NCCCO Articulating Crane Operator and Rigger Level II Certifications Earn ANSI Accreditation

FAIRFAX, Va., Dec. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) announced today that it has been awarded accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for two of its newest certification programs. The CCO Rigger Level II and Articulating Crane Operator certifications are now accredited by ANSI to the ISO/IEC 17024 International Standard for organizations that certify personnel.

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NCCCO also announced that it had been granted continued accreditation by ANSI for its previously accredited programs: Mobile Crane Operator, Tower Crane Operator, Overhead Crane Operator, Rigger Level I, and Signalperson.

The decision of ANSI's Personnel Certification Accreditation Committee (PCAC) to expand the scope of NCCCO's accreditation came after rigorous audits of its management systems and psychometric procedures, as well as detailed scrutiny of its written and practical test development and administrative processes. 

"ANSI represents the highest standard of accreditation available," said NCCCO Commission Chairman, Kerry Hulse. "Candidates and employers alike can now be assured that, with ANSI's independent verification of NCCCO's programs, CCO Articulating Crane Operator and Rigger Level II certifications meet the highest professional standards of examination development and administration."

"As with NCCCO's other ANSI-accredited certification programs, these two additional certifications help to 'close the loop' regarding crane safety on the jobsite," Hulse added.

"Achieving ANSI accreditation is a major undertaking," said ANSI Senior Director, Personnel Credentialing Programs, Roy A. Swift, PhD, "and NCCCO can be very proud of this accomplishment. No other accreditation process demands the degree of psychometric or management disclosure that ANSI requires for accreditation under ISO 17024."

"OSHA's new rules for Cranes and Derricks in Construction—29 CFR 1926, Subpart CC—require operators of articulating cranes used in construction to be certified as of November 10, 2014. Riggers, on the other hand, must now be 'qualified,' and certification under NCCCO's Rigger Level II program is an excellent way to show that riggers are qualified to rig non-routine jobs that require independent thinking without supervision," noted NCCCO Executive Director Graham Brent. "Both of these newly accredited certification programs provide an excellent way to show that personnel meet OSHA requirements," continued Brent.

Accreditation of certifying bodies is a requirement of OSHA's new rule published last year and is increasingly being required by state regulators in their attempts to ensure quality of the certifications issued, Brent noted. Fully three-fourths of the states that have requirements for crane operators and related trades now require or recognize NCCCO certification.

"A central part of NCCCO's goal since its inception 15 years ago has been to establish national testing programs that are fair to all candidates while at the same time are both valid and reliable assessments of essential knowledge and skills," Brent said. "ANSI's accreditation of these two new certification programs is clear testimony that that goal has been achieved."

For more information about CCO certification programs—including candidate handbooks and applications—visit the NCCCO website at www.nccco.org.

ABOUT NCCCO
The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1995 by industry to develop and administer a nationwide program for the certification of crane operators. Since then NCCCO has administered over 570,000 accredited written and practical examinations to more than 100,000 operators in all 50 states, ensuring those who work in and around cranes are informed, trained, and qualified. NCCCO certification programs are the only programs to be recognized by federal OSHA as meeting both OSHA and ASME (ANSI) requirements and nationally and internationally accredited by both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to ISO 17024 (General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification Systems of Persons) and by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

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Graham Brent

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SOURCE National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators