspection for most equipment.

For tower cranes, the following additional items must

be included (section 1435(f)(4)):

■ Tower (mast) bolts and other structural bolts (for

loose or dislodged condition) from the base of the

tower crane up or, if the crane is tied to or braced

by the structure, those above the uppermost brace

support.

■ The uppermost tie-in, braces, floor supports and

floor wedges where the tower crane is supported

by the structure, for loose or dislodged components.

Documentation of monthly inspection: The following

information must be documented and maintained for

a minimum of three months by the employer that

conducts the inspection:

■ The items checked and the results of the

inspection.

■ The name and signature of the person who

conducted the inspection and the date.

ANNUAL/COMPREHENSIVE INSPECTIONS: The

annual inspection must be conducted by a qualified

person and is far more thorough than a shift or

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monthly inspection. In addition to those items that

must be checked during a shift inspection, the annual

inspection must include:

■ Equipment structure (including the boom and, if

equipped, the jib) as follows:

■ Structural members: deformed, cracked, or

significantly corroded.

■ Bolts, rivets and other fasteners: loose, failed, or

significantly corroded.

■ Welds for cracks.

■ Sheaves and drums for cracks or significant wear.

■ Parts such as pins, bearings, shafts, gears, rollers

and locking devices for distortion, cracks, or

significant wear.

■ Brake and clutch system parts, linings, pawls, and

ratchets for excessive wear.

■ Safety devices and operational aids for proper

operation (including significant inaccuracies).

■ Gasoline, diesel, electric, or other power plants for

safety-related problems (such as leaking exhaust

and emergency shutdown feature) and conditions,

and proper operation.

■ Chains and chain drive sprockets for excessive

wear of sprockets and excessive chain stretch.

■ Travel steering, brakes, and locking devices, for

proper operation.

■ Tires for damage or excessive wear.

■ Hydraulic, pneumatic and other pressurized hoses,

fittings, and tubing, as follows:

• Flexible hose or its junction with the fittings for

indications of leaks.

• Threaded or clamped joints for leaks.

• Outer covering of the hose for blistering,

abnormal deformation, or other signs of

failure/impending failure.

• Outer surface of a hose, rigid tube, or fitting for

indications of excessive abrasion or scrubbing.

■ Hydraulic and pneumatic pumps and motors, as

follows:

• Performance indicators: unusual noises or

vibration, low operating speed, excessive heating

of the fluid, low pressure.

• Loose bolts or fasteners.

• Shaft seals and joints between pump sections for

leaks.

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■ Hydraulic and pneumatic valves, as follows:

• Spools: sticking, improper return to neutral, and

leaks.

• Leaks.

• Valve housing cracks.

• Relief valves: failure to reach correct pressure (if

there is a manufacturer procedure for checking

pressure, it must be followed).

■ Hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, as follows:

• Drifting caused by fluid leaking across the piston.

• Rod seals and welded joints for leaks.

• Cylinder rods for scores, nicks, or dents.

• Case (barrel) for significant dents.

• Rod eyes and connecting joints: loose or deformed.

■ Outrigger or stabilizer pads/floats for excessive

wear or cracks.

■ Slider pads for excessive wear or cracks.

■ Electrical components and wiring for cracked or

split insulation and loose or corroded

terminations.

■ Warning labels and decals originally supplied with

the equipment by the manufacturer or otherwise

required under this standard: missing or unreadable.

■ Originally equipped operator seat (or equivalent):

missing.

■ Operator seat: unserviceable.

■ Originally equipped steps, ladders, handrails, or

guards: missing.

■ Steps, ladders, handrails, or guards: in unusable/

unsafe condition.

■ For tower cranes, all turntable and tower bolts

must be inspected for proper condition and torque

(section 1435(f)).

■ For derricks, gudgeon pins for cracks, wear, and

distortion, and foundation supports for continued

ability to sustain the imposed loads (section

1436(p)).

If necessary, disassembly is required to complete the

annual inspection. Also, the inspection must include

functional testing to determine that the equipment as

configured in the inspection is functioning properly.

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Corrective action: If the qualified person who

conducts the inspection identifies any deficiency in

any of the items inspected and determines that the

deficiency constitutes a safety hazard, the equipment

must be taken out of service until the deficiency is

corrected. (See the discussion above under shift

inspections for the corrective action required if an

operational aid is not working properly). If the

qualified person determines that, though not

presently a safety hazard, the deficiency needs to

be monitored, the employer must ensure that the

deficiency is checked in the monthly inspections.

Documentation of annual/comprehensive inspection.

The following information must be documented,

maintained, and retained for a minimum of 12

months, by the employer that conducts the inspection:

■ The items checked and the results of the

inspection.

■ The name and signature of the person who

conducted the inspection and the date.

POST-ASSEMBLY INSPECTIONS: Before the

equipment can be used, it must be inspected by a

qualified person to ensure that it is configured in

accord with manufacturer equipment criteria. This

qualified person may be the A/D director. Where

manufacturer equipment criteria are unavailable, a

qualified person must:

■ Determine if a registered professional engineer

(RPE) familiar with the type of equipment involved

is needed to develop criteria for the equipment configuration. If an RPE is not needed, the employer

must ensure that the criteria are developed by the

qualified person. If an RPE is needed, the employer

must ensure that they are developed by an RPE.

■ Determine if the equipment meets these criteria

before the equipment is used.

PRE- AND POST-ERECTION INSPECTION OF

TOWER CRANES (section 1435(f)): Tower crane

components must be inspected by a qualified person

before being erected for damage or excessive wear.

The qualified person must pay particular attention to

components that will be difficult to inspect thoroughly

during shift inspections.

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If the qualified person determines that a component

is damaged or worn to the extent that it would create

a safety hazard if used on the crane, that component

must not be erected on the crane unless it is repaired

and, upon reinspection by the qualified person, found

to no longer create a safety hazard. If the qualified

person determines that, though not presently a safety

hazard, the component needs to be monitored, the

employer must ensure that the component is checked

in the monthly inspections. Any such determination

must be documented, and the documentation must

be available to any individual who conducts a

monthly inspection.

In addition to the other requirements listed above

for post-assembly inspections, the following requirements must be met:

■ A load test using certified weights, or scaled

weights using a certified scale with a current

certificate of calibration, must be conducted after

each erection.

■ The load test must be conducted in accord with the

manufacturer’s instructions when available. Where

these instructions are unavailable, the test must

be conducted in accord with written load test

procedures developed by a registered professional

engineer familiar with the type of equipment

involved.

SEVERE SERVICE INSPECTIONS: Where the

severity of use/conditions is such that there is a

reasonable probability of damage or excessive wear

(such as loading that may have exceeded rated

capacity, shock loading that may have exceeded rated

capacity, or prolonged exposure to a corrosive

atmosphere), the employer must stop using the

equipment and a qualified person must:

■ Inspect the equipment for structural damage to

determine if the equipment can continue to be used

safely.

■ In light of the use/conditions determine whether

any items/conditions that must be inspected during

an annual inspection need to be inspected; if so,

the qualified person must inspect those items/

conditions.

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INSPECTION OF EQUIPMENT NOT IN REGULAR

USE: Equipment that has been idle for 3 months or

more must be inspected by a qualified person in

accord with the requirements for monthly inspections

before being used.

INSPECTION OF MODIFIED EQUIPMENT:

Equipment that has had modifications or additions

which affect the safe operation of the equipment

(such as modifications or additions involving a safety

device or operational aid, critical part of a control

system, power plant, braking system, load-sustaining

structural components, load hook, or in-use operating

mechanism) or capacity must be inspected by a

qualified person after such modifications/additions

have been completed, prior to initial use. Note that,

under section 1434, any such modification/addition

must be approved by either the manufacturer or a

registered professional engineer. The inspection must

assure that the modifications or additions have been

made in accord with that approval and must include

functional testing of the equipment.

INSPECTION OF REPAIRED/ADJUSTED

EQUIPMENT: Equipment that has had a repair or

adjustment that relates to safe operation (such as a

repair or adjustment to a safety device or operator

aid, or to a critical part of a control system, power

plant, braking system, load-sustaining structural

components, load hook, or in-use operating

mechanism) must be inspected by a qualified

person after such a repair or adjustment has been

completed, prior to initial use. The qualified person

must determine if the repair/adjustment meets

manufacturer equipment criteria (where applicable

and available). Where manufacturer equipment

criteria are unavailable or inapplicable, the qualified

person must determine if a registered professional

engineer (RPE) is needed to develop criteria for the

repair/adjustment. If an RPE is not needed, the

employer must ensure that the criteria are developed

by the qualified person. If an RPE is needed, the

employer must ensure that the criteria are developed

by the RPE. The inspection must determine if the

repair/adjustment meets the criteria developed by the

RPE or qualified person and must include functional

testing.

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Section 1413 – Wire Rope Inspection

Wire rope must be inspected as part of the shift,

monthly, and annual inspections required by section

1412. The shift and monthly inspections must

evaluate all rope that is visible during the shift in

which the inspection is conducted. The annual inspection must include the entire length of the rope.

The shift and monthly inspections must pay particular attention to the following:

■ Rotation resistant wire rope in use.

■ Wire rope being used for boom hoists and luffing

hoists, particularly at reverse bends.

■ Wire rope at flange points, crossover points, and

repetitive pickup points on drums.

■ Wire rope at or near terminal ends.

■ Wire rope in contact with saddles, equalizer

sheaves, or other sheaves where rope travel is

limited.

In addition to these items, the annual inspection must

include:

■ Those sections that are normally hidden during

shift and monthly inspections.

■ Wire rope subject to reverse bends.

■ Wire rope passing over sheaves.

You must take certain action if an inspection reveals

a defect in the rope. Some defects require either that

the rope be removed from service or the damaged

section be severed. For others, the inspector must

evaluate whether the defect constitutes a safety

hazard, with the corrective action depending on the

outcome of the evaluation. Note that, if a wire rope

must be repaired or replaced, either the equipment

(as a whole) or the hoist with that wire rope must be

tagged-out during the repair/replacement process.

SEVERING WIRE ROPE: Where severing the rope

is permitted, the section that is damaged must be

discarded. Two undamaged sections may not be

spliced to make a longer rope. If the undamaged part

that remains is too short for the drum to have two

full wraps of rope when the load and/or boom is in its

lowest position, the rope cannot be used and must be

replaced.

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ELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH POWER LINE:

Wire rope that has made electrical contact with a

power line (either by the rope, the equipment, or

the load contacting the line) must be immediately

removed from service even if no damage is visible.

The rope may have suffered internal damage that

cannot be repaired.

DEFECTS THAT REQUIRE REMOVAL FROM

SERVICE OR SEVERING: The following defects

require that the rope either be removed from service

or the defective part severed.

■ Visible broken wires, as follows:

• In running wire ropes: six randomly distributed

broken wires in one rope lay, or three broken

wires in one strand in one rope lay, where a rope

lay is the length along the rope in which one

strand makes a complete revolution around the

rope.

• In rotation resistant ropes: two randomly

distributed broken wires in six rope diameters, or

four randomly distributed broken wires in 30 rope

diameters.

• In pendants or standing wire ropes: more than

two broken wires in one rope lay located in rope

beyond end connections, or more than one

broken wire in a rope lay located at an end

connection.

■ A diameter reduction of more than 5% from

nominal diameter.

■ In rotation resistant wire rope, core protrusion or

other distortion indicating core failure.

■ A broken strand.

Exception: If the wire rope manufacturer has

approved different criteria for visible broken wires

or diameter reduction, you may follow those criteria

instead of those above.

DEFECTS THAT REQUIRE EVALUATION: The

following defects must be evaluated by the inspector

to determine whether they constitute a safety hazard:

■ Significant distortion of the wire rope structure

such as kinking, crushing, unstranding, birdcaging,

signs of core failure, or steel core protrusion

between the outer strands.

■ Significant corrosion.

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■ Electric arc damage (from a source other than

power lines) or heat damage.

■ Improperly applied end connections.

■ Significantly corroded, cracked, bent, or worn end

connections (such as from severe service).

If these defects are found to be hazardous: The rope

must be removed from service or the defective part

severed.

If they are not found to be an immediate hazard:

You may continue to use the rope. However, if such a

defect is identified during an annual inspection, you

must check it during each monthly inspection. Note

that this may require a more complete monthly

inspection than would otherwise be required because

the annual inspection must cover the entire rope and

may reveal a defect in a part of the rope that would

not normally be visible during a shift or monthly

inspection.

Section 1414 – Wire Rope – Selection

and Installation Criteria

This section requires that wire rope be used in

accord with the recommendations of the wire rope

manufacturer, the equipment manufacturer, or a

qualified person. It establishes a classification system

for rotation resistant rope and specifies design factors

for the different classes of such rope.

ROPE CLASSIFICATION: Wire rope is classified as

either “standard rope” or “rotation resistant rope.”

Rotation resistant rope, in turn, can be constructed in

various ways, and the standard lists three different

“Types” that vary in their construction.

For all three types, rotation resistant rope’s internal

design resists twisting better than standard rope.

Rotation resistant rope therefore enables better

control of the load because it tends to keep the load

from rotating while it is being hoisted or suspended.

However, the design of rotation resistant rope makes

it more susceptible to internal damage than standard

rope and such internal damage can be hard to detect.

Because of the chance of hidden damage, this section

restricts the use of rotation resistant rope for boom

hoist reeving and duty cycle/repetitive lifts.

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Boom hoist reeving: Rotation resistant rope may

only be used for boom hoist reeving when load

hoists are used as boom hoists for attachments such

as luffing attachments or boom and mast attachment

systems. When you use rotation resistant rope for

such a purpose, you must comply with six conditions

specified in section 1414(e)(4)(ii).

Duty cycle/repetitive lifts: You must meet certain

criteria when using rotation resistant rope for duty

cycle and repetitive lifts. These are defined as follows:

Duty Cycle: A type of crane service in which bulk

material is transferred from one point to another by

rapidly lifting, swinging, booming, and placing the

material. Typical types of duty cycle service are

dragline, clamshell, grapple, and magnet. This type

of service is differentiated from standard crane “lift

service” in that cycle times are very short and continuous, often less than 1 minute per load, and

loads are lifted and placed in general areas rather

than precise positions to permit such rapid cycles.

Repetitive lifts: A continuous operation with loads

that may vary in size and weight.

The requirements for using rotation resistant rope

for duty cycle and repetitive lifts vary with the type of

rotation resistant rope being used and the operating

design factor of the rope. If you are using rotation

resistant rope for one of these purposes, check the

standard for the criteria that apply to the type of rope

you are using.

Section 1414 also contains the following requirements:

■ Wire rope clips used in conjunction with wedge

sockets must be attached to the unloaded dead end

of the rope only, except that the use of devices

specifically designed for dead-ending rope in a

wedge socket is permitted.

■ Socketing must be done in the manner specified by

the manufacturer of the wire rope or fitting.

■ Prior to cutting a wire rope, seizings must be placed

on each side of the point to be cut. The length and

number of seizings must be in accord with the wire

rope manufacturer’s instructions.

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Sections 1415 Safety Devices &

1416 Operational Aids

These sections require that cranes/derricks be

equipped with certain types of safety equipment.

Some types are called safety devices, while others

are called operational aids. Safety devices must be in

proper working order for the equipment to be permitted to operate. If an operational aid is not working

properly, the equipment may still be operated for a

limited time as long as certain alternative precautions

are taken.

Note that section 1412 requires that safety devices

and operational aids must be checked for proper

operation during all shift inspections.

Safety devices and operational aids must not be

used as a substitute for the exercise of professional

judgment by the operator.

SAFETY DEVICES: The following safety devices

are required on all equipment unless otherwise

specified:

■ Crane level indicator (except on portal cranes,

derricks, floating cranes/derricks and land cranes/

derricks on barges, pontoons, vessels or other

means of flotation).

■ Boom stops (except for derricks and hydraulic

booms).

■ Jib stops (if a jib is attached), except for derricks.

■ Locks on foot pedal brakes.

■ Integral holding device/check valve on hydraulic

outrigger jacks and hydraulic stabilizer jacks.

■ Rail clamps and rail stops for equipment on rails

(except portal cranes).

■ Horn (either built into the equipment or on the

equipment and immediately available to the

operator).

OPERATIONAL AIDS: These are divided into two

categories that differ in the amount of time the

equipment may operate before they are repaired.

While an operational aid is not working properly, the

temporary alternative measures specified in the

standard must be taken. Category I aids must be

repaired within 7 calendar days after a deficiency

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occurs, while equipment may operate for 30 calendar

days before a Category II aid is repaired. In both

cases, additional time is permitted if a necessary part

is ordered in a timely manner but is not received

within the 7- or 30-day period.

Certain operational aids are only required on equipment manufactured after a specified date. In some

cases, these are past dates that reflect when these

devices began to be installed on equipment. In other

cases, they are future dates that are intended to give

manufacturers time to install the devices on new

equipment.

CATEGORY I OPERATIONAL AIDS:

■ Boom hoist limiting device (required on equipment

manufactured after December 16, 1969).

■ Luffing jib limiting device.

■ Automatic anti two-blocking device (required

on telescopic boom cranes manufactured after

February 28, 1992; lattice boom cranes

manufactured after November 8, 2011; derricks

manufactured after November 8, 2011; articulating

cranes equipped with a load hoist manufactured

after December 31, 1999; digger derricks

manufactured after November 8, 2011).

■ Automatic or warning-type anti two-blocking device (required on lattice boom cranes manufactured

after February 28, 1992 and before November 8,

2011).

Note: Two-block protection is not required for lattice

boom equipment used for dragline, clamshell

(grapple), magnet, drop ball, container handling,

concrete bucket, marine operations that do not

involve hoisting personnel, and pile driving work.

CATEGORY II OPERATIONAL AIDS:

■ Boom angle or radius indicator (required on all

equipment, except digger derricks manufactured

before November 9, 2010).

■ Jib angle indicator if the equipment has a luffing jib.

■ Boom length indicator if the equipment has a

telescopic boom (unless the rated capacity is

independent of the boom length).

■ Load weighing and similar devices (required on

equipment (other than derricks, articulating cranes,

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and digger derricks manufactured before November 8, 2011) manufactured after March 29, 2003

with a rated capacity over 6,000 pounds).

■ Automatic overload prevention device, load

weighing device, load moment (or rated capacity)

indicator, or load moment (rated capacity) limiter

(required on articulating cranes manufactured after

November 8, 2011).

■ Outrigger/stabilizer position (horizontal beam

extension) sensor/monitor if the equipment has

outriggers or stabilizers (required on equipment

manufactured after November 8, 2011).

■ Hoist drum rotation indicator if the equipment has

a hoist drum not visible from the operator’s station

(required on equipment manufactured after

November 8, 2011).

NOTE: Articulating cranes need not be equipped with

boom angle or radius indicators, jib angle indicators,

or boom length indicators.

Section 1417 – Operation

This section contains a number of requirements that

are designed to prevent dangerous conditions during

crane operations.

COMPLIANCE WITH RATED CAPACITY: One

of the most serious hazards that cranes present is

collapse of the equipment caused by exceeding the

crane’s rated capacity. The term “rated capacity” is

defined in section 1401, and that definition reads:

Rated capacity means the maximum working load

permitted by the manufacturer under specified

working conditions. Such working conditions

typically include a specific combination of factors

such as equipment configuration, radii, boom

length, and other parameters of use.

The combination of factors that enter into rated

capacity is set forth in a load chart that must be on the

equipment. In general, the load chart states the weight

of the load that the crane can lift at different boom

radii. The longer the radius at which the lift occurs, the

smaller amount of weight the crane can lift.

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You must not operate a crane in excess of its rated

capacity. Some crane users believe they can safely

exceed the rated capacity because the manufacturer

includes a safety factor in the load chart. However,

any safety factor included by the manufacturer is

not intended to be treated as excess capacity. It is

included because a variety of variable worksite

conditions, such as swinging of the load caused by

wind or other factors, can reduce the capacity of the

crane from that which exists under ideal conditions.

To comply with the rated capacity, the weight of the

load must be known. Before beginning a lift, you

must determine the load weight by a reliable means.

OTHER MANUFACTURER PROCEDURES: In

addition to complying with the rated capacity, you

must comply with all other manufacturer procedures

applicable to the operation of the equipment. If the

manufacturer’s procedures are unavailable, you

must comply with procedures that you develop.

Procedures for the operational controls must be

developed by a qualified person. Procedures related

to the capacity of the equipment must be developed

and signed by a registered professional engineer

familiar with the equipment.

All procedures applicable to the operation of the

equipment, including rated capacities (load charts),

recommended operating speeds, special hazard

warnings, instructions, and operator’s manual, must

be readily available in the cab at all times for use by

the operator.

OPERATOR ATTENTION: The operator must not

engage in any practice or activity that diverts his/her

attention while actually engaged in operating the

equipment, such as the use of a cell phone (except

when used for signal communications).

OPERATOR USUALLY MUST REMAIN AT

CONTROLS WHILE THE LOAD IS SUSPENDED:

An exception is provided for working gear (such as

slings, spreader bars, ladders, and welding machines)

when the weight of the working gear is negligible

compared to the capacity of the equipment and the

working gear is not over an entrance or exit. Another

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exception applies when the load is to be held

suspended for a period of time exceeding that of

normal lifting operations. See section 1417(e) for the

conditions that must be met for this exception to

apply.

TAGGING OUT OF SERVICE EQUIPMENT AND

FUNCTIONS. When the equipment is out of service,

a tag must be placed in the cab stating that the equipment is out of service and is not to be used. Where a

function is out of service, a tag must be placed in a

conspicuous position stating that the function is out

of service and is not to be used. The equipment or

function may not be used until the tag is removed by

an authorized person.

PRECAUTIONS DURING STARTUP: Before

starting the engine, the operator must verify that all

controls are in the proper starting position and that

all personnel are in the clear.

BAD WEATHER PRECAUTIONS: When a local

storm warning has been issued, the competent

person must determine whether it is necessary to

implement manufacturer recommendations for

securing the equipment. The competent person must

adjust the equipment and/or operations to address

the effect of wind, ice, and snow on equipment

stability and rated capacity.

SIDELOADING PROHIBITED: The equipment

must not be used to drag or pull loads sideways.

BRAKE TEST: The operator must test the brakes

each time a load that is 90% or more of the maximum

line pull is handled by lifting the load a few inches

and applying the brakes. In duty cycle and repetitive

lifts where each lift is 90% or more of the maximum

line pull, this requirement applies to the first lift but

not to successive lifts.

PROTECTION AGAINST ROPE DETACHMENT:

To prevent rope from becoming detached from a

drum, neither the load nor the boom must be lowered below the point where less than two full wraps

of rope remain on their respective drums.

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TRAVELING WITH A LOAD: Traveling with a

load is prohibited if the practice is prohibited by the

manufacturer. Where it is not prohibited, you must

take precautions to prevent hazardous movement of

the load and avoid excessive movement of the load

that could overload the crane.

Section 1418 – Authority to Stop

Operation

This section provides that, whenever there is a

concern about safety, the operator must have the

authority to stop and refuse to handle loads until a

qualified person has determined that safety has been

assured

Sections 1419-1422 – Signals

A crane operator often needs a second set of eyes,

in the form of a signal person, to be able to operate

safely. These sections state when a signal person

must be provided and the types of signals that are

allowed. The qualifications the signal person must

possess are specified in section 1428 (Signal person

qualifications).

WHEN A SIGNAL PERSON IS NEEDED: In each

of the following situations, a signal person must be

provided:

■ When the point of operation, meaning the path the

load travels or the area where the load is placed, is

not in full view of the operator.

■ When the equipment is traveling and the operator’s

view in the direction of travel is obstructed.

■ When, due to site-specific safety concerns, either

the operator or the person handling the load determines that it is necessary.

During operations requiring signals, the ability to

transmit signals between the operator and signal

person must be maintained. If that ability is interrupted at any time, the operator must safely stop

operations until signal transmission is reestablished

and a proper signal is given and understood.

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Only one person may give signals to a crane/derrick

at a time, except that any person may give an

emergency stop signal.

TYPES OF SIGNALS: Hand, voice, audible, or new

signals are allowed. The type of signals used and

means of transmitting the signals to the operator

(such as direct line of sight, video, radio, etc.), must

be appropriate for the site conditions. All directions

given to the operator by the signal person must be

given from the operator’s perspective.

HAND SIGNALS: When using hand signals, the

Standard Method must be used. Exception: Where

an operation or use of an attachment is not covered

in the Standard Method or the use of the Standard

Method is otherwise infeasible, non-standard hand

signals may be used. When using non-standard hand

signals, the signal person, operator, and lift director

(where there is one) must contact each other prior to

the operation and agree on the non-standard hand

signals that will be used. Hand signal charts must be

either posted on the equipment or conspicuously

posted in the vicinity of the hoisting operation.

VOICE SIGNALS: These are signals given by oral

communication, with or without amplification or

electronic transmission. If this type of signal is used,

the operator, signal person, and lift director (if there is

one) must, before beginning operations, contact each

other and agree on the voice signals that will be used.

In most cases where voice signals are given, some

type of electronic transmission and reception will be

used. When this is the case:

■ The device(s) used to transmit signals must be

tested on site before beginning operations to

ensure that the signal transmission is effective,

clear, and reliable.

■ Signal transmission must be through a dedicated

channel, except:

• Multiple cranes/derricks and one or more signal

persons may share a dedicated channel for the

purpose of coordinating operations.

• Where a crane is being operated on or adjacent

to railroad tracks, and the actions of the crane

operator need to be coordinated with the movement of other equipment or trains on the same or

adjacent tracks.

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■ The operator’s reception of signals must be by a

hands-free system.

AUDIBLE SIGNALS: These are signals made by a

distinct sound or series of sounds, such as sounds

made by a bell, horn, or whistle. As with other types

of signals, the signal person and operator must clearly

understand the meaning of the signals being used.

NEW SIGNALS: The standard allows room for

development of new signal technology by permitting

signals other than hand, voice, or audible signals to

be used where the employer demonstrates that:

■ The new signals provide at least equally effective

communication as voice, audible, or Standard

Method hand signals, or

■ The new signals comply with a national consensus

standard that provides at least equally effective

communication as voice, audible, or Standard

Method hand signals.

Section 1423 – Fall Protection

Falls from dangerous heights can occur when

employees work on boom sections during assembly/

disassembly, when employees are gaining access to

and from their workstations, or at other times when

employees are working at elevations, as on tower

crane walkways. The provisions of this section are

designed to protect employees who work on elevated

parts of equipment from falling.

OSHA’s general fall protection standard for construction work, 29 CFR 1926 subpart M, only applies to

work on cranes when this section explicitly refers to a

provision in that subpart.

BOOM WALKWAYS: When lattice boom cranes

are assembled and disassembled, it is sometimes

necessary for employees to walk and work on the

boom sections to install and remove pins or for other

purposes. To provide them with a safer surface on

which to walk and work, certain booms manufactured

after November 8, 2011 must have built-in walkways.

The booms that must be equipped with walkways are

those more than six feet from cord centerline to cord

centerline. The walkways must be at least 12 inches

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wide and need not be protected by guardrails,

railings, or other permanent fall protection

attachments.

STEPS, HANDHOLDS, LADDERS, GRABRAILS,

GUARDRAILS AND RAILINGS: If the equipment

was originally equipped with these devices, you must

maintain them in good condition. However, the

standard does not require existing equipment to be

retrofitted with these devices.

Equipment manufactured after November 8, 2011

must be equipped to provide safe access and egress

between the ground and the operator workstation(s),

including the forward and rear positions, by the

provision of these types of devices. Walking/stepping

surfaces, except for crawler treads, must have slipresistant features/properties (such as diamond plate

metal, strategically placed grip tape, expanded metal,

or slip-resistant paint).

FALL PROTECTION DURING NON-ASSEMBLY/

DISASSEMBLY WORK: As the employer, you

must provide and ensure the use of fall protection

equipment for employees who are on a walking/

working surface with an unprotected side or edge

more than 6 feet above a lower level as follows:

■ When moving point-to-point:

• On non-lattice booms (whether horizontal or not

horizontal).

• On lattice booms that are not horizontal.

• On horizontal lattice booms where the fall

distance is 15 feet or more.

■ While at a workstation on any part of the equipment (including any type of boom), except when

the employee is at or near draw-works (when the

equipment is running), in the cab, or on the deck.

FALL PROTECTION DURING ASSEMBLY/

DISASSEMBLY WORK: You must provide and

ensure the use of fall protection equipment for

employees who are on a walking/working surface

with an unprotected side or edge more than 15 feet

above a lower level, except when the employee is at

or near draw-works when the equipment is running

in the cab, or on the deck.

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ANCHORAGE: Fall protection must be anchored to

an apparently substantial part of the equipment that

would meet the criteria in 29 CFR 1926 subpart M.

A personal fall arrest system may be anchored to the

crane/derrick’s hook (or other part of the load line)

where all of the following requirements are met:

■ A qualified person has determined that the set-up

and rated capacity of the crane/derrick (including

the hook, load line, and rigging) meets or exceeds

the requirements in 29 CFR 1926 subpart M.

■ The equipment operator must be at the work site

and informed that the equipment is being used for

this purpose.

■ No load is suspended from the load line when the

personal fall arrest system is anchored to the

crane/derrick’s hook (or any other part of the load

line).

Section 1424 – Work Area Control

This section is designed to protect employees who

work near a crane from being struck or crushed by

the crane’s rotating superstructure. To prevent

employees from entering an area where they could

be struck/crushed, you must:

■ Train each employee assigned to work on or near

the equipment in how to recognize struck-by and

pinch/crush hazard areas posed by the rotating

superstructure.

■ Erect and maintain control lines, warning lines,

railings, or similar barriers to mark the boundaries

of the hazard areas. Exception: When you can

demonstrate that it is neither feasible to erect

such barriers on the ground nor on the equipment,

the hazard areas must be clearly marked by a

combination of warning signs (such as “Danger –

Swing/Crush Zone”) and high visibility markings

on the equipment that identify the hazard areas. In

addition, you must train each employee to understand what these markings signify.

Before an employee goes to a location in the hazard

area that is out of view of the operator, the employee

(or someone instructed by the employee) ensures

that the operator is informed that he/she is going to

that location. Where the operator knows that an

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employee went to such a location, the operator must

not rotate the superstructure until the operator is

informed in accord with a pre-arranged system of

communication that the employee is in a safe position.

Section 1425 – Keeping Clear of

the Load

This section seeks to protect employees against

being struck by a moving or falling load.

SAFE HOISTING ROUTES: Where available,

hoisting routes that minimize the exposure of

employees to hoisted loads must be used, to the

extent consistent with public safety.

STATIONARY SUSPENDED LOADS: While the

operator is not moving a suspended load, no

employee may be within the fall zone, except for

employees:

■ Engaged in hooking, unhooking, or guiding the

load;

■ Engaged in the initial attachment of the load to a

component or structure; or

■ Operating a concrete hopper or concrete bucket.

HOOKING, UNHOOKING, OR GUIDING THE

LOAD: When employees in the fall zone are

engaged in hooking, unhooking, or guiding the load,

or are connecting a load to a component or structure,

all of the following criteria must be met:

■ The materials being hoisted must be rigged to

prevent unintentional displacement.

■ Hooks with self-closing latches or their equivalent

must be used. Exception: “J” hooks may be used

for setting wooden trusses so that a worker need

not go onto the truss to open the hook.

■ The materials must be rigged by a qualified rigger.

RECEIVING A LOAD: Only employees needed to

receive a load are permitted to be within the fall zone

when a load is being landed.

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TILT-UP OR TILT-DOWN OPERATION: During a

tilt-up or tilt-down operation:

■ No employee may be directly under the load.

■ Only employees essential to the operation are

permitted in the fall zone (but not directly under

the load). Such employees include those who must

be in the fall zone to guide the load, monitor the

load’s movement, or attach and/or detach the load.

Section 1426 – Free Fall and

Controlled Load Lowering

FREE FALL GENERALLY PROHIBITED: Some

older cranes are designed with a “live boom,” where

the rate of lowering the boom can only be controlled

by a brake. Failure of the brake can lead to free fall of

the boom and a risk of death or serious injury to

workers near the crane. This standard prohibits the

use of equipment with a live boom unless:

■ The equipment was manufactured before October

31, 1984, or

■ The equipment is a floating crane/derrick or a land

crane/derrick on a vessel/flotation device.

FREE FALL SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED: Even in

the two situations where the equipment may have a

live boom, the equipment may not be used in the

following circumstances:

■ An employee is in the fall zone of the boom or

load.

■ An employee is being hoisted.

■ The load or boom is directly over a power line, or

over any part of the area extending the Table A of

§ 1926.1408 clearance distance to each side of the

power line; or any part of the area extending the

Table A clearance distance to each side of the

power line is within the radius of vertical travel of

the boom or the load.

■ The load is over a shaft, except where there are no

employees in the shaft.

■ The load is over a cofferdam, except where there

are no employees in the fall zone of the boom or

the load.

■ Lifting operations are taking place in a refinery or

tank farm.

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BACKUP PROTECTION: In the situations listed

above where the use of equipment with a live boom

is prohibited, the boom hoist must have a secondary

mechanism or device designed to prevent the boom

from falling in the event the primary system used to

hold or regulate the boom hoist fails, as follows:

■ Friction drums must have:

• A friction clutch and, in addition, a braking

device, to allow for controlled boom lowering.

• A secondary braking or locking device, which is

manually or automatically engaged, to backup

the primary brake while the boom is held (such

as a secondary friction brake or a ratchet and

pawl device).

■ Hydraulic drums must have an integrally mounted

holding device or internal static brake to prevent

boom hoist movement in the event of hydraulic

failure.

■ Neither clutches nor hydraulic motors may be considered brake or locking devices for purposes of

this subpart.

■ Hydraulic boom cylinders must have an integrally

mounted holding device.

PREVENTING UNCONTROLLED RETRACTION:

Hydraulic telescoping booms must have an integrally

mounted holding device to prevent the boom from

retracting in the event of hydraulic failure.

LOAD LINE FREE FALL PROHIBITED. In each of

the following circumstances, controlled load lowering

is required and free fall of the load line hoist is

prohibited:

■ An employee is directly under the load.

■ An employee is being hoisted.

■ The load is directly over a power line, or over any

part of the area extending the Table A of §

1926.1408 clearance distance to each side of the

power line; or any part of the area extending the

Table A of § 1926.1408 clearance distance to each

side of the power line is within the radius of vertical

travel of the load.

■ The load is over a shaft.

■ The load is over a cofferdam, except where there

are no employees in the fall zone of the load.

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Section 1427 – Operator

Qualification and Certification

Question 1: What must employers do before the

operator certification requirements go into effect to

ensure the competency of their operators?

Answer 1: Employers must ensure that equipment

operators are competent through training and

experience to operate the equipment safely (see 29

CFR 1926.1427(k)(2)). If an employee assigned to

operate a crane does not have the required knowledge or ability to operate the equipment safely, the

employer must train that employee before allowing

him or her to operate the equipment and must evaluate the operator to confirm that he/she understands

the information provided in the training (see 29 CFR

1926.1427(f) training requirements).

Question 2: Does OSHA require operators to be

certified under existing state, county, or city licensing

programs?

Answer 2: The answer depends on whether the

licensing criteria meets the minimum requirements

(“federal floor”) in 29 CFR 1926.1427(e)(2) and (j). If a

state or local jurisdiction has a licensing program that

meets the federal floor, OSHA requires the employer

to ensure that all operators operating within that

jurisdiction are licensed by that state or local jurisdiction, unless they are qualified by the U.S. Military

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IMPORTANT: On September 26, 2014, OSHA published a final rule that extends the deadline for crane

operator certification in the cranes standard at 29

CFR 1926.1427 for 3 years, to November 10, 2017

(published in the Federal Register, available at

www.regulations.gov). The proposed changes also

extend the employer’s duty to ensure that operators

are competent to operate the crane safely for the

same three year period. During this extension, OSHA

will consider addressing operator qualification

through additional rulemaking. OSHA will provide

updated information about the crane operator certification and qualification requirements as it becomes

available at www.osha.gov/cranes-derricks.
(see §1926.1427(a)(1)). This requirement went into

effect in November 2010. Note, however, that the

crane standard’s operator certification requirements

do not supersede state or local licensing laws. If the

licensing program does not meet the federal floor,

OSHA does not require operators to be licensed in

accordance with that program, although the operator

may still be subject to action by the state or local

authority for failure to comply with its requirements.

Question 3: Who will determine if a state or local

operator certification process meets the “Federal

floor” requirements in new 29 CFR 1926.1427?

Answer 3: Initially, states or local governments are

responsible for determining if a state or local operator certification program meets the requirements of

29 CFR 1926.1427(e)(2)(i-ii) (see §1926.1427(e)(2)(iii)).

OSHA does not require compliance with a state or

local licensing requirement unless the state or local

authority that oversees the licensing department/

office assesses that program and determines that it

meets the minimum requirements in

§1926.1427(e)(2)(i) and (ii), including satisfying the

substantive testing criteria of §1926.1427(j) through

written and practical tests and providing testing

procedures for re-licensing. OSHA does not intend

to require compliance with a state or local licensing

requirement absent a public statement by the authority with oversight responsibility for the licensing

office that the licensing program meets OSHA's

minimum requirements and the reason for that

determination. However, OSHA has the final authority

in determining that the program meets minimum

OSHA requirements.

Question 4: Is the option for qualification by the

U.S. Military available to employees of private

contractors working under contract to the

Department of Defense?

Answer 4: No. This option is only available to civilian

and uniformed employees of the Department of Defense. When the operator certification requirements

are in effect, private contractors must use one of the

other options for operator certification/qualification

available under 29 CFR 1926.1427.

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Section 1428 – Signal Person

Qualifications

Each signal person must meet the following qualification requirements:

■ Know and understand the type of signals used. If

hand signals are used, the signal person must

know and understand the Standard Method for

hand signals.

■ Be competent in the application of the type of

signals used.

■ Have a basic understanding of equipment operation and limitations, including the crane dynamics

involved in swinging and stopping loads and boom

deflection from hoisting loads.

■ Know and understand the relevant requirements of

the sections of the standard dealing with signals.

■ Demonstrate that he/she meets these requirements

through an oral or written test, and through a

practical test.

The employer of the signal person must ensure

that the signal person meets these Qualification

Requirements through one of the following

qualification options:

Option (1) – Third party qualified evaluator. The

signal person has documentation from a third party

qualified evaluator (see section 1401 for definition

of “Qualified Evaluator (third party)”) showing that

the signal person meets the qualification requirements.

Option (2) – Employer’s qualified evaluator. The

employer’s qualified evaluator (see section 1401

for definition of “Qualified Evaluator (not a third

party)”) and determines that the individual meets

the qualification requirements.

The employer must make the documentation for

whichever option is used available at the site while

the signal person is employed by the employer. Such

documentation is considered “available” when it is

physically present on the site or retrievable via an

on-site computer. The documentation must specify

each type of signaling (e.g., hand signals, radio

signals, etc.) for which the signal person meets the

requirements of paragraph (c) of this section.

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If subsequent actions by the signal person indicate

that the individual does not meet the qualification

requirements, the employer must not allow the

individual to continue working as a signal person

until retraining is provided and a reassessment is

made under one of the two options that confirms that

the individual meets the qualification requirements.

Section 1429 – Qualifications of

Maintenance & Repair Employees

Improper crane maintenance and repair can lead

to dangerous equipment failure. To ensure that

maintenance and repair employees are qualified to

perform their assigned tasks, this section requires

maintenance and repair personnel to meet the

definition of a qualified person with respect to the

equipment and maintenance/repair tasks they

perform. The definition of “qualified person” is found

in section 1401.

Some maintenance and repair tasks may require

the maintenance and repair personnel to operate the

equipment to diagnose a problem or check its

operation. Such personnel need not be qualified or

certified under section 1427 to operate the equipment

as long as the following requirements are met:

■ The operation is limited to those functions necessary to perform maintenance, inspect the equipment, or verify its performance, and

■ The personnel either:

• Operate the equipment under the direct

supervision of an operator who meets the

qualification/certification requirements of section

1427, or

• Are familiar with the operation, limitations,

characteristics, and hazards associated with the

type of equipment.

Section 1430 – Training

Other sections of this standard require training in

specific topics. This section lists the training requirements found in other sections and includes additional

training requirements not found elsewhere.

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TRAINING REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED ELSEWHERE:

■ Overhead powerlines. (Sections 1408(g) and

1410(m))

■ Signal persons. (Section 1428(c))

■ Operators. (See section 1427 for the training

required for operators during the four-year transitional period for operator qualification/certification,

for operators of equipment that does not require

qualification/certification, and for operators-intraining).

ADDITIONAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

■ Operators. You must train each equipment

operator in the manufacturer’s emergency

procedures for halting unintended equipment

movement and in the following practice: whenever

moving a boom off a support, first raise the boom

a short distance (sufficient to take the load of the

boom) to determine if the boom hoist brake needs

to be adjusted or repaired.

■ Competent persons and qualified persons. You

must train each competent person and each

qualified person in the requirements of this

standard that apply to them.

■ Crush/pinch points. You must train each employee

who works with the equipment to keep clear

of holes, crush/pinch points, and the hazards

addressed in section 1424 (Work area control).

■ Tag-out. You must train each operator and each

additional employee authorized to start/energize

equipment or operate equipment controls (such as

maintenance and repair employees) in the tag-out

and start-up procedures in sections 1417(f) and (g).

TRAINING ADMINISTRATION: You have the

following responsibilities with respect to each

employee who must be trained under this standard:

■ Evaluate each employee to confirm that the

employee understands the information provided

in the training.

■ Provide refresher training in relevant topics for

each employee when, based on the conduct of

the employee or an evaluation of the employee’s

knowledge, there is an indication that retraining is

necessary.

■ Provide the training at no cost to the employee.

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Section 1431 – Hoisting Personnel

HOISTING PERSONNEL IS GENERALLY

PROHIBITED: Cranes and derricks may not be used

to hoist employees except where the employer

demonstrates that the erection, use, and dismantling

of conventional means of reaching the work area,

such as a personnel hoist, ladder, stairway, aerial lift,

elevating work platform, or scaffold, would be more

hazardous, or is not possible because of the project’s

structural design or worksite conditions.

This section contains stringent criteria to assure the

safety of personnel who must be hoisted by a crane

or derrick. These criteria are fundamentally the same

as those in the prior standard.

USE OF PERSONNEL PLATFORM: A personnel

platform must be used when hoisting employees

except when hoisting them:

■ Into and out of drill shafts that are 8 feet in diameter

or smaller.

■ In pile driving operations.

■ Solely for transfer to or from a marine worksite in a

marine-hoisted personnel transfer device.

■ In storage tank (steel or concrete), shaft, and

chimney operations.

Where these exceptions apply, the employee may be

hoisted in either a personnel platform or a boatswain’s

chair. See the standard for rules applicable to these

special types of lifts.

PERSONNEL PLATFORM CRITERIA: The

personnel platform must conform to the following:

■ A qualified person familiar with structural design

must design the personnel platform and attachment/suspension system used for hoisting

personnel.

■ The system used to connect the personnel

platform to the equipment must allow the platform

to remain within 10 degrees of level, regardless of

boom angle.

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■ The suspension system must be designed to

minimize tipping of the platform due to movement

of employees occupying the platform.

■ The personnel platform itself (excluding the

guardrail system and personal fall arrest system

anchorages) must be able to support, without

failure, its own weight and at least five times the

maximum intended load.

■ All welding of the personnel platform and its

components must be performed by a certified

welder familiar with the weld grades, types and

material specified in the platform design.

■ The personnel platform must be equipped with a

guardrail system which meets OSHA criteria and

must be enclosed at least from the toeboard to

mid-rail with either solid construction material or

expanded metal having openings no greater than 1⁄2

inch. Points to which personal fall arrest systems

are attached must meet OSHA anchorage requirements.

■ A grab rail must be installed inside the entire

perimeter of the personnel platform except for

access gates/doors.

■ If installed, access gates/doors of all types (including swinging, sliding, folding, or other types) must:

• Not swing outward. However, if due to the size

of the personnel platform, such as a 1-person

platform, it is infeasible for the door to swing

inward and allow safe entry for the platform

occupant, then the access gate/door may swing

outward.

• Be equipped with a device that prevents

accidental opening.

■ Headroom must be sufficient to allow employees to

stand upright in the platform.

■ In addition to the use of hard hats, employees

must be protected by overhead protection on the

personnel platform when employees are exposed

to falling objects. The platform overhead protection

must not obscure the view of the operator or

platform occupants (such as wire mesh that has

up to 1⁄2 inch openings) unless full protection is

necessary.

■ All edges exposed to employee contact must be

smooth enough to prevent injury.

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■ The weight of the platform and its rated capacity

must be conspicuously posted on the platform with

a plate or other permanent marking.

■ The personnel platform must not be loaded in

excess of its rated capacity.

■ Personnel platforms must be used only for

employees, their tools, and the materials necessary

to do their work.

■ Materials and tools must be secured to prevent

displacement and evenly distributed within the

platform.

■ The number of employees occupying the personnel

platform must not exceed the maximum number

the platform was designed to hold or the number

required to perform the work, whichever is less.

HOISTING EQUIPMENT: The hoisting equipment

must meet the following criteria when hoisting

personnel:

■ The equipment must be uniformly level, within one

percent of level grade, and located on footing that a

qualified person has determined to be sufficiently

firm and stable.

■ Equipment with outriggers or stabilizers must have

them all extended and locked. The amount of

extension must be the same for all outriggers and

stabilizers and in accord with manufacturer

procedures and load charts.

■ The total load (including the hook, load line and

rigging) must not exceed 50 percent of the rated

capacity for the radius and configuration of the

equipment, except during proof testing.

■ When the occupied personnel platform is in a

stationary working position, the load and boom

hoist brakes, swing brakes, and operator actuated

secondary braking and locking features (such as

pawls or dogs) or automatic secondary brakes must

be engaged.

■ The equipment must be equipped with the safety

devices specified in section 1431(d)(5).

■ Attachments and rigging hardware must meet the

criteria specified in section 1431(g).

TRIAL LIFT AND INSPECTION: A trial lift with the

unoccupied personnel platform loaded at least to the

anticipated liftweight must be made from ground

level, or any other location where employees will

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enter the platform, to each location at which the

platform is to be hoisted and positioned. Where there

is more than one location to be reached from a single

set-up position, either individual trial lifts for each

location, or a single trial lift, in which the platform

is moved sequentially to each location, must be

performed; the method selected must be the same as

the method that will be used to hoist the personnel.

Immediately after the trial lift, a competent person

must visually inspect the equipment, base support

or ground, and personnel platform, to determine

whether the trial lift has exposed any defect or

problem or produced any adverse effect. Any

condition found during the trial lift and subsequent

inspection that fails to meet a requirement of this

standard or otherwise creates a safety hazard must

be corrected before hoisting personnel.

PROOF TESTING: Prior to hoisting employees on

the personnel platform, and after any repair or

modification, the platform and rigging must be proof

tested to 125 percent of the platform’s rated capacity.

The proof test may be done concurrently with the trial

lift. Personnel hoisting must not be conducted until a

competent person determines that the platform and

rigging have successfully passed the proof test.

WORK PRACTICES: The following practices must

be used:

■ Hoisting of the personnel platform must be

performed in a slow, controlled, cautious manner,

with no sudden movements of the equipment or

the platform.

■ Platform occupants must keep all parts of the body

inside the platform during raising, lowering, and

horizontal movement, and must not stand, sit on,

or work from the top or intermediate rail or toeboard, or use any other means/device to raise their

working height.

■ Before employees exit or enter a hoisted personnel

platform that is not landed, the platform must be

secured to the structure where the work is to be

performed, unless the employer can demonstrate

that securing the platform to the structure would

create a greater hazard.

■ If the platform is tied to the structure, the operator

must not move the platform until the operator

receives confirmation that it is freely suspended.

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■ Tag lines must be used when necessary to control

the platform.

■ Where the platform is not equipped with controls,

the equipment operator must remain at the

equipment controls, on site, and in view of the

equipment, at all times while the platform is

occupied.

■ Where the platform is equipped with controls, all of

the following must be met at all times while the

platform is occupied:

• The occupant using the controls in the platform

must be a qualified person with respect to their

use, including the safe limitations of the equipment and hazards associated with its operation.

• The equipment operator must be at a set of

equipment controls that include boom and swing

functions of the equipment, and must be on site

and in view of the equipment.

• The platform operating manual must be in the

platform or on the equipment.

■ When wind speed (sustained or gusts) exceeds 20

mph at the personnel platform, or other potentially

dangerous weather conditions are present, a

qualified person must determine if, in light of the

wind conditions, it is not safe to lift personnel. If it

is not, the lifting operation must not begin (or, if

already in progress, must be terminated).

■ Employees being hoisted must remain in direct

communication with the signal person (where

used) or the operator.

■ Except over water, employees occupying the

personnel platform must be provided and use a

personal fall arrest system attached to a structural

member within the personnel platform. (The fall

arrest system must meet the requirements in §

1926.502). When working over or near water, the

requirements of § 1926.106 apply.

■ No lifts may be made on any other of the equipment’s load lines while personnel are being

hoisted, except in pile driving operations.

■ Hoisting of employees while the equipment (other

than derricks) is traveling is prohibited except in

certain circumstances. Derricks are prohibited from

traveling while personnel are hoisted.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

6 8
PRE-LIFT MEETING: A pre-lift meeting must be

held before the trial lift to review the applicable

requirements of this section and the procedures that

will be followed. The meeting must be attended by

the equipment operator, signal person (if used for the

lift), employees to be hoisted, and the person responsible for the task to be performed.

HOISTING PERSONNEL NEAR POWER LINES:

Hoisting personnel within 20 feet of a power line that

is up to 350 kV, and hoisting personnel within 50 feet

of a power line that is over 350 kV, is prohibited

(except for power transmission and distribution

work).

Section 1432 – Multiple-Crane/

Derrick Lifts

Lifts in which more than one crane or derrick is used

require careful planning and precise coordination. It

is particularly important to determine how the weight

of the load will be distributed among the multiple

pieces of equipment during all phases of the

operation to ensure that all are operated within their

rated capacities. Accordingly, when more than one

crane/derrick is used to support the load, a plan must

be developed and implemented. The plan must be

developed by a qualified person and be designed to

ensure that all requirements of this standard are

met. Where the qualified person determines that

engineering expertise is needed for the planning, the

employer must ensure that it is provided.

The multiple-crane/derrick lift must be directed by

a lift director who meets the criteria for both a

competent person and a qualified person, or by a

competent person who is assisted by one or more

qualified persons. The lift director must review the

plan in a meeting with all workers who will be

involved with the operation.

Section 1433 – Design, Construction

and Testing

For equipment to be used safely, it must be built

with appropriate safety features and maintained in

a safe condition. Although manufacturers are not

C R A N E S A N D D E R R I C K S I N C O N S T R U C T I O N

6 9
directly subject to this standard, crane users rely on

manufacturers to see that the equipment is built

and tested so that it is safe when it leaves the

manufacturer. Therefore, with the exceptions

discussed below, the crane user’s obligations under

this section are met where the employer can refer to

documentation from the manufacturer showing that

the equipment has been designed, constructed and

tested in accord with this section and the equipment

has not changed since it was manufactured (except in

accord with Section 1434 – Equipment Modifications).

You cannot rely on manufacturer documentation to

comply with the following requirements:

RATED CAPACITY AND RELATED

INFORMATION: The following information must be

available in the cab:

■ A complete range of the manufacturer’s equipment

rated capacities.

■ A work area chart for which capacities are listed in

the load chart. (The work area figure and load chart

must clearly indicate the areas where no load is to

be handled).

■ Recommended reeving for the hoist lines.

■ Recommended parts of hoist reeving, size, and type

of wire rope for various equipment loads.

■ Recommended boom hoist reeving diagram, where

applicable; size, type and length of wire rope.

■ Tire pressure (where applicable).

■ Caution or warnings relative to limitations on

equipment and operating procedures, including an

indication of the least stable direction.

■ Position of the gantry and requirements for

intermediate boom suspension (where applicable).

■ Instructions for boom erection and conditions

under which the boom, or boom and jib

combinations, may be raised or lowered.

■ Whether the hoist holding mechanism is

automatically or manually controlled, whether free

fall is available, or any combination of these.

■ The maximum telescopic travel length of each

boom telescopic section.

■ Whether sections are telescoped manually or with

power.

■ The sequence and procedure for extending and

retracting the telescopic boom section.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

7 0
■ Maximum loads permitted during the boom

extending operation, and any limiting conditions

or cautions.

■ Hydraulic relief valve settings specified by the

manufacturer.

MISCELLANEOUS REQUIREMENTS:

■ Load hooks (including latched and unlatched

types), ball assemblies, and load blocks must be

of sufficient weight to overhaul the line from the

highest hook position for boom or boom and jib

lengths and the number of parts of the line in use.

■ Hook and ball assemblies and load blocks must be

marked with their rated capacity and weight.

■ Hooks must be equipped with latches, except

where a qualified person has determined that it is

safer to hoist and place the load without latches

(or with the latches removed/tied-back), and routes

for the loads are pre-planned to ensure that no

employee is required to work in the fall zone except

for employees necessary for the hooking or

unhooking of the load.

■ Posted warnings required by this standard as well

as those originally supplied with the equipment by

the manufacturer must be maintained in legible

condition.

■ An accessible fire extinguisher must be on the

equipment.

Section 1434 – Equipment

Modifications

This section applies to modifications that affect the

capacity or safe operation of the equipment. Its

provisions safeguard against unsafe equipment

modifications and provide that the modifications

are reflected in the equipment’s instructions and

specifications so that the modified equipment can

be used safely.

MANUFACTURER REVIEW AND APPROVAL:

The equipment’s manufacturer is uniquely qualified

to evaluate any proposed modifications to the equipment. If the manufacturer is available and is willing

to evaluate the proposed modifications, any modifications or additions that affect the capacity or safe

operation of the equipment are only permitted where:

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7 1
■ The manufacturer approves the modifications/additions in writing, and

■ The load charts, procedures, instruction manuals,

and instruction plates/tags/decals are modified as

necessary to accord with the modification/addition.

MANUFACTURER REVIEW UNAVAILABLE:

In the event the manufacturer is unavailable, is

unwilling to review the proposed modification/

addition or to reject it in writing, fails to initiate the

review or acknowledge the request within 30 days,

or fails to complete the review within 120 days, the

modification/addition may be made if a registered

professional engineer who is a qualified person with

respect to the equipment involved:

■ Approves the modification/addition and specifies

the equipment configurations to which that

approval applies, and

■ Modifies load charts, procedures, instruction

manuals, and instruction plates/tags/decals as

necessary to accord with the modification/addition.

Under this option as well as that involving manufacturer approval, the original safety factor of the equipment may not be reduced.

Section 1435 – Tower Cranes

Tower cranes present unique issues that are

addressed in this section. In general, all provisions of

the standard apply to tower cranes unless this section

specifies different or additional requirements.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ERECTING,

CLIMBING, AND DISMANTLING: To reflect

industry terminology, “erecting, climbing, and

dismantling” are used instead of “assembly/disassembly” when referring to tower cranes. The following requirements apply in addition to those specified

in sections 1403-1406:

■ Tower crane foundations and structural supports

(including both the portions of the structure used

for support and the means of attachment) must be

designed by the manufacturer or a registered

professional engineer.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

7 2
■ The Assembly/Disassembly (A/D) director must

determine that tower crane foundations and

structural supports are installed in accord with

their design.

■ The A/D Director must address the backward

stability of self-erecting cranes or cranes on

traveling or static undercarriages.

■ Wind must not exceed the speed recommended by

the manufacturer or, where the manufacturer does

not specify this information, the speed determined

by a qualified person.

■ Towers must be erected plumb to the manufacturer’s tolerance and verified by a qualified person.

Where the manufacturer does not specify plumb

tolerance, the crane tower must be plumb to a

tolerance of at least 1:500 (approximately 1 inch in

40 feet).

■ On jobsites where more than one fixed jib

(hammerhead) tower crane is installed, the cranes

must be located such that no crane can come in

contact with the structure of another crane. Cranes

are permitted to pass over one another.

■ Prior to, and during, all climbing procedures

(including inside climbing and top climbing), the

employer must comply with all manufacturer

prohibitions and have a registered professional

engineer verify that the host structure is strong

enough to sustain the forces imposed through the

braces, brace anchorages, and supporting floors.

■ Equipment must not be erected, dismantled or

operated without the amount and position of

counterweight and/or ballast in place as specified

by the manufacturer or a registered professional

engineer familiar with the equipment. The maximum

counterweight and/or ballast specified by the

manufacturer or registered professional engineer

must not be exceeded.

■ The size and location of signs installed on tower

cranes must be in accord with manufacturer

specifications. Where these are unavailable, a

registered professional engineer familiar with the

type of equipment involved must approve in

writing the size and location of any signs.

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PARTICULAR CAUTION REQUIRED WHEN

USING SYNTHETIC SLINGS: This requirement

appears in section 1404(r) but bears repeating here:

when using synthetic slings during erecting,

climbing, and dismantling, you must follow the

synthetic sling manufacturer’s instructions,

limitations, specifications and recommendations.

Synthetic slings must be protected from abrasive,

sharp or acute edges, and configurations that could

cause a reduction of the sling’s rated capacity, such

as distortion or localized compression.

SAFETY DEVICES: Different safety devices than

those specified in section 1415 are required on tower

cranes. Those required on tower cranes are:

■ Boom stops on luffing boom type tower cranes.

■ Jib stops on luffing boom type tower cranes if

equipped with a jib attachment.

■ Travel rail end stops at both ends of travel rail.

■ Travel rail clamps on all travel bogies.

■ Integrally mounted check valves on all loadsupporting hydraulic cylinders.

■ Hydraulic system pressure limiting device.

■ The following brakes, which must automatically set

in the event of pressure loss or power failure, are

required:

• A hoist brake on all hoists.

• Swing brake.

• Trolley brake.

• Rail travel brake.

■ Deadman control or forced neutral return control

(hand) levers.

■ Emergency stop switch at the operator’s station.

■ Trolley end stops must be provided at both ends of

travel of the trolley.

Proper operation of these safety devices is required

before operations can begin.

OPERATIONAL AIDS: Different operational aids

than those specified in section 1416 are required for

tower cranes. Those required on tower cranes are:

■ Trolley travel limiting device at both trolley end

stops.

■ Boom hoist limiting device that limits the range of

the boom at the minimum and maximum radius.

■ Anti two-blocking device.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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■ Hoist drum lower limiting device on tower cranes

manufactured after November 8, 2011.

■ Load moment limiting device.

■ Hoist line pull limiting device.

■ Rail travel limiting device.

■ Boom hoist drum positive locking device and

control.

■ Boom angle or hook radius indicator readable from

the operator’s station. (Required on all luffing

boom tower cranes and on hammerhead tower

cranes manufactured after November 8, 2011).

■ Trolley travel deceleration device.

■ Boom hoist deceleration device.

■ Load hoist deceleration device.

■ Wind speed indicator.

■ Load indicating device on tower cranes

manufactured after November 8, 2011.

As with operational aids on other equipment, tower

cranes may be operated for limited amounts of time

with malfunctioning aids as long as the temporary

alternative measures specified in the standard are

taken.

INSPECTIONS: Additional inspection requirements

for tower cranes are discussed under section 1412

(Inspections).

Section 1436 – Derricks

OPERATOR QUALIFICATIONS: Derrick operators

need not meet the operator qualification/certification

requirement of section 1427. However, you must

train each derrick operator on how to operate the

equipment safely.

LOAD CHARTS: For permanently installed derricks

with fixed lengths of boom, guy, and mast, a load

chart must be posted where it is visible to personnel

responsible for the operation of the equipment. For

derricks that are not permanently installed, the load

chart must be readily available at the job site to

personnel responsible for operating the equipment.

Load charts must contain at least the following

information:

■ Rated capacity at corresponding ranges of boom

angle or operating radii.

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■ Specific lengths of components to which the rated

capacities apply.

■ Required parts for hoist reeving.

■ Size and construction of rope must be included on

the load chart or in the operating manual.

CONSTRUCTION: Derricks must be constructed

to meet all stresses imposed on members and

components when installed and operated in accord

with the manufacturer’s/ builder’s procedures and

within its rated capacity. Load anchoring data

developed by the manufacturer or a qualified person

must be used.

Specific additional construction requirements are

specified for:

■ Guy derricks

■ Stiffleg derricks

■ Gin pole derricks

■ Chicago boom derricks

SWINGERS AND HOISTS: The boom, swinger

mechanisms, and hoists must be suitable for the derrick work intended and must be anchored to prevent

displacement from the imposed loads.

Hoists must meet the following requirements:

■ Base mounted drum hoists must meet certain

specified requirements of ASME B30.7-2001

(“Base-Mounted Drum Hoists”).

■ New hoists must be load tested to a minimum of

110% of rated capacity, but not more than 125% of

rated capacity, unless otherwise recommended by

the manufacturer. This requirement is met where

the manufacturer has conducted the testing.

■ Hoists that have had repairs, modifications, or

additions affecting their capacity or safe operation

must be evaluated by a qualified person to

determine if a load test is necessary. If it is, load

testing must be conducted in the manner specified

in the standard.

OPERATIONAL AIDS: The operational aids

requirements listed in section 1416 apply to derricks

except (1) a boom hoist limiting device (required by

section 1416 for other equipment) is not required for

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

7 6
derricks, and (2) alternative requirements to those in

section 1416 are specified for the following two

operational aids:

Boom angle or radius indicator: Such a device is

not required, but if the derrick is not equipped with

a functioning one, the employer must ensure that

either:

■ The boom hoist cable is marked with caution and

stop marks. The stop marks must correspond to

maximum and minimum allowable boom angles.

The caution and stop marks must be in view of the

operator or a spotter who is in direct communication

with the operator; or

■ An electronic or other device that signals the

operator in time to prevent the boom from moving

past its maximum and minimum angles, or

automatically prevents such movement, is used.

Load weight/capacity device. Derricks manufactured

after November 8, 2011 with a maximum rated

capacity over 6,000 pounds must have at least one of

the following: load weighing device, load moment

indicator, rated capacity indicator, or rated capacity

limiter.

POST-ASSEMBLY APPROVAL AND TESTING:

The following requirements apply to new or

reinstalled derricks:

■ Anchorages. Anchorages, including the structure to

which the derrick is attached (if applicable), must be

approved by a qualified person.

■ Functional test. Prior to initial use, new or reinstalled

derricks must be tested by a competent person with

no hook load to verify proper operation. This test

must include:

• Lifting and lowering the hook(s) through the full

range of hook travel.

• Raising and lowering the boom through the full

range of boom travel.

• Swinging in each direction through the full range

of swing.

• Actuating the anti two-block and boom hoist limit

devices (if provided).

• Actuating locking, limiting, and indicating devices

(if provided).

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7 7
■ Load test. Prior to initial use, new or reinstalled

derricks must pass a load test conducted by a

competent person. Test loads must be at least

100% and no more than 110% of the rated capacity,

unless otherwise recommended by the manufacturer or qualified person, but in no event must the

test load be less than the maximum anticipated

load. The test must consist of:

• Hoisting the test load a few inches and holding to

verify that the load is supported by the derrick

and held by the hoist brake(s).

• Swinging the derrick, if applicable, the full range

of its swing, at the maximum allowable working

radius for the test load.

• Booming the derrick up and down within the

allowable working radius for the test load.

• Lowering, stopping, and holding the load with

the brake(s).

■ Test documentation. The functional and load tests

must be documented. The document must contain

the date, test results, and name of the tester. The

document must be retained until the derrick is

retested or dismantled, whichever occurs first.

All such documents must be available during the

applicable document retention period to all persons

who conduct required inspections (see section

1412).

LOAD TESTING REPAIRED OR MODIFIED

DERRICKS: Derricks that have had repairs, modifications, or additions affecting the derrick’s capacity or

safe operation must be evaluated by a qualified person to determine if a load test is necessary. If it is,

load testing must be conducted and documented.

POWER FAILURE PROCEDURES: If power fails

during operations, the derrick operator must safely

stop operations. This must include setting all brakes

or locking devices and moving all clutch and other

power controls to the off position.

JUMPING: The process of jumping a derrick must

be supervised by the Assembly/Disassembly (A/D)

director.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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Section 1437 – Floating Cranes/

Derricks and Land Cranes/Derricks

on Barges

This section contains requirements for floating cranes

and derricks that supplement the other requirements

of the standard. Because this equipment is highly

specialized and is not used by most construction

employers, this Guide will only address a few of the

areas where additional or different requirements are

specified for this type of equipment.

INSPECTIONS: Additional items must be inspected

during the shift, monthly, and annual inspections. In

addition, every four years, a marine engineer, marine

architect, licensed surveyor, or other qualified person

who has expertise with respect to vessels/flotation

devices must survey the internal portion of the barge,

pontoons, vessel, or other means of flotation.

SAFETY DEVICES: The following additional safety

devices are required: barge, pontoon, vessel, or other

means of flotation list and trim device; positive

equipment house lock; wind speed and direction

indicator (if a competent person determines that wind

is a factor that needs to be considered).

WORKING WITH A DIVER: When a crane/derrick is

used to lift a diver or divers into and out of the water,

it must not be used for any other purpose until all the

divers are back on board.

LAND CRANES/DERRICKS ON FLOTATION

DEVICES: The rated capacity must be reduced to

take into account the additional sources of instability

(list, trim, wave action, and wind) resulting from

operating on water. Alternative means of physical

attachment and an exception to the requirement for

physical attachment are specified.

EQUIPMENT DESIGNED FOR USE ON

FLOTATION DEVICES: Requirements for maximum list, trim, and wind speed are specified. Additional rules to ensure the structural integrity and

stability of the equipment apply to employer-made

(as opposed to manufacturer-made) equipment.

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Section 1438 – Overhead & Gantry

Cranes

Most overhead and gantry cranes are used in general

industry rather than construction work. In some

cases, overhead and gantry cranes that are usually

used in general industry may engage in construction

work when they are used to renovate the facility in

which they are installed. To prevent the same crane

from being subject to general industry and construction

standards at different times, this section provides that

OSHA’s General Industry standard (29 CFR 1910.179)

applies to an overhead or gantry crane that is

permanently installed in a facility.

For overhead and gantry cranes that are not

permanently installed in a facility, this section lists

the provisions of this standard that apply. These are:

■ Sections 1400 through 1414.

■ Sections 1417 through 1425.

■ Section 1426(d).

■ Sections 1427 through 1434.

■ Sections 1437, 1439, and 1441.

In addition, certain provisions of 29 CFR 1910.179 and

certain provisions of ASME B30.2-2005 (Overhead

and Gantry Cranes) apply to overhead and gantry

cranes not permanently installed in a facility. These

provisions are listed in section 1438.

Section 1439 – Dedicated Pile Drivers

Most provisions of this standard apply to dedicated

pile drivers. The only exceptions are:

■ The requirement in section 1416 for an anti twoblocking device.

■ Certain requirements of section 1433 that apply to

design, construction, and testing of mobile cranes.

■ The requirement in section 1416 for load weighing

and similar devices applies only to dedicated pile

drivers manufactured after November 8, 2011.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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Section 1440 – Sideboom Cranes

Most provisions of this standard apply to sideboom

cranes. The exceptions are:

■ Section 1402 (Ground conditions),

■ Section 1415 (Safety devices),

■ Section 1416 (Operational aids), and

■ Section 1427 (Operator qualification and

certification).

In addition, instead of the provision on boom free fall

found in section 1426, sideboom cranes in which the

boom is designed to free fall (live boom) are permitted only if manufactured prior to November 8, 2010.

This section also specifies that sideboom cranes

mounted on wheel or crawler tractors must meet certain listed requirements of ASME B30.14-2004 (“Side

Boom Tractors”).

Section 1441 – Equipment with a

Rated Hoisting/Lifting Capacity of

2,000 Pounds or Less

Although equipment with a capacity of 2,000 pounds

or less does not require all of the precautions

required for heavier equipment, its operation still

presents significant hazards that can cause death or

injury. For example, operation near energized power

lines requires the same precautions as heavier

equipment because the potential for electrocution is

the same.

This section lists the provisions of the standard that

apply to equipment with a capacity of 2,000 pounds

or less and those for which modified requirements

apply. The most significant differences are:

■ The requirement for operator qualification/

certification in section 1427 does not apply.

Instead, the employer must train each operator on

the safe operation of the equipment before the

operator may operate the equipment.

■ The requirements for shift, monthly, and annual

inspections in section 1412 do not apply. However,

post-assembly inspections and the wire rope

inspections required by section 1413 must be

conducted.

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8 1
■ More limited assembly/disassembly requirements

apply.

■ The safety devices and operational aids listed in

sections 1415 – 1416 need not be used, except for

two-block protection. However, safety devices and

operational aids that are part of the original

equipment must be maintained in accord with

manufacturer procedures.

■ Signal persons must be adequately trained but

need not meet the qualification requirements of

section 1428.

■ Equipment covered by this section must not be

used to hoist personnel.

Appendix A – Directory of States

with Approved Occupational Safety

and Health Programs

Alaska

Alaska Occupational Safety and Health

3301 Eagle Street, Room 305

Anchorage, AK 99503

Phone (800) 656-4972 or (907) 465-2700

Fax (907) 269-4950

Arizona

Arizona Division of Occupational

Safety and Health (ADOSH)

800 W Washington Street

Phoenix AZ 85007

Phone (602) 542-5795

Toll-Free (855) 268-5251

Fax (602) 542-1614

California

Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)

1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor

Oakland, CA 94612

Phone (510) 622-8965

Fax (510) 286-7037

Connecticut

Connecticut Occupational Safety and

Health Division (CONN-OSHA)

38 Wolcott Hill Rd

Wethersfield, CT 06109

Phone (860) 263-6900

Fax (860) 263-694

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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Hawaii

Hawaii Occupational Safety and

Health Division (HIOSH)

830 Punchbowl Street, Suite 321

Honolulu, HI 96813

Phone (808) 586-8841

Fax (808) 586-9116

Illinois

Illinois Department of Labor

Safety Inspection and Education Division

900 South Spring Street

Springfield, IL 62704

Phone (217) 782-9386

Fax (217) 785-8776

Indiana

Indiana Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (IOSHA)

402 West Washington Street, Room W195

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Phone (317) 232-2693

Fax (317) 233-3790

Iowa

Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration

1000 E Grand Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50319-0209

Phone (515) 242-5870

Fax (515) 281-7995

Kentucky

Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health

1047 U.S. Highway 127 South, Suite 4

Frankfort, KY 40601

Phone (502) 564-3070

Fax (502) 696-1902

Maryland

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH)

10946 Golden West Drive, Suite 160

Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Phone (410) 527-4499

Fax (410) 527-4481

C R A N E S A N D D E R R I C K S I N C O N S T R U C T I O N

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Michigan

Michigan Occupational Safety &

Health Administration (MIOSHA)

P.O. Box 30643

7150 Harris Drive

Lansing, MI 48909-8143

Phone (517) 322-1814

Fax (517) 322-1775

Minnesota

Minnesota Occupational Safety and

Health Administration

443 Lafayette Road N.

St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone (651) 284-5050

Toll-Free (877) 470-6742

Fax (651) 284-5741

Nevada

Nevada Occupational Safety and

Health Administration

1301 N. Green Valley Parkway, Suite 200

Henderson, NV 89074

Phone (702) 486-9000

Fax (702) 486-9172

New Jersey

New Jersey Public Employee Occupational

Safety and Health (PEOSH) Office

One John Fitch Plaza-State Office Building Campus

P.O. Box 110

Trenton, NJ 08625-0110

Phone (609) 633-3896

Fax (609) 292-3749

New Mexico

New Mexico Occupational Health & Safety Bureau

525 Camino de los Marquez, Suite 3

Santa Fe, NM 87502

Phone (505) 476-8700

Fax (505) 476-8734

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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New York

Public Employees Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau

Governor W. Averell Harriman State Building Campus

Building 12, Room 158

Albany, NY 12240

Phone (518) 457-1263

Fax (518) 457-5545

North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Division

1101 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1101

Phone (919) 807-2900

Oregon

Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division

(Oregon OSHA)

Salem Central Office

P.O. Box 14480

350 Winter Street, NE, Rm. 430

Salem, OR 97309-0405

Phone (503) 378-3272 (800) 922-2689

Fax (503) 947-7461

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (PR OSHA)

Prudencio Rivera Martinez Building, 20th Floor

#505 Muñoz Rivera Avenue, 20th floor

Hato Rey, PR 00918

Phone (787) 754-2172

Fax (787) 767-6051

South Carolina

South Carolina Department of Labor,

Licensing & Regulation Division of

Occupational Safety and Health

P.O. Box 11329

Columbia, SC 29211-1329

Phone (803) 896-7665

Fax (803) 896-7670

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Tennessee

Tennessee Occupational and Safety and

Health Administration (TOSHA)

220 French Landing Drive

Nashville, TN 37243-1002

Phone (615)741-2793

Fax (615) 741-3325

Utah

Utah Occupational Safety and Health Administration

(Utah OSHA)

160 East 300 South

P.O. Box 146600

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6650

Phone (801) 530-6800

Fax (801) 530-6044

Vermont

Vermont Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (VOSHA)

5 Green Mountain Drive

P.O. Box 488

Montpelier, VT 05601-0488

Phone (800) 287-2765

Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands Division of Occupational Safety and

Health (VIDOSH) 4401 Sion Farm

Christiansted, St. Croix, VI 00820

Phone (340) 773-1994 or (340) 773-1440

Fax (340) 773-0094

Virginia

Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH)

10515 Battleview Parkway

Manassas, VA 20109

Phone (703) 392-0900

Fax (703 392-0308

Washington

Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH)

7273 Linderson Way SW

Tumwater, WA 98501-5414

Phone (360) 902-5580

Fax (360) 902-5619

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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Wyoming

Wyoming Department of Workforce Services,

Wyoming Safety (OSHA) Herschler Building

1510 East Pershing Boulevard, West Wing

Cheyenne, WY 82002

Phone (307) 777-7786

Fax (307) 777-3646

Workers’ Rights

Under OSHA law, workers are entitled to working

conditions that do not pose a risk of serious harm. To

help assure a safe and healthful workplace, the law

provides workers with the right to:

• File a confidential complaint with OSHA to have

their workplace inspected.

• Receive information and training about hazards,

methods to prevent harm, and the OSHA standards

that apply to their workplace. The training must

be done in a language and vocabulary workers can

understand.

• Receive copies of records of work-related injuries

and illnesses that occur in their workplace.

• Receive copies of the results from tests and

monitoring done to find and measure hazards

in their workplace.

• Receive copies of their workplace medical records.

• Participate in an OSHA inspection and speak in

private with the inspector.

• File a complaint with OSHA if they have been

retaliated against by their employer as the result of

requesting an inspection or using any of their other

rights under the OSH Act.

• File a complaint if punished or retaliated against

for acting as a “whistleblower” under the

21 additional federal laws for which OSHA has

jurisdiction.

For more information, visit OSHA’s Workers’ Rights

page at www.osha.gov/workers.html.

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OSHA Assistance, Services

and Programs

OSHA has a great deal of information to assist

employers in complying with their responsibilities

under OSHA law. Several OSHA programs and

services can help employers identify and correct job

hazards, as well as improve their injury and illness

prevention program.

Establishing an Injury and Illness

Prevention Program

The key to a safe and healthful work environment is a

comprehensive injury and illness prevention program.

Injury and illness prevention programs are

systems that can substantially reduce the number

and severity of workplace injuries and illnesses, while

reducing costs to employers. Thousands of employers

across the United States already manage safety

using injury and illness prevention programs, and

OSHA believes that all employers can and should do

the same. Thirty-four states have requirements or

voluntary guidelines for workplace injury and illness

prevention programs. Most successful injury and

illness prevention programs are based on a common

set of key elements. These include management

leadership, worker participation, hazard identification,

hazard prevention and control, education and

training, and program evaluation and improvement.

Visit OSHA’s illness and injury prevention program

web page at www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/safetyhealth

for more information.

Compliance Assistance Specialists

OSHA has compliance assistance specialists

throughout the nation located in most OSHA offices.

Compliance assistance specialists can provide

information to employers and workers about OSHA

standards, short educational programs on specific

hazards or OSHA rights and responsibilities, and

information on additional compliance assistance

resources. For more details, visit www.osha.gov/dcsp/

compliance_assistance/cas.html or call 1-800-321-

OSHA (6742) to contact your local OSHA office.

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Free On-site Safety and Health Consultation

Services for Small Business

OSHA’s On-site Consultation Program offers free

and confidential advice to small and medium-sized

businesses in all states across the country, with

priority given to high-hazard worksites. Each year,

responding to requests from small employers

looking to create or improve their safety and health

management programs, OSHA’s On-site Consultation

Program conducts over 29,000 visits to small business

worksites covering over 1.5 million workers across

the nation.

On-site consultation services are separate from

enforcement and do not result in penalties or citations. Consultants from state agencies or universities

work with employers to identify workplace hazards,

provide advice on compliance with OSHA standards,

and assist in establishing safety and health management programs.

For more information, to find the local

On-site Consultation office in your state, or to

request a brochure on Consultation Services,

visit www.osha.gov/consultation, or call 1-800-321-

OSHA (6742).

Under the consultation program, certain

exemplary employers may request participation in

OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition

Program (SHARP). Eligibility for participation

includes, but is not limited to, receiving a full-service,

comprehensive consultation visit, correcting all

identified hazards and developing an effective safety

and health management program. Worksites that

receive SHARP recognition are exempt from

programmed inspections during the period that

the SHARP certification is valid.

Cooperative Programs

OSHA offers cooperative programs under which

businesses, labor groups and other organizations

can work cooperatively with OSHA. To find out

more about any of the following programs, visit

www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/

index_programs.html.

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Strategic Partnerships and Alliances

The OSHA Strategic Partnerships (OSP) provide the

opportunity for OSHA to partner with employers,

workers, professional or trade associations, labor

organizations, and/or other interested stakeholders.

OSHA Partnerships are formalized through unique

agreements designed to encourage, assist, and

recognize partner efforts to eliminate serious hazards

and achieve model workplace safety and health

practices. Through the Alliance Program, OSHA

works with groups committed to worker safety and

health to prevent workplace fatalities, injuries and

illnesses by developing compliance assistance tools

and resources to share with workers and employers,

and educate workers and employers about their

rights and responsibilities.

Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)

The VPP recognize employers and workers in private

industry and federal agencies who have implemented

effective safety and health management programs and

maintain injury and illness rates below the national

average for their respective industries. In VPP, management, labor, and OSHA work cooperatively and

proactively to prevent fatalities, injuries, and illnesses

through a system focused on: hazard prevention and

control, worksite analysis, training, and management

commitment and worker involvement.

Occupational Safety and Health Training

The OSHA Training Institute in Arlington Heights,

Illinois, provides basic and advanced training and

education in safety and health for federal and state

compliance officers, state consultants, other federal

agency personnel and private sector employers,

workers, and their representatives. In addition, 27

OSHA Training Institute Education Centers at 42

locations throughout the United States deliver

courses on OSHA standards and occupational safety

and health issues to thousands of students a year.

For more information on training, contact the

OSHA Directorate of Training and Education, 2020

Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005;

call 1-847-297-4810; or visit www.osha.gov/otiec.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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OSHA Educational Materials

OSHA has many types of educational materials in

English, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages

available in print or online. These include:

• Brochures/booklets that cover a wide variety of job

hazards and other topics;

• Fact Sheets, which contain basic background

information on safety and health hazards;

• Guidance documents that provide detailed

examinations of specific safety and health issues;

• Online Safety and Health Topics pages;

• Posters;

• Small, laminated QuickCardsTM that provide brief

safety and health information; and

• QuickTakes, OSHA’s free, twice-monthly online

newsletter with the latest news about OSHA

initiatives and products to assist employers and

workers in finding and preventing workplace

hazards. To sign up for QuickTakes visit

www.osha.gov/quicktakes.

To view materials available online or for a listing of

free publications, visit www.osha.gov/publications.

You can also call 1-800-321-OSHA (6742) to order

publications.

OSHA’s web site also has a variety of eTools.

These include utilities such as expert advisors,

electronic compliance assistance, videos and other

information for employers and workers. To learn

more about OSHA’s safety and health tools online,

visit www.osha.gov.

NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation

Program

Getting Help with Health Hazards

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH) is a federal agency that conducts

scientific and medical research on workers’ safety

and health. At no cost to employers or workers,

NIOSH can help identify health hazards and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate those hazards in

the workplace through its Health Hazard Evaluation

(HHE) Program.

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Workers, union representatives and employers

can request a NIOSH HHE. An HHE is often requested

when there is a higher than expected rate of a

disease or injury in a group of workers. These

situations may be the result of an unknown cause, a

new hazard, or a mixture of sources. To request a

NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation go to www.cdc.gov/

niosh/hhe/request.html. To find out more about the

Health Hazard Evaluation Program:

• Call (513) 841-4382, or to talk to a staff member in

Spanish, call (513) 841-4439; or

• Send an email to HHERequestHelp@cdc.gov.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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OSHA Regional Offices

Region I

Boston Regional Office

(CT*, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT*)

JFK Federal Building, Room E340

Boston, MA 02203

(617) 565-9860 (617) 565-9827 FAX

Region II

New York Regional Office

(NJ*, NY*, PR*, VI*)

201 Varick Street, Room 670

New York, NY 10014

(212) 337-2378 (212) 337-2371 FAX

Region III

Philadelphia Regional Office

(DE, DC, MD*, PA, VA*, WV)

The Curtis Center

170 S. Independence Mall West

Suite 740 West

Philadelphia, PA 19106-3309

(215) 861-4900 (215) 861-4904 FAX

Region IV

Atlanta Regional Office

(AL, FL, GA, KY*, MS, NC*, SC*, TN*)

61 Forsyth Street, SW, Room 6T50

Atlanta, GA 30303

(678) 237-0400 (678) 237-0447 FAX

Region V

Chicago Regional Office

(IL*, IN*, MI*, MN*, OH, WI)

230 South Dearborn Street

Room 3244

Chicago, IL 60604

(312) 353-2220 (312) 353-7774 FAX

Region VI

Dallas Regional Office

(AR, LA, NM*, OK, TX)

525 Griffin Street, Room 602

Dallas, TX 75202

(972) 850-4145 (972) 850-4149 FAX

(972) 850-4150 FSO FAX

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Region VII

Kansas City Regional Office

(IA*, KS, MO, NE)

Two Pershing Square Building

2300 Main Street, Suite 1010

Kansas City, MO 64108-2416

(816) 283-8745 (816) 283-0547 FAX

Region VIII

Denver Regional Office

(CO, MT, ND, SD, UT*, WY*)

Cesar Chavez Memorial Building

1244 Speer Boulevard, Suite 551

Denver, CO 80204

(720) 264-6550 (720) 264-6585 Fax

Region IX

San Francisco Regional Office

(AZ*, CA*, HI*, NV*, and American Samoa,

Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)

90 7th Street, Suite 18100

San Francisco, CA 94103

(415) 625-2547 (415) 625-2534 FAX

Region X

Seattle Regional Office

(AK*, ID, OR*, WA*)

300 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1280

Seattle, WA 98104

(206) 757-6700 (206) 757-6705 FAX

*These states and territories operate their own

OSHA-approved job safety and health plans and

cover state and local government employees as well

as private sector employees. The Connecticut, Illinois,

New Jersey, New York and Virgin Islands programs

cover public employees only. (Private sector workers

in these states are covered by Federal OSHA). States

with approved programs must have standards that

are identical to, or at least as effective as, the Federal

OSHA standards.

Note: To get contact information for OSHA area

offices, OSHA-approved state plans and OSHA

consultation projects, please visit us online at

www.osha.gov or call us at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

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How to Contact OSHA

For questions or to get information or advice, to

report an emergency, report a fatality or catastrophe,

order publications, sign up for OSHA’s e-newsletter

QuickTakes, or to file a confidential complaint, contact

your nearest OSHA office, visit www.osha.gov or call

OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742), TTY 1-877-889-5627.

For assistance, contact us.

We are OSHA. We can help.
www.osha.gov (800) 321-OSHA (6742)

For more information:

Occupational

Safety and Health

Administration

U.S. Department of Labor