If You Employ Riggers Or Signal Persons Then You Have OSHA Obligations

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has, over the last few years, introduced mandatory requirements for many industries. These requirements cover general employment as well as specific occupations; for example, crane operators must now be certified and construction workers must all receive OSHA construction training. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that all employees have been through this training and to organize training for those who have not. One of the latest groups to come under the scrutiny of OSHA are riggers and signal persons.

Riggers and signal persons must now be assessed as qualified before they can be employed on any site. Qualification can be achieved in a number of ways, however, the easiest is through a Rigging/Signal Person Qualification Program. This program is undertaken over 8-12 hours and includes required training and written and practical assessments. Once participants have completed the required components, they are issued with a qualification compliance card.

If you want more rigorous training, then the Rigging/Signal Person Certification Program is available. Participants who complete this program will receive certification through the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO). Whilst the NCCCO Rigging Level One and NCCCO Signal Person Certifications are above the minimum requirements for OSHA, they provide an extra level of safety further reducing accidents and expensive down time.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that all workers have undertaken the minimum level of training required. You are obliged to keep accurate records of the training that each employee has received. Employing individuals who are not trained to those minimum requirements can lead to heavy fines, and listing by OSHA as an unsafe employer. If your employees are not fully trained, talk to ATS – we can organize group training either in our training rooms, or at your site.