Source: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/government/oca-agencies/dpl-lp/opsi/consumer-prot-and-bus-lic/license-type/hoisting/notice-of-amended-regulation-520-cmr-6-00.html
Timestamp: 2018-05-21 16:45:26
Document Index: 374548172

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 53', '§ 53', '§ 57', '§ 53', '§ 53', '§ 57']

Changes to 520 CMR 6.00: Hoisting Machinery were initiated under Governor Baker’s Executive Order 562 to improve and update regulations and reduce unnecessary or costly burdens. The comments made by the general public at the 562 Executive Order Listening Session on October 26, 2015, resulted in significant changes to the proposed amendments to these regulations. A draft of 520 CMR 6.00 with the proposed changes was assessed at a public hearing on September 12, 2016. The amended regulations adapted from those hearings, public comments, and stakeholder feedback go into effect on November 18, 2016. In addition to the changes reflecting the comments from the Executive Order 562 and Chapter 30A process, the amended regulations implement recent changes to the General Laws regarding the frequency of applications and exempt companies with in-service training programs.
Below please find a summary of significant changes in these amendments effective November 18, 2016. This is a summary only and should not be read in lieu of the regulations themselves.
Highlights of the changes to 520 CMR 6.00 include:
Amendments to M.G.L. c. 146, §§ 53 and 57
On July 1, 2016, new statutory language affecting exempt companies with in-service training programs (M.G.L. c. 146, § 53) and the frequency of applications (M.G.L. c. 146, § 57) took effect. The changes to M.G.L. c. 146, § 53 modify subsection (e) and add new sub-sections (f) and (g), addressing the applicability of in-service training programs to the following companies: public utilities, companies operating exclusively on public utility property or equipment, and companies operating exclusively on company property. The new statutory language in § 53 extends exemptions to the licensing requirements for hoisting machinery to the following:
(e) A public utility company that operates self-propelled truck-mounted cranes, derricks and similar hoisting equipment for the maintenance and construction of the company's equipment shall be exempt from this section if the company has: (i) at least 1 supervisory employee who holds a license issued by the department pursuant to this section and who is designated as the responsible person in charge of the hoisting equipment; and (ii) a company provides in-service training program for its employees. This exemption shall only apply if the in-service training program for employees has been approved by the department. The in-service training program may be audited by the department. The public utility company shall issue a company license to each trained and certified employee. The license shall contain a picture of the licensee, a list of the specific hoisting equipment that the licensee has been qualified to operate and the signature of the supervisory employee who holds a department license. The commissioner may adopt rules and regulations to permit operation of additional types of equipment for which employees of exempt public utility companies have been trained and certified in an approved in-service training program.
(g) Any other company that operates hoisting equipment specifically limited to industrial lift trucks, forklifts, overhead cranes and other hoisting equipment, specifically authorized by the department and used exclusively on company property shall be exempt from this section if the company has met the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (e) and at least 1 supervisory employee is on site at all times of operation and the supervisory employee holds a license issued by the department under this section and is designated as the responsible person in charge of hoisting equipment during that period of operation.
The amendment to M.G.L. c. 146, § 57 reduces the length of time that an applicant must wait to reapply to examine for a hoisting license from 90 to 60 days.
Reduction of Continuing Education Hourly Requirements
The recent changes to 520 CMR 6.00 address the issue of duplicate information and the length of hourly requirements by limiting the hours of regulatory and industry standard training to only 2 hours (1 hour for 1D, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G restrictions) and 2 hours of equipment-specific training for each restriction on the hoisting license (1 hour for 1D, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 4F, 4G restrictions). In doing so, hoisting license holders with multiple restrictions will be required complete a significantly reduced amount of continuing education hours at the time of renewal. The following diagram illustrates the changes:
Continuing Education Req. Hours (Previous)
Continuing Education Req. Hours (New)
1A = 4 Hours
1A = 4 Hours (2 hrs. Standard Training + 2 hrs. 1A Training)
1D = 2 Hours
1D = 2 Hours (1 hr. Standard Training + 1 hr. 1D Training)
1C 2A = 8 Hours
1C 2A = 6 Hours (2 hrs. Standard Training + 2 hrs. 1C Training + 2 hrs. 2A Training)
1D 4E 4G = 6 Hours
1D 4E 4G = 4 Hours (1 hr. Standard Training + 1 hr. 1D Training + 1 hr. 4E Training + 1 hr. 4G Training)
1C 2B 4G = 10 Hours
1C 2B 4G = 7 Hours (2 hrs. Standard Training + 2 hrs. 1C Training + 2 hrs. 2B Training + 1 hr. 4G Training)
1A 2A 3A = 12 Hours
1A 2A 3A = 8 Hours (2 hrs. Standard Training + 2 hrs. 1A Training + 2 hrs. 2A Training + 2 hrs. 3A Training)
Changes to the Definition of Hoisting Machinery
The previous regulations included within the definition of hoisting machinery equipment with “the minimum capability of hoisting the load higher than ten feet or that has the capability of lifting loads greater than 500 pounds or if the capacity of the bucket exceeds ¼ cubic yard capacity.” This language burdened many equipment operators by broadening the scope of licensure to equipment that did not require the operator to comply with the licensing prerequisites. To reduce the scope of equipment requiring operator licensure and thereby eliminate unnecessary regulation of certain equipment, that portion of the definition has been modified to encompass “equipment that has the minimum capability of hoisting the load higher than 10 feet, and either the capability of lifting loads greater than 500 pounds or the capacity of the bucket exceeds ¼ cubic yards” (emphasis supplied).
Acceptance of the Intrastate Medical Waiver from the Massachusetts RMV
To reduce the burden of attaining a DOT Medical Certificate, the Department will recognize the Intrastate Medical Waiver from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles as an alternative to the certificate requirement. Acceptance of the Intrastate Medical Waiver from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles provides the opportunity to those individuals who were medically disqualified from attaining the DOT Medical Certificate to continue to operate hoisting machinery within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by obtaining an appropriate approval from a licensed physician. Any individual seeking to attain an Intrastate Medical Waiver from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles must comply with the provisions of 540 CMR 14.04 (1)(d). Please visit http://www.massrmv.com/ for more information. The Department will not recognize intrastate medical waivers from other jurisdictions.
Acceptance of Manufacturer Approved Attachments
The recent changes to 520 CMR 6.00 include the addition of a definition for “manufacturer approved attachments.” The Department defines such attachments as “attachable equipment tailored to perform a particular task, designed or approved for use in accordance with the equipment manufacturer’s specifications and operational and safety requirements …” Manufacturer approved attachments may be used with Class 2 - Excavation machinery only, thus eliminating the need for the operator to hold the requisite license for the machinery as modified. The use of attachments outside the scope of this definition and its accompanying equipment class restriction is not permitted.
Creation of a New Municipal - Limited Restriction
Operators employed by a municipal public works department may examine for the Municipal - Limited restricted hoisting license to operate the equipment listed below solely within the scope of their municipal employment:
• 2B: Combination loader/backhoe machines and Hoisting Machinery listed under 2C and 2D with manufacturer approved attachments.
• 4G: Specialty Side Boom Mower.
Use of the hoisting license with the Municipal - Limited restriction outside the scope of employment with a municipal public works department is prohibited.
Acceptance of Additional Forms of Identification for Hoisting License Applications
Applicants previously seeking a Massachusetts hoisting license were required by regulation to submit a copy of a valid driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle as an absolute prerequisite to obtaining a Department-issued hoisting license. The amended 520 CMR 6.00 effective November 18, 2016, eliminates this requirement and in its place allows the applicant to submit either a valid driver’s license, driver’s license learner’s permit, or a Massachusetts RMV-issued Massachusetts ID (see http://www.massrmv.com/LicenseandID/ObtainingaMassachusettsID.aspx for more information).
The links to the regulation, FAQs, and the Hoisting web page are listed below:
520 CMR 6.00: Hoisting Machinery file size 1MB
(DPS website)
Please note that the above-linked copy of the amended 520 CMR 6.00 represents the Department’s filing with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Regulations Division, concerning the new amendments to these regulations effective November 18, 2016. They are not, however, and must not be treated in place of, the officially published versions of 520 CMR 6.00 put into effect by the Regulations Division. There may be minor variations between the draft filing linked above and the final, official printed versions published in the Massachusetts Register. The linked document is therefore for reference only and may not substitute for the official published version of 520 CMR 6.00.