DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
POLICY AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

CRANE SAFETY DEFICIENCIES

P&P C-27B

Issue Date: 3/21/94
Revised: 8/1/94

AUTHORITY: California Labor Code Sec. 7375 through 7384 and Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Sec. 344.80, 344.81 and 5021.

POLICY: It is the policy of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to ensure that all deficiencies affecting the safe operation of any crane or derrick found by a crane certifier or surveyor during the certification process and reported to the Division are corrected in a timely fashion.

PROCEDURES:

A. CRANE CERTIFIER RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Obtaining Licensure from the Division

    1. Any person engaging in the testing, examination and/or certification of cranes used in lifting loads exceeding three tons rated capacity is required to be licensed as a crane certifier by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health or be approved by the Division as a surveyor authorized to certify cranes under the authority and supervision of a licensed crane certifier.

    2. Any person who certifies a crane in the State of California without first obtaining a license from the Division is subject to a misdemeanor violation of the California Labor Code Sec. 7379.

  2. Maintaining Required Records

    Crane certifiers are required to maintain complete and accurate records pertaining to each crane and derrick of all inspections, tests and other work performed as well as copies of all Notices of Crane Safety Deficiencies, verifications of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies, and crane certifications issued for the previous five (5) years and provide these records to the Division upon request. Failure by a licensed crane certifier to maintain required records may result in license suspension or revocation. See P&P C-27A.

  3. Reporting Crane Safety Deficiencies

    1. Licensed crane certifiers are required to notify the Division's Crane Unit of any deficiencies affecting the safe operation of a crane which were found during the course of the certifier's certification inspection within five (5) working days following the inspection.

    2. Form IS-162, Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies, or its equivalent, shall be used by licensed crane certifiers or approved surveyors to report crane safety deficiencies. See Attachment A.

    3. Notices of Crane Safety Deficiencies shall be submitted by crane certifiers to the Division's Crane Unit. Any Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies received by a District Office shall be immediately forwarded by the District Manager to the Crane Unit.

    4. Crane certifiers need only notify the Division's Crane Unit of those crane safety deficiencies which either affect the safe operation of the crane or violate applicable Title 8 Safety Orders, American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standards or a manufacturer's written specifications.

    5. Failure by a licensed crane certifier to report crane safety deficiencies affecting the safe operation of a crane may result in license suspension or revocation. See P&P C-27A.

  4. Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies Prior to Issuing A Crane Certification

    1. Crane certifiers are required to verify that all deficiencies affecting the safe operation of a crane are corrected prior to issuing a certification to the crane owner/operator.

    2. Form IS-162, or its equivalent, shall be used by licensed crane certifiers or approved surveyors to report that crane safety deficiencies have been corrected.

    3. All Corrections of Crane Safety Deficiencies shall be submitted to the Division's Crane Unit. Any corrections submitted to a District Office shall be immediately forwarded by the District Manager to the Crane Unit.

  5. Reporting Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies

    After determining that the crane safety deficiencies which were reported to the Division have been corrected, crane certifiers are required to submit a signed verification to the Crane Unit that all reported crane safety deficiencies have been corrected together with a copy of the crane certification certificate.

    NOTE: Failure by a crane certifier to notify the Division that crane safety deficiencies have been corrected may result in the crane certifier being cited by the Division or in suspension or revocation of the crane certifier's license.

B. EVALUATION OF NOTICES OF CRANE SAFETY DEFICIENCIES

  1. Initial Review of Notices

    When a Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies is received by the Crane Unit, the Notice shall be evaluated to determine the nature and severity of the reported deficiency.

    NOTE: The Crane Unit, through the Deputy Chief for Field Operations and the Regional Managers, shall ensure that all Notices of Crane Safety Deficiencies inadvertently sent by crane certifiers to the District Offices are immediately sent to the Crane Unit.

  2. Deficiencies Not Affecting the Safe Operation of a Crane

    If the Crane Unit determines that the reported deficiencies do not affect the safe operation of the crane, the Crane Unit shall advise the reporting crane certifier that the particular deficiency need not be reported to the Division and no further investigative action shall be taken.

  3. Deficiencies Affecting the Safe Operation of a Crane

    If the Crane Unit determines that the reported deficiencies affect the safe operation of the crane, the Crane Unit shall conduct an investigation of the reported deficiencies which may include one or more of the following:

    1. An inspection of the crane which is the subject of the Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies by compliance personnel from the District Office in whose jurisdiction the crane is located;

      1. A request for an inspection shall be made by Crane Unit personnel to the appropriate District Manager through the Regional Manager by completing an OSHA Form 90 (Referral).

      2. The Crane Unit will specify on the Referral Form whether the deficiencies need to be investigated within 15 days or within 30 days from receipt of the Referral Form.

      3. After completion of the inspection, a copy of the inspection report and any citations issued shall be forwarded to the Crane Unit. When abatement has been completed, the District shall also forward to the Crane Unit a copy of the Cal/OSHA Form 160 and/or Cal/OSHA Form 161.

    2. An inspection of the crane which is the subject of the Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies by compliance personnel from the Crane Unit;

      NOTE: When compliance personnel from the Crane Unit perform an inspection of a crane which is the subject of the Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies, the Crane Unit shall notify the appropriate District Manager, through the Regional Manager, and coordinate the inspection jointly with compliance personnel from the District, if available.

    3. Contacting the reporting crane certifier to obtain additional information about the reported crane safety deficiencies; and

    4. Contacting the owner of the crane to obtain additional information about the location and operational status of the crane which is the subject of the Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies.

  4. Failure to Cooperate Or Incompetence or Fraud

    If a crane certifier or surveyor does not respond to inquiries from the Division for additional information, or the investigative findings reveal incompetence or fraud, a referral shall be made by the Crane Unit to the Deputy Chief for Health and Technical Services for possible suspension or revocation of the crane certifiers license. See C-27A.

C. EVALUATION OF VERIFICATIONS OF CORRECTION OF CRANE SAFETY DEFICIENCIES

  1. Deficiencies Corrected

    1. When a verification of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies is received by the Crane Unit, the verification shall be evaluated to determine the completeness of the verification.

      NOTE: The Crane Unit shall ensure that all verifications of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies are sent by crane certifiers and by District Offices to the Crane Unit for evaluation.

    2. The Crane Unit will maintain copies of Notices of Crane Safety Deficiencies, verifications of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies and crane certification certificates for five years.

  2. Deficiencies Not Corrected

    1. When the Crane Unit does not receive a verification of correction of crane deficiencies within thirty days from receipt of a Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies indicating deficiencies exist which affect the safe operation of a crane, the Crane Unit will initiate an investigation into the failure to receive a verification.

    2. An investigation of uncorrected deficiencies by the Crane Unit may include any of the investigative options listed in Section B 3.(a) through (d) above.

  3. Failure to Cooperate Or Incompetence or Fraud

    If a crane certifier does not respond to inquiries from the Division for additional information, or the investigative findings reveal incompetence or fraud, a referral shall be made by the Crane Unit to the Deputy Chief for Health and Technical Services for possible suspension or revocation of the crane certifiers license. See P&P C-27A.

D. INSPECTION AND CITATION PROCEDURES

  1. If a crane is in use without being certified by a licensed crane certifier, compliance personnel shall cite the crane owner and/or operator for a violation of 8 CCR Sec. 5021(a) and any other applicable Title 8 sections. NOTE: If an imminent hazard is present, an Order Prohibiting Use shall be issued by the District and the Crane Unit immediately notified.

  2. If a crane is in use and has been validly certified by a licensed crane certifier, compliance personnel shall conduct an inspection of the crane. See Attachments B, C and D for Inspection Checklists for Mobile, Hydraulic and Bridge and Gantry Cranes.

    NOTE: When there is reason to believe that a crane certifier has fraudulently issued a crane certification, compliance personnel shall summarize the reason(s) for their belief and submit their findings to the Deputy Chief for Health and Technical Services. See P&P C-27A.

  3. If deficiencies noted on the Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies are observed during the inspection, compliance personnel shall cite appropriate sections of Title 8 pertaining to crane safety (8 CCR Sec. 4884 through 5049). If other violations are observed during the inspection, compliance personnel shall cite applicable sections of the General Industry Safety Orders.

E. CRANE UNIT OFFICE PROCEDURES AND FORMS DISTRIBUTION

  1. When a Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies (IS-162) is received, the Crane Unit staff shall date stamp the IS- 162 and file it in the pend file by certifier, by date of the crane certifier's inspection.

  2. Crane Unit Staff shall review the pend file of IS-162s once each week and flag those IS-162s with no verification of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies for further review by a Crane Unit safety engineer.

  3. When a verification of Correction of Crane Safety Deficiencies is received, the Crane Unit staff shall date stamp the verification, pull the IS-162 corresponding to the verification, and give both to a Crane Unit safety engineer for evaluation.

  4. Crane Unit staff shall keep a copy of all OSHA Form 90 referrals sent to District Offices to request that the District conduct an investigation of a crane.

  5. All copies of crane inspections performed by a District Office at the request of the Crane Unit, and copies of any citations issued by the District, shall be maintained in the Crane Unit's files. Any copies of Cal/OSHA Form 160s and/or Cal/OSHA Form 161s shall also be maintained in the Crane Unit's files.

  6. All copies of crane inspections performed by the Crane Unit and any citations issued shall be maintained in the Crane Unit's files. Any copies of Cal/OSHA Form 160s and/or Cal/OSHA Form 161s shall also be maintained in the Crane Unit's files. A copy of all inspection reports, citations and abatement reports shall be sent to the appropriate District Office.

  7. All IMIS data entry resulting from compliance activities performed solely by the Crane Unit shall be coordinated with the co-located Southern California District Office of the High Hazard Unit and the Regional IMIS Coordinator for Regions III and VI.

    NOTE: The results of compliance activities arising from joint activities involving the Crane Unit and a District Office shall be IMIS-entered in the District Office. On the Cal/OSHA Form 1, check Item 24(h) and 25(a), Manufacturing, Construction or Maritime as applicable. For Item 42, enter under Type an "S," under ID a "10" and under Value "Crane Deficiency."

  8. The Crane Unit shall forward any documentation pertaining to a crane certifier whose activities may be subject to suspension or revocation of his or her crane certifier's license to the Deputy Chief for Health and Technical Services.

Attachments:

A -- IS-162 (Notice of Crane Safety Deficiencies)
B -- Mobile Crane Inspection Checklist
C -- Hydraulic Crane Inspection Checklist
D -- Bridge and Gantry Crane Inspection Checklist
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