Crane operator rules in Washington

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The sources are four sections of Chapter 296-155 WAC, Part L (Cranes, Rigging, and Personnel Lifting), as published by the Washington State Legislature, and the Labor and Industries page on construction cranes. The national picture is on the parent page, cranes in tree work.

At a glance

Item	What the sources say
Rules	Chapter 296-155 WAC, Part L; scope in WAC 296-155-52900, operator rule in WAC 296-155-53300
Regulator	Department of Labor and Industries (DOSH), Crane Certification Program
Equipment covered	Power-operated cranes used for construction work that can hold, lift, lower and horizontally move a suspended load, including articulating boom cranes such as knuckle-boom cranes
Named exemption	Subsection (4)(k): "Tree trimming and tree removal work"
Operator credential	A certificate from an accredited testing organization, valid for a maximum of five years

What the scope section covers and leaves out

WAC 296-155-52900(1) says Part L applies to power-operated cranes and equipment used for construction work that can hold, lift, lower and horizontally move a suspended load, with or without attachments. Its list of examples includes articulating boom cranes such as knuckle-boom cranes, crawler cranes, mobile cranes such as commercial truck-mounted and boom truck cranes, tower cranes, service or mechanic trucks with a hoisting device, and multipurpose machines when used to hold a suspended load. Subsection (2) says the standard applies to that equipment when used with attachments, and its list includes hooks, magnets, grapples, augers and personnel platforms.

Subsection (4) lists equipment exempt from the whole part. Among its twenty-two items are power shovels, excavators, wheel loaders and backhoes, including when used with chains, slings or other rigging to lift suspended loads, vehicle-mounted aerial devices for lifting personnel, self-propelled elevating work platforms, a mechanic's truck with a hoisting device used for equipment maintenance and repair, equipment that hoists by a come-a-long or chainfall, and digger derricks used only for augering holes for poles carrying electric or telecommunication lines and handling the poles. Item (k) is "Tree trimming and tree removal work."

Subsection (3) separately exempts some equipment from the certifier accreditation and crane certification sections only, while the rest of Part L applies: cranes with a maximum rated capacity of one ton or less, forklifts when not built to an ASME B30 series standard, and service cranes with booms that rotate manually.

Operator certification

WAC 296-155-53300(1) says that before anyone operates a covered crane, the employer must ensure the operator has been trained and evaluated and holds a valid certificate for the type of equipment, issued by a testing organization whose program is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency. For a testing organization to count, the section says it must be accredited on written testing materials, practical examinations, test administration, grading, facilities and personnel, give written and practical tests, certify by equipment type or type and capacity, have procedures for retesting, and have its accreditation reviewed at least every three years.

The written test covers the controls and performance characteristics of the specific equipment, load and capacity calculation, preventing and responding to power line contact, and site ground, hazards and access.
The practical test covers recognizing the items on the section's inspection list, operating and maneuvering skills, load chart use, and shut-down and securing procedures.
A test may be given in any language the candidate understands, and the certificate records the language.
A certificate is valid for a maximum of five years. The employer provides certification at no cost to employees.
The operator must also have the hours of experience set out in Table 3 of the section, which lists 20 hours of operating experience and 20 hours of crane-related experience for articulating boom cranes, and must pass a substance abuse test conducted by a recognized laboratory.

Manufacturer and factory representatives and maintenance personnel are not required to be certified operators when it is necessary in the performance of their duties.

Riggers and signal persons

WAC 296-155-53306 says a qualified rigger is required whenever employees are engaged in hooking, unhooking, guiding the load or connecting a load to a component or structure. Qualification comes from a third-party qualified evaluator, or from the employer's qualified evaluator, in which case it is not portable to other employers. The section lists the knowledge a rigger must show by a written and a practical test and sets a qualification period of no more than five years. WAC 296-155-53302 sets the same two routes and the same five-year limit for a signal person, with a written or oral test and a practical test.

Annual inspection and certifiers

The Labor and Industries page says all cranes and derricks covered in WAC 296-155-52900 and not exempt under subsection (3) must be inspected and proof load tested annually by an accredited crane certifier recognized by the department. It names four roles on a crane job: lift director (WAC 296-155-53401(6)), rigger, signal person and operator, and says one person may perform more than one of them. To become an accredited construction crane certifier in the state, the page lists a crane certifier certification through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, an application to DOSH with exam results, and at least 40 hours of crane-related training.