The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) Foundation and the National Safety Council (NSC) partnered to develop a free online tool that offers a list to assist companies and individuals using cranes and other load-handling equipment to improve jobsite safety. The list of controls, tailored to address the most significant hazardous situations that contribute to serious incidents and fatalities (SIFs) in crane operations, was compiled by searching relevant safety literature and collecting feedback from industry experts and practitioners.
“Companies and individuals can simply select from a variety of common safety hazards such as fatigue, fall from height, contact with overhead powerlines, equipment overturn/tipping, and many more, to produce a variety of control options to help mitigate or eliminate them on the jobsite,” said T.J. Cantwell, NCCCO Foundation executive director.
Each of the controls is categorized according to the Hierarchy of Controls, a method for identifying and ranking approaches to protect workers from hazards including, elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment, allowing users to consider which ones will work best in their unique situations.
The NCCCO Foundation will host a webinar on March 4, 2025, with the National Safety Council and crane safety experts to discuss the tool and how companies implement various controls to prevent common safety hazards.
