NCCCO Testing

Hi All, I just did my CCO tests. I have been running cranes for the last 30 years and have yet to have to put a pen to papper to figure out if I could make a lift. First thing is, they say it's a 5 day course. The first day we did the practical exam on some very ragged late 1960 model American and grove cranes. Thats day 1. Then Tues, Wed and Thursday we studied or crammed and took some sample tests. Then Friday we tested. I could be wrong but in my world, thats 3 days of study not 5. On the three days we did study, I have trouble calling it studying, it's was cramming period. The instructor was good people but he went thru all of this as if he were an auctioneer. Then they tested us on Friday. Me and other class mates did some figuring and it came out to be about three minutes per question. That is not enough time for someone who hasn't been in school for over 30 years. Especially for the heavy math involved. I have taken these tests before thru The Operating Engineers Union Local 675 out of Ft Lauderdale Fl. and passed 3 different times. Now they have made it so that you can't even use a calculater. I have never had any boss tell me you have 3 to 5 minutes to let me know if this can be done. I think this is more about creating a scapegoat for the contractors and the employer than training operators. Once you have those CCO's in your pocket you are responsible for anything that goes wrong because YOU are certified and should have known better. I feel as though I am being thrown under the bus I am fixing to have my well being snatched away from me after 30 years, because of a bunch of bureaucratic BS that is very unfair. One day they are going to be looking for Good Seasoned operators and there gonna be hard to come by. Now book worms will be abundant but a Seasoned operator spent his life working and learning how to do this job safely thru seat time. I think Bad times are on the way. I am going to make as much stink about this as I can, untill they do it in a fair way.

BTW I don't even know if I passed or failed yet. But either way, I think it's very unfair. All the while the people giving the test are getting about $2200 bucks a head for the course and more if you fail and want to try again. Well well well, before I finished this post the phone rang and I found out that I did pass my tests. Horay!!!
I still think this is a very unfair proccedure.

companies don't want operators.... they want labors that can drive a crane....backhoe and whatever ,all for 8 to 10 bucks... instead of hiring operators for 18 to 20


i went to a place 2 years ago ..... filled out the the app... peed in a bottle... took the joke DOT physical...then to the other physical.... well evidently a 1 hour obstacle course is required...
I have never ,while operating had to lift 80 pounds over my head... squat, on tippie toes for 2 minutes and the other garbage....
No test your body hearing or anything...

About 15 minutes into the test I set in a chair.. did the wobble stick motion.. said this is what I do all day, NO running ,jumping, squatting.... twirlling....

I went back to the office he said I didn't past the physical.... I said which one... He said the agility test... I siad I had a DOT card That says I passed..

I think the whole certification is a joke....I took mine a few years ago just to have the piece of paper.
If I am ever in a port-o-let w/out toilet paper,at least I will have something to wipe my @$$ with

Yep this entire certification push is just about $$$, for those schools, and instructors. Talk to any of the schools and they are constantly telling the students that in the next year or two, it will be required of all crane operators to pass the NCCO. They even went so far as to apply this to all heavy equipment operators. Don't have a cert card and you will not be allowed to operate machinery. What a bunch of Bull dung. I think that somewhere someone just seen the money, and Barney Madoff tactics, applying how they could.

My original intention was to go back through one of the scam-schools, to get an NCCO, but no way in hell will that happen now. When some one that doesn't speak english, or has been hired as a laborer, working for less than 2 months can get put into the seat of a machine over others.. It's just getting turned upside down, from the bottom up!!!

Money, Money, Money & Blame, Blame, Blame

It's ALL about money and and a place to put the blame in case of an accident. There needs to be a "REAL" operator training school. Not just a 3 day cram course. I came up in the union as an oiler for 3 years and then the next 27 years as an operator. I truely think that is the best way to learn how to be a good crane operator. Good Operators are tried and trained by other good operators, in the function and inner workings of cranes and if you know how it works you are going to be better at it. there is no part of a good operator that comes from a school desk. Basic Math is a must, but that my friends is no match for seat time. There were guy's in my class that had never even sat in seat a friction rig, let alone be good enough on one to be tested on it. But they were. I'd be willing to bet that in about 5 years,.... A Truely GOOD Operator will be able to name his price. Once they realize they aren't a dime a dozen. Real Operators are a dying breed. And my hats off to them.

I got It.

Hi all, got my NCCCO card in the mail today. It's all different now

I don't believe this has anything on, on the job training. Sure it's all good to know, but you would spend the rest of your life looking for a job if you went 100% by the book. I've run all kinds of cranes for a long time and nothing works better than seat time.

get that down man ,..

A guy collapsed a Manitowoc a few years ago ..killed three guys and had forged paper's with his picture another guys name on it ...

Unless getting rattled out of bed at 2 in the morning at gun point turns you on ..



By the way ...Congrat's ..and stay safe ..

when nccco first started they had a picture of the license and certificate on the site... which I copied and saved .... but my hard drive crashed... and it was losted....

I had a crane license from a company, it was more or less a business card... The crane super did scare the k-rap out of me though.... He had been setting by the boom , while I was setting Symon forms.... after they cut me loose, he pounded on the window..WTF... Handed me a card, then a thumbs Up.... and left...

heavylift said:

when nccco first started they had a picture of the license and certificate on the site... which I copied and saved .... but my hard drive crashed... and it was losted....

I had a crane license from a company, it was more or less a business card... The crane super did scare the k-rap out of me though.... He had been setting by the boom , while I was setting Symon forms.... after they cut me loose, he pounded on the window..WTF... Handed me a card, then a thumbs Up.... and left...

Click to expand...

That'l wake you in the mornin' lad

Its seems that every body is jumping on the we can make you ___________ in two weeks whats super scary though is that the companies, i don't care if its equipment operator, truck driver, mech are falling for this BS and even a hand with years of exp and references will get passed over for a two week wonder. I think the Union's have a different approach but I have never worked union the only exper I have with Unions is when I had to get a card to do owner op work on a union site, and when i went to move some heavy debri out of the way I was told to get a laborer.

The initial tests require that the person has at least 2000 hours of seat time overseen by a professional operator. I too just finished my recert. Many of the guys in the tests couldn't even understand english too well. They had to keep asking what some words meant. That scares me. If you cant read what you're supposed to, how can you read any notes related to the unit you might be running. I don't believe there is anything wrong with being certified, but the process is screwed. The tests do not make you a good operator, but they should show that you have knowledge of the type of equipment you operate.

I do my testing next week.... been refreshing the mathematics skills and reading ASME standards and such. Hopefully with the 3 days of classroom study beforehand, written testing won't be too bad. Also doing lattice boom truck,lattice boom crawler and small and large hydro's practical's as well.
The written tests are pretty tough from what I understand....we shall see.

The written test really isn't that bad, it's the time limits that are the kick in the head. I have never been rushed in figuring out if I could make a lift or not and if I was,... I'd set somebodys butt straight quick. The Certification,.... In my book is nothing more than a way of placing the blame on the operator wether it was his fault or not, the contractor needs a scapegoat when something goes wrong.

90 questions in 90 minutes from what I understand....I'll just have to hammer down on the easy ones and fall back to the tougher ones.
I'm working in WA right now....Jan 1st 2010 ALL crane operator's have to be CCO. (state law)

Thats the core 90 & 90. The others are like 38 questions and 55 minutes. They are the EZ ones. The chart tests are the kickers. You have to add all your hoist line on some rigs and only the extra hoist line on others and things like that. You gotta know the charts. Where everything is, in the charts, so you can find it fast in the test. I screwed up and took, 888 charts for the crawler and linkbelt charts for the lattice truck crane. Bad idea,.... I had to memorize two charts in one week.

I agree with longboom. You need to rig for a experience operator for while thats the best training you can get. Anyone can operate a crane when thing are good. It's if you can hold it together when thing get sketchy. Thats where time with a experience operator comes in to play. Then it's up to the man in the seat he's either going to get it or he's not.
Not trying to preach just my opinion.

At one time NCCCO required documented hours. I don't recall now many. when they eliminated the requirement for hours it opened up the flood gate. It's ridiculous. there's
characters running around with NCCCO cards that have practically 0 real life hours in the seat exp. I think that as NCCCO become more of a joke then it is now more and more states will require there own certification. Till then I will play the game to stay in the seat.
I'm good till 2013

You can put a monkey in the seat if,..... you can get him to do nothing!!! Untill you tell him to do it. But whats he gonna do if "you" tell him to do something stupid like boomdown too far or something???, I think he's gonna bail and leave it with you. I know some mechanics with CCO's that haven't got anytime in the seat except for working on something in the cab. I'd hate to know he was fixing to set some of the beams I set everyday. There is no License on this planet that is going to replace actual operating seat time, EVER. The CCO is quickly becoming a joke, if you pull them out on a job people laugh. They say "for about $2200 bucks I can get one of them, but I'm saving my money!!"
They do nothing more than than give the contractor/crane company and anyone else that wants to blame someone,... someone to place the blame on. I was born at night but it wasn't last night. I'm gettin out ASAP. It's been real and it's been nice. But it aint been real nice. I did make a good living Though.
Randy Wynn

Update- Starting in July 2012 NCCCO will allow the use of calculators for the specialty load chart exams.

Longboom, did I ever ask if you knew an NCCCO instructor down your way for the OE hall named Danny McCullers? If I did I'm sorry [my old'timers memory ya' know]. Was he the guy that did your class?