For cranes of all kinds, proper inspections are vital, since the equipment is so crucial to the projects it works on, and because the nature of their work is lifting large, high-value loads around people.

In addition to the practical need for inspections there is the legal one.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration( OSHA) requires cranes to be inspected at several specific times.

Those include after it has been modified or repaired, after it is assembled on a jobsite, before each shift, monthly and yearly.

The federal regulation covering cranes and derricks used in construction specifies what must be looked at in each type of inspection, who can do the inspecting, what records need to be kept and how long those records need to be retained.

OSHA holds the crane owner responsible for having inspections done properly, on time, by someone with the right credentials and for keeping any required records.

The Code of Federal Regulations, 1926, Subpart CC, section 1412( CFR 1926.1412) covers all of that.

Some crane owners choose to have all the inspections done by in-house staff.

Other owners opt to have the pre-shift and monthly inspections done by their staff, but hire an independent inspector to perform the annual inspection.

Association of Crane Inspectors Raises the Bar

The industry association for professional crane inspection experts who have the credentials to certify the cranes they inspect is the Crane Certification Association of America( CCAA).

Founded in 1984 by eight crane certifiers, the CCAA establishes standards for its industry and builds the knowledge of crane inspectors through training, testing, certification and the exchange of ideas between inspectors.

The organization now has about 115 member firms who hail from all over the United States and Canada, as well as the Caribbean Islands and even Saudi Arabia.

Inspectors, Crane Owners Both Benefit

Ed Shapiro, owner of Heavy Equipment Services Company( HESCO), of Niantic, Connecticut, has been a CCAA member for more than 30 years. He has been its president twice.

“ The CCAA’ s accreditation program helps assure crane owners that the inspections and crane certifications our members provide are thorough, professional and solid,” said Shapiro.

He added that although CCAA members sometimes compete for inspection work, they all gladly share knowledge and experience to help each other do the best job possible for customers.

“ Some of our members are employees of crane-owning companies, but most are independent,” said Shapiro.“ Either way, CCAA members are committed to being the best and delivering real value to crane owners.”

CCAA members can earn certification in inspecting virtually all types of cranes, from the mobile, crawler and tower cranes used in construction, to maritime cranes and the overhead cranes used in factories and mills.

Many of its members are also qualified to inspect other types of equipment, such as telehandlers and side booms.

The organization’ s current president is Bono Salas, owner of National Crane Compliance Inspections( NCCI), headquartered in metropolitan Houston, Texas.

Salas started his third-party independent inspection company in 2011. It currently employs six inspectors.

“ Professional, high-quality inspection is vital, whether it’ s done by a company’ s in-house people or an independent third-party provider like NCCI,” he said.“ One key advantage in using an independent inspector is that it helps raise the equipment owner’ s credibility. In fact, here in the Gulf region, many petrochemical plants and refineries are adamant that cranes coming to their facilities have been inspected by independent providers.”

Salas encourages any crane inspector or anyone who wants to become a crane inspector to check out the CCAA.

“ This family of professionals welcomes both men and women,” he said.“ Its resources and knowledge sharing can shorten a new inspector’ s learning curve, support his or her ongoing professional development and provide aids like checklists that make their work more efficient.”

The knowledge sharing takes place all year, not just at the conference.“ Anytime anyone has a question or a situation that’ s new to them, they can contact other members for insight and advice,” Salas said.

The organization also offers resources that help keep members up to date about regulations, regulation interpretations, new techological developments and best business practices.

“ Right now, for example,“ said Salas,“ the CCAA is preparing a letter asking OSHA to clarify when the cranes on equipment-service trucks come under the cranes in construction regulation and when they’ re under the industrial regulation. The inspection requirements are different for each.”

The CCAA is holding its 2025 safety and innovation conference March 9-11 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Visit www. cranecertification. org for more information about the organization.

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March 2025 • www. cranehotline. com