Crane Institute Certification (CIC) of Villa Rica, GA announces a new certification for Lift Directors. Debbie Dickenson, executive director of CIC, explained the move in a press conference at CONEXPO, noting that Lift Directors play an important role in overseeing, planning, and executing load handling activities on the jobsite. Construction users in power generation, oil and gas, mining, heavy haul and transport, and other environments where critical lifts are a common occurrence are increasingly requesting qualified Lift Directors. In addition, several OSHA and ASME standards list responsibilities for lift directors.
The release of this certification coincides with a recent alliance between CIC and Institute for Safety and Health Management (ISHM), Yuma, AZ.
“The Lift Director Certification is distinctive from CIC’s other programs in that lift directors are traditionally management or supervisory level personnel. Many of these individuals may also have broader safety and health responsibilities, additionally making them a candidate for ISHM’s certifications,” said Dickinson.
“Employers seeking Lift Director Certification for their employees will find that this credential provides a distinct business advantage when those employees also possess value-added soft skills such leadership, negotiation, time management, risk mitigation, communication, and process planning,” said Mike Parnell, Chairman of the CIC Lift Director Committee.
The title of Lift Director is currently listed in the OSHA 29CFR1926.1400 document and multiple ASME standards, including B30.3 Tower Cranes, B30.29 Self Erecting Tower Cranes, B30.5 Mobile and Locomotive Cranes, and B30.23 Personnel Lifting Systems. “In addition, Lift Director is heavily integrated into ASME P30.1 Lift Planning document, scheduled for release in March 2014,” said Parnell, who is President of Industrial Training International and Chairman of the ASME P30 Committee. “A number of the documents do an exceptional job of describing the roles and responsibilities associated with a lift director,” he said.
Key Competencies and Program Content
CIC’s Lift Director Certification was developed by subject matter experts with experience in lift planning, equipment operations, rigging, and load moving. A Lift Director Certification helps to confirm the knowledge, skills, and ability concerning load handling equipment, rigging methods, and planning and execution of standard and critical lifts. There are three key competency areas in which these individuals should be skilled.
1) Mobile crane operations, limitations, and configurations, plus other types of equipment, such as gantry systems, overhead cranes, tower cranes, and jack and slide systems.
2) Rigging and limitations associated with slings, hardware, and lifting devices.
3) People, planning, sequencing, communication, negotiating, safety.
Lift Director candidates must first pass written exams for Mobile Cranes General Knowledge, Telescoping Boom Over 75-Tons Supplement, Rigger/Signalperson, and Advanced Rigger. The Lift Director test consists of two portions: Roles and Responsibilities Exam and Lift Plan Exam. In the Lift Plan Exam, candidates must review a plan to discover deficiencies using their technical understanding of load charts, rigging, and planning/safety procedures.
