49
COMMENT
Who’s who at the
Specialized Carriers
& Rigging Association
CHAIRMAN
Michael Battaini
Sheedy Drayage
San Francisco, CA
PRESIDENT
Ron Montgomery
Intermountain Rigging & Heavy Haul
Salt Lake City, UT
VICE PRESIDENT
Alan Barnhart
Barnhart Crane and Rigging
Memphis, TN
TREASURER
Delynn Burkhalter
Burkhalter
Columbus, MS
ASSISTANT TREASURER
Bruce Forster
Rigging Gear Sales
Dixon, IL
ALLIED INDUSTRIES GROUP CHAIRMAN
David Wittwer,
Hays Companies
Salt Lake City, UT
CRANE & RIGGING GROUP CHAIRMAN
David Cowley,
TNT Crane & Rigging
Longview, TX
LADIES GROUP CHAIRWOMAN
Cathy Moore,
NBIS
Atlanta, GA
TRANSPORTATION GROUP CHAIRMAN
Geary Buchanan,
Buchanan Hauling &
Rigging
Fort Wayne, IN
SC&R FOUNDATION OFFICERS
President:
Robert Moore,
NBIS
Atlanta, GA
Vice president:
Stephanie Bragg,
Bragg Companies
Long Beach, CA
Treasurer:
Jim Sever
PSC Crane & Rigging,
Piqua, OH
W
hile there
are many
ways SC&RA
supports its members, one of the most
important benefits we offer is advocacy.
On our member benefits web page,
you can find this statement: “SC&RA
tirelessly advocates for the specialized
transportation, crane and rigging and
millwrighting industry. Working with
a multitude of organizations, SC&RA
members and staff fight to keep
regulations less burdensome.”
Those aren’t just words on a page.
They’re a promise, a reality, an assurance
that we will survey what’s happening in
our industry – and with our members – so
that we can use the resources we have to
advocate for positive changes.
We’ve been actively involved in the
conversation regarding the “type and
capacity” issue that’s been ongoing since
the new crane rule was published in
2010. We’ve spoken to a large number of
members and participated in meetings
with the Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA), the Small
Business Administration and OSHA’s
Advisory Committee for Construction
Safety and Health (ACCSH). We are
confident in OSHA’s decision to extend
the compliance date for crane operator
certification requirements.
By way of background, in May 2013,
ACCSH recommended to OSHA that the
crane operator certification requirement
set to take effect on November 10, 2014,
be suspended until OSHA completes its
rulemaking on operator certification,
which includes opening the record to
clarify the third-party certification and
employer training and qualification
requirements – all while keeping in
place current employer duties to ensure
operator qualifications. ACCSH further
recommended OSHA continue to require
existing phase-in criteria in the interim.
During ACCSH’s May 23-24 meeting
in Washington, D.C., OSHA staff noted
it had drafted a Notice for Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) to address the
type and capacity issue, and have begun
working on the writing of a rulemaking
process to also address the qualification
question. While this is certainly a lengthy
endeavor and will involve a limited
“reopening of the rule” – a process that
will include an opportunity for public
comment and possible public hearings –
it’s the right solution. Further rulemaking,
along with the proper procedures and
analysis, is the only way to initiate a final
rule that we can live with and support.
As sometimes happens when multiple
parties have vested interests in the
outcome of a problem, there seems to be
a pervasive focus concern, and that focus
has strayed far from where it rightfully
belongs. We emphatically believe the
type and capacity problem isn’t an issue
between certifying bodies, or anyone else
on the periphery. Rather, it’s an industry
issue. And because it’s an industry issue,
an extension of the compliance date is in
the best interest of the industry. There
are too many questions and too much
ambiguity to move forward with the rule
in its present state.
Let me clearly state that SC&RA is 100
percent supportive of OSHA’s decision
to reopen the rule. While we urge OSHA
to move quickly and publish a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking in earnest, we
believe this path is the correct course of
action. As advocates for the crane and
rigging sector, SC&RA is confident that
the industry is united in this position,
and witnessed as much during the SBA’s
Roundtable on OSHA’s Final Cranes and
Derricks in Construction Rule meeting in
September 2012.
By definition, the word “advocacy”
means to show public support for or
recommendation of a particular cause
or policy. It is SC&RA’s position that it
can best assist its members by publicly
supporting OSHA’s decision and
continuing to distribute information and
resources as they become available.
■
SEPTEMBER 2013
ACT
SC&RA publicly supports
OSHA’s decisions on
the issue of type
and capacity.
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Joel Dandrea
5870 Trinity Centre
Parkway, Suite 200
Centreville, VA 20120
Ph: 703-698-0291
Fax: 703-698-0297
The right
solution
