Anchorage Daily News

Recent crane-related fatalities have captured the attention of the nation.

In New York, two crane accidents since March have killed nine people, a greater number than the total deaths from cranes over the past decade. In Florida, two construction workers were killed in March when a crane tumbled 30 stories onto a condo project. A worker was crushed to death by a moving crane in Las Vegas on May 31.

Some 35 states -- including Alaska -- do not require crane operators hold licenses of any kind.

Regulations not strictly enforced have also contributed to the problem: The crane standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were last updated in 1971. They require cranes be inspected once a year, but most of the inspections fail to occur. OSHA, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, inspected only about 23,000 of the nation's 4 million construction sites last year.

"OSHA and other government agencies have been very lax on tower crane regulations," said Jared Hamlin, a spokesman for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302, which covers Alaska and Washington.

"In Washington, the state shut down three tower cranes (last) month -- two were cited for faulty electronics, one for improper paperwork. That's being proactive, which hasn't happened in the tower crane industry in a long time. You're seeing states enacting their own rules. OSHA is failing on those regulations."

NO RECENT ALASKA DEATHS

According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there have been no occupational fatalities related to cranes in Alaska over the past 10 years. From 1990 to 1997, however, there were three occupational deaths involving cranes and three involving manlifts.

Hamlin said most accidents in the Lower 48 involved tower cranes. Tower cranes are most often used in the construction of tall buildings.

The vertical part of the crane is often braced onto the completed structure, which is normally the concrete lift shaft in the center of the building. A horizontal boom is balanced asymmetrically across the top of the tower. The crane operator either sits in a cabin at the top of the tower or controls the crane by radio remote control from the ground, usually standing near the load.

Currently, there are no tower cranes operating in Anchorage. Hamlin said the tower crane used in the construction of the 14-story, 285,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial building at 188 Northern Lights Boulevard that dominated the Anchorage skyline last summer is in storage.

Most cranes in Alaska are crawler cranes, mounted on an undercarriage with a set of tracks. Hamlin said crawler cranes outfitted with a boom attachment can hoist to the height of a tall building.

QUALIFICATIONS

While Alaska does not require that crane operators be certified, Steve Standley, chief of enforcement for Alaska Occupational Safety and Health, said AKOSH can cite an employer who has someone operating a crane who is not qualified to do so.

Standley said the qualifications, which fall under parts 1910 and 1926 of 29 Code of Regulations, are "pretty general" and require that operators have at least 20/30 vision, be able to distinguish the colors red, green and yellow, and have adequate hearing.

Standley pointed out that there have not been any crane-related fatalities over the last 10 years in work sites that fall under AKOSH jurisdiction.

According to Hamlin, it takes five to 10 years to become a proficient crane operator. Most start out as oilers, or crane operators' assistants.

"You start the crane up, check the fluids and really get to know that piece of equipment," Hamlin said. "When the crane's moving, you're basically the eyes. I worked as an oiler for two years. Then you start gaining seat time during noncritical times -- you're not moving anything, and no one's around."

CERTIFICATION

Oilers who want to become certified crane operators can enroll in the Alaska Operating Engineers/Employers Training Trust three-week course. Operators are certified through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, an independent, nonprofit organization formed to establish and administer a nationwide program of certification for crane operators.

NCCCO requires recertification every five years. To be recertified, a candidate must pass a written recertification exam and have at least 1,000 crane-related hours of experience within the five-year period of certification.

While the NCCCO program was established as a voluntary program, OSHA recognizes NCCCO certification as a means of being in compliance with OSHA's requirement for a qualified operator.

"We've had to really bump up the way we recruit," Hamlin said. "The average age for crane operators is getting lower every year. Right now, the average age of operators is someone in his late 40s. It's a hard job with a very long learning curve. We need to maintain that curve."

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