OSHA ENFORCEMENT ALERT!
OSHA is Planning to Increase Enforcement on Crane Operators in early 2020
Over the past few years, CSA and ISA have been advising sign companies about new requirements for crane operators. Though the deadlines for compliance have occurred in the last two years, few sign companies have encountered enforcement by OSHA inspectors.
CSA and ISA expect enforcement to ramp up significantly in early 2020. The reason for this increased enforcement is that OSHA often needs time after the effective date of a regulation to draft internal policies, compliance manuals, and to train its inspectors and enforcement personnel who are based in the regional OSHA offices. In November 2019, the head of OSHA’s Directorate of Construction spoke to a key conference of construction training personnel; he forecast that by January 2020 the agency would complete their Compliance Guide that will assist OSHA compliance officers in their application of the requirements on construction sites across the country.
Once the Compliance Guide is distributed, OSHA inspectors will move forward in asserting the federal Cranes in Construction standard and applying it uniformly across all regions.
What sign companies should know: The Cranes in Construction rule is a massive document, with numerous provisions that have been adopted in stages since 2010. For sign companies, the two most significant deadlines were November 2018 (third-party certification of crane operators) and February 2019 (employer evaluation of crane operators). A key part of both these deadlines is requirements to maintain documentation of compliance that is available on the worksite upon request by an OSHA officer. If a sign company’s personnel are not compliant in 2020, OSHA will not accept the claim that the sign company/employer did not have enough advance notice to obtain certification or complete the employer evaluation. At this point, all employers will have had at least one year after the effective date to ensure compliance.
Available resources: ISA has developed many resources (www.signs.org/crane) that explain the rule and answer common questions. ISA has developed a free Mobile Crane Operator Evaluation Form, that can help an employer assess their employees. ISA also has hosted numerous webinars on the topic; these webinars are archived and are free to access for ISA/affiliate members:
Employer Evaluation of Crane Operators
CSA staff is available to answer questions you may have on Qualifying and/or Certifying your crane operators. For information, contact Cheryl at 916-932-0021 or email (cflahive@calsign.org).
About CSA Team
CSA’s Executive Director, Roy Flahive, has worked within the sign industry for more than 50 years. He served an apprenticeship in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), owned his own sign company for almost 30 years and he is well-known and highly respected in the sign industry, having served on numerous boards, including those of the International Sign Association (ISA), San Diego Area Lighting Advisory Council, Arizona Sign Association, Western States Sign Council, San Diego Mayors Sign Code Task Force, and UL’s Industry Advisory Committee. Notably, Flahive has twice been elected President (Chairman of the Board) of CSA and has served over 30 years on that board.
Cheryl Flahive, CSA’s Director of Member Services, has worked within the sign industry for over 33 years; twenty of those years, as vice president of a sign company in southern California. She has served in various administrative roles, from finance to project management, and is dedicated to helping CSA members at all levels.
The CSA Communications Committee, made up of committed industry leaders, works in a behind the scenes capacity, to keep CSA members educated and informed.