Crane Institute of America and CIC Donate Training and Certification Scholarships to FCOC

The FCOC recently established six new scholarships, two of which were awarded for the first time at its Dec. 7, 2012 membership meeting. One of the scholarships is a training and crane operator certification combo donated by Crane Institute of America and Crane Institute Certification (CIC). Johnathan Camp of Crane Rental Corp., Orlando, Fla., received the scholarship, which is valued at more than $1800.

"With the new OSHA requirements for crane operators to be certified by Nov. 2014, the timing of this new scholarship program is designed to assist FCOC member companies in meeting those requirements," said John Wessel, managing director of FCOC.

The Crane Institute of America training portion of the scholarship includes four days of classroom and hands-on training covering OSHA and ASME standards, terminology, interpreting load charts, crane setup and operational practices, inspection, signaling, and rigging. The CIC certification includes written exams for up to five crane classifications and a practical exam.

"The Crane Institute companies have always supported training, education, and safety over the course of its 25-year history. With the new OSHA regulations, the combination of being well-trained and correctly certified is more important than ever," said Jim Headley, president of Crane Institute of America.

A second crane operator training and certification scholarship was also awarded at the association's December Membership Meeting, and in 2013 FCOC will offer two $750 scholarships to students earning an associate's degree or a certificate from a two-year technical school and two $1,250 scholarships to students seeking a four-year college degree.

"These scholarships funded by FCOC and through the generous donations of several sponsors offer crane owners in Florida an incentive to join FCOC," said Wessel. "In addition, the crane operator training and certification scholarships are one small way FCOC hopes to encourage crane owners and operators to not delay in meeting the requirements of the new regulation."

During the December Membership Meeting, FCOC hosted a panel discussion about the OSHA crane operator certification requirements. "Unfortunately, there are still crane owners who have not read the law themselves. The panel discussion was designed to inform crane owners and to answer any questions that they have," said Wessel.

Leading off the discussion was Brian Sturtecky, CSP, OSHA area director, Jacksonville, Fla. He gave the latest updates on OSHA interpretations of the law. That was followed by a question and answer period with the panelists. Dickinson, of CIC, was one of five panelists who spoke. Two key takeaways from the discussion included the following.

• Most crane owners in attendance agreed that regardless of crane operator certification requirements, employers must be the ones to determine if an individual is truly qualified to operate a specific crane.
• It was also evident from the discussion that the structures of various crane operator certification programs differ. "I encourage employers and operators to investigate all their options when choosing a certification organization with which to certify or re-certify," said Dickinson.