March 29th, 2008

Cities beginning to require crane operator certification

A new Miami-Date County ordinance went into effect on Friday, three days after a section of a tower crane collapsed at a Bay condominium construction site near downtown Miami, leaving two workers dead and five others injured.

The new ordinance requires certification of operators, who must pass a written test and show proficiency, including the ability to maneuver and shut down the giant crane, and then to secure it, according to ENR.

The state of Florida does not require certification. Miami-Dade County is among a handful of major metropolitan areas — including Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Omaha and Washington — that have passed their own rules requiring licensing of tower-crane operators.

Missouri is not one of the 15 or so states that currently require crane operator certification.

In early March, a crane accident on the I-64 reconstruction project closed Clayton Rd. in St. Louis for 13 hours when a clamp holding a beam broke, causing the crane to topple. No one was injured in that accident.

Source: ENR

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