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Regulatory (���A Matter of Interpretation: Crane Industry Unites Against Potentially Hefty Testing Costs��� continued from page 28) accreditation agencies, but has concerns over how OSHA will rely on certification. ���As a certification body, we���re more encouraged after [the Sept. 12] meeting [with the SBA]. In talks with OSHA over last two years, we began to be worried. Not worried about whether it can be done ��� it can be; but as an organization that is close to CDAC, we started to get alarmed that the intent of the CDAC group was not being reflected in what we were hearing from OSHA. ���In this room [during the SC&RA general committee meeting], we know, you can never test an operator on everything they are meant to know. It will change for every jobsite,��� Brent continued. ���We have always said you should get operators certified as a component in your toolbox; but you still want to check the operator on the machine: Has he run a jib, a luffing jib, this type of machine? We never promoted the certification concept in the way that OSHA is. ���We might find a way around type and capacity,��� he added. ���We are seeing some light through the clouds on the testing and certification disconnect. The question now is if certification is a be-all and end-all. That puts a lot of liability on us as a certification body. As a tool and instrument, it can���t be the only thing you use.��� Brent proposed that once accreditation agencies have agreed on a way for NCCCO to meet the requirement for certification by capacity, recertification could be used as a way to bring this to operators certified under its existing program. Maddux, however, was wary of any hint of grandfathering. ���We put the requirement very far out, four years away ��� we consider that a very long time ��� so the rule itself did not grandfather people,��� he said. ���But, especially if we don���t get this figured out, if someone gets their card in January 2014 without this requirement, we are not going to want it running five years to recertification in 2019.��� n Will North is the editor of Cranes Today, where a version of this article originally appeared. The publication is the oldest independent magazine of the international lifting industry. North can be reached at wnorth@cranestodaymagazine.com. The magazine is available online at www. cranestodaymagazine.com. Crane owners and users can apply for free registrations for print and digital copies of the monthly magazine via the website. Please visit us in CONDEX Booth 714. 30 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | January 2013 26_Crane_Certif_Feature_KP.indd 30 12/21/12 10:49 AM