The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the Notice for Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for Crane and Derricks (C-DAC) on October 9, 2008. Public comments for the NPRM on Cranes and Derricks in Construction are due on December 8, 2008. AGC has requested a 60-day extension for the public comment period and on December 2, 2009, OSHA published a notice in the Federal Register granting a 45-day extension making the deadline for public comments on January 22, 2009.

AGC submitted public comments on January 22, 2009 and also requested that public hearings be held on the proposed Crane and Derricks in Construction standard across the country. OSHA is tentatively scheduling public hearings for mid-March 2009. Crane operator qualification and certification is still AGC?s primary concern with the proposal. AGC also commented on several other areas for clarification, such as the scope, definitions, fall protection, inspections, and assembly/disassembly requirements. AGC held conference calls with members and chapters to review and solicit comments on the proposal.

• AGC Public Comments for the Crane and Derricks in Construction NPRM
• OSHA Grants 45-Day Extension
• AGC Requests 60-Day Extension
• Crane and Derrick in Construction Notice for Proposed Rulemaking
• Summary of the Crane and Derricks in Construction Notice for Proposed Rulemaking
• Compiled OSHA Request for Public Comments on Clarification and Changes
• Final SBREFA Report – 2006
• Dissenting Letter from Mr. Brian Murphy (AGC Representative to C-DAC) to OSHA on Crane Operator Certification

Summary

In accordance with the Crane and Derricks Advisory Committee (C-DAC) ground rules during the Negotiated Rulemaking, OSHA had sent the Crane and Derrick in Construction draft Notice for Proposed Rulemaking to all of the members of the Negotiated Rulemaking committee on September 17, 2008. On September 19, 2008, OSHA posted the draft proposed rule for Cranes and Derricks in Construction at http://www.osha.gov/doc/proposedrule/Cranes_Derricks_Proposed_Rule.html.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration submitted the proposed draft standard on Cranes and Derricks (C-DAC) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Friday, June 13, 2008. OMB has up to 90 days to review the proposed draft standard once they accept the submission from OSHA, which should be today or tomorrow.

Small Business Review Panel

On June 28, 2006, AGC was notified that a SBREFA (Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act) Panel would be convened and that OSHA would need small entity representatives (SERs). On August 10, 2006, OSHA selected seven of AGC's candidates to serve as SERs for the SBREFA Panel. On August 29 and 30, 2006, the SBREFA Panel met via conference call and the written comments were submitted by September 8, 2006. OSHA published their SBREFA Report – "Report of the Small Business Advocacy Review Panel on the Preliminary Draft Standard for Cranes and Derricks in Construction" on October 17, 2006.

Negotiated Rulemaking Crane and Derrick Advisory Committee - C-DAC

OSHA published its intent to establish a Crane and Derrick Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee (C-DAC) under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) on July 16, 2002..

On June 12, 2003, OSHA announced its decision to establish a Crane and Derrick Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee (C-DAC) under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act (NRA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The Charter was filed on June 27, 2003.

The C-DAC Charter was signed on June 27, 2003 by Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. The Charter provided a two year period for C-DAC or until the publication of the proposed standard, whichever is earlier. The Committee would be composed of no more than 25 members including OSHA representative and facilitator with an appropriate balance of interests for negotiated rulemaking. Between July 30, 2003 – July 9, 2004, OSHA held eleven C-DAC meetings.

At 3:15 p.m. EDT on July 9th C-DAC reached final consensus on all issues. All issues were agreed to unanimously except for Section 1422 Operator Qualifications from which AGC and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) dissented.

For comments, questions or more information, please contact – Kevin Cannon.

Crane Summit

AGC, McGraw Hill Construction's Engineering News–Record, and the International Union of Operating Engineers co–hosted a summit on September 9, 2008 at the Hilton Crystal City Reagan National Airport, to discuss the importance of improving crane safety in the construction industry. The goal of this summit was to gather industry stakeholders in an open and frank dialogue on how best to improve safety for the construction industry and the public while operating and maintaining cranes on job sites across the country. For more information on the Crane Summit or additional Crane Safety Resources, please visit www.agc.org/cs/crane_safety.