23
INTERVIEW
JULY 2013
ACT
Talking candidly
Terry White
talks
to Debbie Dickinson
about the challenges
and opportunities in
the realm of crane
operator certification.
I
n 2007, Debbie Dickinson agreed to
become the first executive director
of Crane Institute of America
Certification. She brought to that
position the value and experience of
a career focused on the certification
and qualification of individuals from
a variety of industries. Over the years,
her responsibilities included leadership
of a three-year initiative of assessments
at Ford Motor Company; four years of
benchmarking, best practices and other
employee-related projects at Walt Disney
World; and over 15 years of national-scale
safety related work for the crane and
rigging industry.
Immediately, she set to work on
building the organization now known
as Crane Institute Certification (CIC) as
an entirely new, completely independent
organization that would provide
objective and impartial assessments of
the knowledge, skills and abilities of
crane operators, riggers, signalpersons
and inspectors. Today, CIC offers
certifications accredited by the National
Commission for Certifying Agencies
(NCCA) for five classifications of
mobile crane operators including small
telescoping boom, under 21 tons; medium
telescoping boom, 21 to 75 tons; large
telescoping boom, over 75 tons; lattice
boom crawler/truck, up to 300 tons; and
lattice boom crawler/truck, over 300 tons.
Additionally, CIC certifications are
available for qualified and advanced
riggers and signalpersons. Each of these
programs are recognized by and meet
OSHA requirements for crane operator
certifications by type and capacity and
rigger/signalperson qualifications.
ACT
recently spoke with
Dickinson about her
organization, the industry it
serves and the challenges
and opportunities they
now face together.
WHAT DISTINGUISHES
CIC’S CERTIFICATIONS?
CIC was founded
because the industry
saw the need
for more than
one option for
accreditation.
Our hallmarks
are that we’re newer, safer, more
progressive and more affordable. With
CIC, you can save time and money by
completing one practical exam for up to
five certifications, and take exams where
the questions and tasks are most relevant
to real-world work sites. Even though CIC
doesn’t accept donations and exists only
on fees, it remains committed to offering
nationally accredited certification written
and practical exams at a lower cost with
no hidden fees.
LATELY THERE HAS BEEN CONSIDERABLE
DISCUSSION ABOUT THE VALUE OF CERTIFYING
BY EQUIPMENT TYPE AND CAPACITY. WHAT IS
CIC’S POSITION ON THIS ISSUE?
We’re all for certifying crane operators
that way. From the very beginning, CIC
looked to establish accredited certification
that would have clear meaning and value.
We started with the question: what would
a program like that look like? We found
the answer in how industry looks at
equipment, by type and capacity.
We structured our programs to focus on
type of crane, capacity and boom lengths
as a way to distinguish operators’ skills.
In a white paper, we pointed out that
the key ability to control the load is not
whether the crane is set up on crawlers
or outriggers or has a telescoping boom
or lattice boom. The difficulty lies in the
pendulum action that occurs to the load as
it is moved.
Lately, though, there have been questions
about whether federal regulations should
require operator testing by crane capacity.
OSHA’s draft crane regulation was
published after the review period came
and went without comments about this
issue. Then a year goes by, and the issue
surfaces from organizations that don’t
have type and capacity certification.
One of the things we observed was that
the issue focused on the cost of certifying
by type and capacity rather than on safety.
I think that’s sad. It’s causing unnecessary
confusion and costing employers a lot of
money for no good reason. Certifications
could expire before the regulation
goes into effect. The costs, from CIC,
including the cost of the crane, training
and certification average $1,500 for a five-
year certification. The type and capacity
cost issue should never have been a
consideration for delay.
Debbie Dickinson is executive director
of Crane Institute Certification (CIC).
