59
DECEMBER 2014
ACT
NEWS
and around the city.Wiethorn agreed that
once their studywas complete, SC&RA
could submit questions towhichHaag
would respondwithin awhitepaper. The
white paperwill be beneficial for the
Association inmoving forward to combat
this issue.
InOctober, SC&RAbecame a charter
member of theCoalition forCrane
Operator Safety (CCOS) – a group
of industry stakeholders dedicated
to ensuring the swift revision and
finalizationof the crane operator
certification requirementswithin
theOccupational Safety andHealth
Administration’s (OSHA)Cranes&
Derricks inConstruction Standard–
more than twodecades in themaking.
TheCCOS isworkingwithmembers
ofCongress and theAdministration to
ensure that crane operator certification
requirements in the Standard are
amended and finalized in away that
provides thehighest degree of safety for
the construction industry and the public.
InNovember, SC&RA filed for an
exemption from thehours-of-service
requirement set forth at 49C.F.R. §395.3.
The exemption is requestedonbehalf of
individualswhooperate craneswith a
rated lifting capacityof greater than30
tons, noting that theprimary function
of theOperators is tooperate theCrane
at the customer’s site andnot perform
driving services.
Transportation advocacy
One ofmany SC&RA efforts involved
applying for limited exemption from
compliancewith the 30-minuteRest
Break requirement of theFMCSA’sDec.
27, 2011, Final Rule onHours of Service
ofDrivers (Hours of ServiceRule) 49
C.P.R. §395.3. The exemption request,
producedwith assistance fromNBIS,
would apply to specialized carriers
anddrivers responsible for thehauling
of loads that exceedmaximum legal
weight anddimension (OS/OW loads),
which require apermit be issuedby a
government authority. This request is for
awaiver on all jurisdictional roads.
SC&RA continued coordinationwith
AASHTO (AmericanAssociationof State
Highway andTransportationOfficials) on
Phase I and IIHarmonization initiatives,
Mike Chalmers
looks back
on the SC&RA’s program
of work in 2014.
2014: A year of
value andmomentum
A
s 2014 comes to a close,
SC&RA looks backon a
busy year that benefited
from some familiar themes: safety,
growth, innovation andmembership
value. Bolsteredby the strengthof
1,300member companies from46
nations (with63percent of companies
representing five ormore years of
membership) theAssociation continued
to seeprogress in all of these areas this
year.
SC&RA advocated for ahost of
initiatives in2014. Earlier this year, the
Association joined theAlliance forToll-
Free Interstates (ATFI). This group’s
mission is toprevent new tolls on existing
interstates throughmedia relations,
advertising, decision-maker engagement
and education. The goal of theATFI is
tomaintain the longstandingpolicyof
protecting existing interstates fromnew
tolls by supporting federal legislation to
eliminate the failedpilot programs that
allow states to impose tolls on existing
lanes of the InterstateHighway System.
Crane and rigging advocacy
In July 2014,HaagEngineeringpublished
“CraneAccidents: AStudyofCauses
andTrends toCreate a SafetyWork
Environment.” SC&RA staffmet in
Februarywith JimWiethorn, ofHaag,
andhis staff, inquiring about the
possibilityofHaag addressingNewYork
City’s introductionof legislation set to
limit the age of tower cranesworking in
One of the SC&RA’s efforts involved
applying for limited exemption from
compliancewith the 30-minute Rest
Break Requirement. The exemption
request would apply to specialized
carriers and drivers responsible for
hauling permitted loads.
InNovember, SC&RA filed for an
exemption from the hours-of-service
requirement set forth at 49 C.F.R. §
395.3 – on behalf of individualswho
operate craneswith a rated lifting
capacity of greater than 30 tons.
