OSHA statistics don’t lie. Since January there have already been eight fatalities involving Overhead Cranes. One study referenced in OSHA literature indicated that approximately eleven percent of all overhead crane accidents are the result of mechanical errors. Mechanical error in overhead crane accidents is often the result of negligence on behalf of crane-related professionals, including employers and safety professionals. Overhead Crane accidents can be caused by a lack of adequate preventative maintenance, inspections, and lack of operator training and/or experience.
ASME B30.2-3.1.2 Crane Operator Training, states that training should include those items that applies to the crane at the employer’s workplace and type of load that will be handled (i.e., raw materials, bulk materials or fragile materials), and the operator’s responsibilities involving the movement of the load.
Sources for training should include:
- Information outlined in the manual provided with the equipment.
- Information available through trade associations.
- Government training resources.
- Courses and programs from manufacturers of cranes, crane consultants, trade schools, continuing education schools, employers, and manufacturers of crane component parts.
- Requirements and recommendations found in National Consensus Standards (ASME).
Responsibilities of the employer/management are:
- Identify, document and assign responsibilities of the overhead crane operator and other persons involved in the movement of the load.
- Provide training to persons who will operate an overhead crane.
- Provide written and practical examinations that verify the person has acquired the knowledge and skill to operate the particular overhead crane(s) that will be operated by the person. The examinations shall be defined by the owner/user and in accordance with any local, state, and federal provisions that may apply.
- Issue a certificate or formal record that verifies that the person has been trained and passed the examination.
WiscoLift has designed online training programs to assist companies and their employees in learning safe rigging practices and to adhere to OSHA/ASME standards and requirements. Our company mission can be summed up with the phrase, “Working Safe is Working Smart.”
Our new certificate program, Overhead Crane Operator, was developed to give participants an increased level of knowledge in safe rigging practices, load calculation, center of gravity, and pre-operational inspection of overhead cranes.
As part of our program development, we asked safety and training professionals to evaluate our program and give their objective assessment. Following is the feedback we received:
“I was impressed how thorough the program was. I like how you emphasize that SAFETY is number one.” -Barbara, Hortonville, WI
“I found the overhead crane operator training detailed and informative. It definitely is a valuable resource in building my confidence in my operator training responsibilities.” -Don, Madison, WI
Our program takes between 3-4 hours to complete and includes five sections with an exam testing your knowledge after each section. Participants will be able to download their Certificate of Achievement once the program has been completed with a passing score. In addition, this program includes all applicable ASME and OSHA standards, a Daily/Shift Hoist Inspection pocket card and Overhead Crane Hand Signals card for your future reference.
Program Contents:
- Overhead Crane Types
- Frequently Used Terms
- Daily/Shift Inspection
- Safe Rigging Practices
- Overhead Crane Signals
- Load Calculation and Center of Gravity
- After the Lift Procedures
- Lockout/Tagout
- Overhead Crane Maintenance
View our video and online program information
If you would like additional information about this or other programs, please contact our Sales Representative at 800-242-3477 or email smartlift@wiscolift.com.