NCCCO awarded ANSI accreditation
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) announced it has been awarded accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The decision of ANSI’s Professional Certification Accreditation Committee to award its prestigious accreditation came after rigorous on-site and field audits by ANSI assessors of NCCCO’s management systems and psychometric procedures.

All three CCO crane operator certification programs—mobile crane operator, tower crane operator and overhead crane operator—are now accredited by ANSI to the ISO/IEC 17024 International Standard for organizations that certify personnel.

Singled out for particular mention by ANSI was NCCCO’s practical exam program. ANSI assessors commended NCCCO and the International Assessment Institute (IAI), the firm that provides test processing and development services to NCCCO, for the “preparation, administration and execution of the practical exam.”

In particular, ANSI applauded the manner in which the tasks for the practical exam had been selected, the objectivity and clarity of the criteria that had been established for practical examiner observations, and the systematic way examiner observations had been integrated into the scoring process.

“A central part of NCCCO’s goal since its inception has been to establish a national testing program that is fair to all candidates, while at the same time is both a valid and a reliable assessment of essential crane operator knowledge and skill,” said Graham J. Brent, NCCCO executive director “ANSI’s accreditation of all three CCO certification programs is clear testimony that this goal has been achieved.”

Transport Platform Working Group creates new standards
The Transport Platform Working Group recently held its first meeting in Milan, Italy. The working group is a part of the International Powered Access Federation Mast Climbing Work Platform Committee. The goal of the group is to create an international standard to promote safety in the use of transport platforms. In North America, ANSI is currently working on A92.10, a new specification for transport platform design.

At the Milan meeting, Ernst van Hek, managing director of Hek Manufacturing BV, was elected chairman of the working group.

“This group will fill a gap in the industry,” Van Hek said. “Although there are existing standards and guidelines for the use of mast climbers, hoists and aerial work platforms, standards for the use of this important new technology don’t currently exist.”

Mast climbing safety discussed at BAC Conference
As In August each year, The International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers (BAC) hold its Annual Leadership Conference at Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN. Part of the conference includes workshop sessions for regional leaders throughout the United States to hear about new and exciting initiatives which could benefit their members. This year, Kevin O’Shea of Mastclimbers LLC in Grayson, GA, and Aerial Work Platform Training’s mast climber representative, was asked to conduct a number of workshops on mast climber safety, the drive for “safe-use” regulation and, of course, AWPT’s pivotal role in educating and training workers.

“Through my work with unions in recent months, it has become obvious that BAC members are some of the most frequent users of mast climbers, booms and scissors in the United States,” O’Shea said. “The unions themselves have reached a high level of training and education through their apprenticeship programs. We had representatives from Boston to New Orleans, all of whom brought different aspects of powered access use to the sessions. In analyzing the problems, and answering the questions, it’s clear that consistent standards of training, measurement and quality are required now.”

John Flynn, BAC President, is dedicated to training and high quality standards. BAC’s training arm, the International Masonry Institute, based in Annapolis, MD, has just completed work on a new training center, dedicated to the safety, professionalism and craft of its trainees. In addition, AWPT’s Mast Climber Training Center in Boston, North East Work Platform Training (NEWPT), is working with local Unions to put together a structured approach that will turn out qualified, well-trained apprentices. Thirty five iron worker apprentices gathered in Boston from September 3-7 for a program of training that, for the first time, included mast climber awareness.

“The key to good working practice is to catch employees early, so that we can instill a safety ethos from the very start,” said Tom Lawler, NEWPT’S president. “These apprentices are at exactly the right age and level of awareness to benefit from this exposure, and, vitally, the co-workers who will work with them in years to come will benefit too. It’s my intention to introduce the Powered Access Licensed-Registration and AWPT Training throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and to partner with like-minded employers, unions and organizations in the achievement of that goal.”

“Click It!” Safety Campaign takes off
The recently launched “Click It!” safety campaign that features stickers encouraging all users of boom-type platforms to wear a full body harness with a short lanyard attached to a suitable anchor point, has found acceptance with North American manufacturers and rental companies alike.

Sponsored by Aerial Work Platform Training (AWPT), the campaign has been adopted by major rental companies including NES Rentals and Sunbelt Rentals and manufacturers including Skyjack. All companies have agreed to place the “Click It!” stickers on all boom-type platforms they rent, sell or manufacture.

“We are supporting this program to help communicate the need and reasons for using the proper harness and lanyard on boom lifts to prevent falls or ejections from these machines,” said Jeff Stachowiak, national safety director for Sunbelt Rentals. “While the use of personal fall protection is required on boom lifts there are still many workers who do not know this.”

“If placing “Click It!” stickers on our boom lifts can prevent even one injury that could have been avoided, our efforts will have been worth it,” adds Chris Bowers, NES Rentals’ senior vice president.

Exports of U.S. made construction machinery totaled $8.2 billion for the first half on 2007, a 22 percent increase compared to the first 6 months on 2006, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
 – Rental Equipment Register
   www.rermag.com

In the U.S., monthly housing starts have averaged below 1.5 million units for the past 11 months, the Midwest showing the greatest weaknesses this year at -28.8 percent.
 – www.buildingteamforecast.com

The west is leading the country with residential buildings at +25.4 percent and engineering/civil work at +41.4 percent.
 – www.buildingteamforecast.com

Roughly 1.3 million subprime ARMs are due for a rate reset between now and the end of 2008.
 – www.cnnmoney.com

America’s 26 million small businesses constitute half of our economy and consume approximately half of all energy used for commercial and industrial purposes. 30 percent of this energy is wasted through inefficiencies that should and could be reduced.
 – www.cnnmoney.com

The wealthiest 1 percent of all Americans earned 21.2 percent of all the nation’s income in 2005, up from the previous high of 20.8 percent in 2000. The bottom half of working Americans earned just 12.8 percent of all the nation’s income, down from 13.4 percent in 2004 and slightly lower than 13 percent in 2000, putting more effect on the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor.
 – www.cnnmoney.com

Driven by sustained growth, the Haulotte Group has an operating margin of 19 percent and a net margin of 12 percent in the 2007 first half versus 17 percent and 11.3 percent respectively in the equivalent prior-year period.
 – www.haulotte.com

Women make up 12 percent of the construction industry. As of December 31, 2005, an average of 882,000 women were employed in the construction industry, compared to almost 6.4 million men.
 – San Diego Business Journal

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