Crane operator rules in Saskatchewan

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are Part 13 and Table 13 of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 (Saskatchewan chapter S-15.1 Reg 10), a Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission information sheet for mobile crane operators, and the Government of Canada Job Bank requirements page. The national picture is on the parent page, cranes in tree work.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Rule	OHS Regulations, 2020, section 13-6, designated operator
Applies to	Hoists, cranes and lifting devices at a place of employment, except those under The Passenger and Freight Elevator Act or The Mines Regulations (section 13-2)
Qualified operator needed	Tower crane; overhead travelling crane with a load rating of 50 tonnes or more; crane lifting a worker on a personnel-lifting unit; mobile crane with a load rating greater than 5 tonnes
Competent operator needed	Any other crane with a load rating of 5 tonnes or more
Competent worker needed	Mobile or overhead travelling crane with a load rating under 5 tonnes
Tree work named	Not in Part 13

What section 13-6 says

Section 13-6(2) says an employer or contractor designates a worker to operate a hoist, crane or lifting device, makes sure that worker is trained in that machine, and makes sure nobody else operates it. Section 13-6(6) says no worker operates one unless designated and trained. Section 13-6(7) says the worker must have written proof of training for any crane the worker is required or permitted to operate, and must have that proof readily accessible while operating.

Subsection (3) sets the cases that need a qualified operator: a tower crane, an overhead travelling crane with a load rating equal to or greater than 50 tonnes, a crane used to raise or lower a worker on a personnel-lifting unit hung from a hoist line, and a mobile crane with a load rating greater than 5 tonnes. Subsection (4) lifts that requirement for a crane mounted on a vehicle and used only to load or unload that vehicle, and for a crane owned by an employer, run by a worker in that employer's service and used only at that employer's place of employment for that employer's own work.

Subsection (5) covers everything else. For any crane with a load rating of 5 tonnes or more the designated operator is a competent operator. For a mobile or overhead travelling crane under 5 tonnes the designated operator is a competent worker.

Who counts as qualified or competent

Section 13-6(1) defines a qualified operator as one of four people: the holder of a journeyman's certificate in the crane and hoist operator trade under The Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Act, 1999; the holder of a proficiency certificate in a subtrade of that trade; an apprentice in the trade working under the direction of either; or any other worker whose training and experience in safe crane operation the director considers equivalent or superior.

A competent operator is a worker who has completed a training program covering every element of Table 13 for the crane the worker will operate, or who is completing the practical training in Part II of that table under the direct supervision of a competent or qualified operator.

Table 13, the training table

Part I of Table 13 lists eleven course content headings, lettered A to K: the regulations on cranes, types of cranes, site evaluation, crane controls, operation, load estimation, crane capability, rigging, signalling, maintenance, and log books. Part II sets the course duration.

Machine	Course duration in Table 13
Overhead travelling crane or hoist	40 hours, classroom and practical
Tower or mobile crane	100 hours, classroom and practical
Crane raising or lowering a worker on a hoist line	20 hours of classroom and 200 hours of practical experience, in addition to the items above

The mobile crane trade

The Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission information sheet says the mobile crane operator trade and its subtrades are voluntary. It also says the province's occupational health and safety regulations require a person to be an apprentice or a fully certified tradesperson to operate a mobile crane, that occupational health and safety enforces this, and that the regulations refer to the Commission's own regulations for the definition of a mobile crane and the subtrade names. It lists the fully certified mobile crane operator at 8,100 hours and 4.5 years in the trade, boom truck A operator (over 15.5 tons) at 4,500 hours and 3 years, boom truck B operator (up to and including 15.5 tons) at 3,000 hours and 3 years, and tower crane operator at 4,500 hours and 3 years.

The Job Bank requirements page for crane operators in Saskatchewan says mobile crane trade certification is compulsory in seven other provinces and available but voluntary in Saskatchewan and the other provinces, and that hoist operator certification is voluntary in Saskatchewan. The information sheet and the regulation text are the sources for the provincial rule itself.

Tree work

Part 13 does not name tree work, arboriculture or bucket trucks. It speaks of cranes in general. Section 13-7 also ties operators to the manufacturer's operating manual, and section 13-8 limits loads to the rated load.