OSHA's New Service Truck Crane Rule

http://www.equipmentworld.com/you-m...ew-service-truck-crane-rules-and-not-know-it/

Check this link out. It was brought to my attention by our state's Lumbermans Assoc. board member that frequents the lumber yard. Sounds like a lot of confusing jargon & non-sense between if a guy has to be certified or not.

Long story short, any telescoping crane truck that lifts between 2,000-14,000LBS needs to be ran by a certified operator. In my business, it states that if you are aiding in the construction or the structure, you have to be certified. But if I just pick & drop lumber, shingles, etc... on the ground, I do not have to be certified.

An example they gave: guy must be certified to hoist an AC unit on the rooftop of a building "he is aiding in construction". The same guy & truck can remove that same unit off the roof without being certified. :Banghead

It also appears that they are already pushing the deadline back to Nov. 2017 instead of Jan. 2014. If this passes, that will open up a whole new can of worms I have a feeling. I wonder if I would have to take the same test as the guy that runs a high-rise crane. That is 2 different worlds with different equipment, risks, etc...

I was just wondering if any of you guys had heard of this or am I late to the party & also the thoughts/opinions you had on this.

We sort of went thru this here in BC. I was able to have cranesafe BC check me out on a boom truck. I now have a card stating that I am good for boom truck 40ton and under and this covers knucle boom trucks as well with no limit for them.

To me making sure the operators are licenced is a good idea but a) it should not be hard to get and b) it should not lead to certain individuals having a monopoly on crane work.

I can understand the no licence requirements for operators working for lumber yards, tire shops etc that have cranes for delivery and placement of their product. But you either know how to run the crane or do not. No in between. If a guy can go to site and lift a bundle of lumber and place it he should be able to lift an air conditioning unit.

Crane manufacturers and dealers may want to keep an eye on this,as well as companies that have cranes for delivery purposes. Companies may stop buying cranes if it becomes to difficult(read expensive) to have guys and maybe make money.

Look at this scenario. Customer phones asking for product and asks while truck is on site can operator place an air conditioning unit. Now what. operator can come to site and place lumber, or concrete product, roofing shingles etc all weighing 1000,1500,2000lbs and then can not make company a few extra bucks placing an a/c unit that may weigh less then product he delivered. Like I said you either know how to run the crane or you do not.Simple. Good for operators,owners and customers alike.

LOWBED DRIVER, I am not opposed to this legislation & it sounds like it wasn't to much trouble for you up in B.C. I agree with your comment about 'either you know how to run it or not', but there is a fine line I'm sure you are aware of. I have known a few boom operators that know how to use it, but when it came to running the boom itself & manipulating it safely & getting the job done right - they were clueless. I think when it comes to being a heavy equip. operator, you either have it or don't. All the fine details that need to be learned for each machine is secondary. I guess what I'm trying to say is you either have the touch to run equip. or you don't. You could stick a guy in the cab of a skid steer, backhoe, loader, etc... for a week & teach him everything he needs to know on how to run it, & by the end of the week, he still could have no idea on how to "actually" run the machine.

Hell, some of the CAT service trucks have a crane on them in order to lift a tire, bucket, etc...

Another line of OSHA bullcrap to protect idiots.

These rules are a good thing. If there isn't a line drawn in the sand, where does it end? These outfits will do anything to cut a corner, next thing you know, someone is dead. Keeps people who have no business near a crane further away.

EXACTLY. The line needs to be "OSHA... MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!"

CascadeScaper said:

. If there isn't a line drawn in the sand, where does it end?

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I don't have any issue with doing a job safely, but at the same time getting it done too.

Why can't OSHA accept the fact that there will always be idiots and sometimes crap happens even to the best of people?

I've seen "qualified riggers" pull some pretty stupid moves and according to OSHA, they are 100% legal to do so. It's bad enough even with these rules in place. Can you imagine what it would be like out there if there were no rules? Absolute joke, that's what. We need these rules to keep these jobs from turning into mangle factories. Problem is that common sense isn't so common anymore and companies can't just kill people anymore and pay out a little cash. This is something that needs to happen in the industry and it's going to happen.

Common sense isn't so common because of being coddled by the .gov with things such as OSHA. Not to mention ambulance chasing lawyers and the general public laziness/lack of accountability.
So and so getting hurt can't just be because he is a dumbass... it's got to be being there wasn't some harness, guard, warning label, etc in place.

Could you imagine any of the big projects done in 20s-40s with all the rules and red tape we have now?

Also with so much pressure on companies to be "accident free" it makes the workers scared to report anything.


You think... oh this hoist cert is the best thing since sliced bread. What's next... need a cert to use a dozer, excavator, hand tools, computer, toilet paper?!

It reminds me of where I used to work. In order for us to have a step ladder they (OSHA/safety) required a ladder training program to include a ladder training monitor and inspector. Oh... and an overhead work position training program. Also the ladder would be considered equipment so it required a set of forms and it had to be signed off once at least once a week by a supervisor. The ladder needed to be in a locked area as well, so we needed to come up with some kind of storage other than a broom closet.

Ladder was used maybe once or twice a month in order to wash taller vehicles, change a lightbulb in the office, hang something on a wall, etc.
Boss decided it was too much bullcrap, so ladder was thrown out.

Couple months later I walk in an office and 2 guys have 2 coffee tables stacked one on top of the other with an office chair on top of that. (one that is on wheels and can recline/swivel) One guy standing on the chair to change a light bulb with the other guy trying to hold that whole C.F. from crashing down.

Had safety kept their **** out of the pot... would have still had a ladder.


I do agree safety is important but it needs to be catered to the setting at hand. It is IMPOSSIBLE to make a one size fits all set of rules like OSHA tries to do.

CascadeScaper said:

I've seen "qualified riggers" pull some pretty stupid moves and according to OSHA, they are 100% legal to do so. It's bad enough even with these rules in place. Can you imagine what it would be like out there if there were no rules? Absolute joke, that's what. We need these rules to keep these jobs from turning into mangle factories. Problem is that common sense isn't so common anymore and companies can't just kill people anymore and pay out a little cash. This is something that needs to happen in the industry and it's going to happen.

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Trust me, I understand where you're coming from. I don't particularly care for a whole lot of the safety BS that's floating around out there. However, the hoisting certifications need to continue to be a part of the game. Fact of the matter is that the insurance companies are running these outfits scared. The insurance/safety ratings from L&I and everything else that's involved with bidding large public jobs are the real reason these companies are pushing safety, because it affects their ability to bid the next job.

its amazing how so many people don't have a clue about physics. They have no business booming anything, hopefully they will weed these idiots out the business.

I can see with LARGE cranes on large scale jobs it would kind of make sense.

But when it comes down to a couple ton hoist on a service truck, bridge crane, etc it should be up to the employer.

Something that hasn't been brought up, does the logging industry have to abide by these OSHA rules? Does a guy running a yarder, log loader, etc need to have a paper saying he can? Technically it's a hoist.

I have seen service trucks standing up on the service crane like a kickstand. common sense isn't common anymore. technically they aren't really lifting the logs, they are skidding them, you don't need a ccco to run a tugger winch either.

The log loader I'm talking about is lifting logs, quite similar to redneckchevy's truck.





I know I can't be the only person that thinks OSHA mostly gets in the way of getting stuff done. I do agree that safety is important, BUT so is getting the job done.

Yes some rules put in place are a GREAT idea, but also some things are just plain ridiculous. I'm sure we could all write books on OSHA WTFs!

Common sense isn't common because we safety proof everything to the point that idiots stay alive. Weed out the idiots and they don't have idiot kids.

Anyhow I think I made my thoughts pretty clear ... I'm just surprised no one else on here feels similar.

CascadeScaper said:

These rules are a good thing. If there isn't a line drawn in the sand, where does it end? These outfits will do anything to cut a corner, next thing you know, someone is dead. Keeps people who have no business near a crane further away.

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I guess I posted the link because of the shock factor of it mentioning service trucks specifically. I fully agree with certification of guys running "big" cranes, but to make a guy that runs a small service truck that lifts tires, larger parts, or attachments is absurd in my book.

ValleyFirewood said:

The log loader I'm talking about is lifting logs, quite similar to redneckchevy's truck.

View attachment 111305



I know I can't be the only person that thinks OSHA mostly gets in the way of getting stuff done. I do agree that safety is important, BUT so is getting the job done.

Yes some rules put in place are a GREAT idea, but also some things are just plain ridiculous. I'm sure we could all write books on OSHA WTFs!

Common sense isn't common because we safety proof everything to the point that idiots stay alive. Weed out the idiots and they don't have idiot kids.

Anyhow I think I made my thoughts pretty clear ... I'm just surprised no one else on here feels similar.

Click to expand...

Personally, I have not run in OSHA very much since I've been working in lumber yards over the years. It looks like a lot of you guys have had plenty of experience though dealing with them. What happens if I do all the certification junk for me to operate my boom truck & I'm job siting a load of shingles for the guys to unload on the rood & a major malfunction happens & the boom goes through the roof? Is there going to be a new OSHA law put in place that we can't swing our boom more than 2' off the ground? No one can control everything @ every second @ every jobsite.

ValleyFirewood said:

Yes some rules put in place are a GREAT idea, but also some things are just plain ridiculous. I'm sure we could all write books on OSHA WTFs!

Common sense isn't common because we safety proof everything to the point that idiots stay alive. Weed out the idiots and they don't have idiot kids.

Anyhow I think I made my thoughts pretty clear ... I'm just surprised no one else on here feels similar.

Click to expand...

You aren't alone in thinking natural selection isn't all bad.

If you really need a label on your chainsaw telling you not to grab a moving chain, maybe you should try and see if your neck will be better at stopping that sharp cutty thing than your hand. Yeah, THATS what they mean, oookayy.

mitch504 said:

You aren't alone in thinking natural selection isn't all bad.

If you really need a label on your chainsaw telling you not to grab a moving chain, maybe you should try and see if your neck will be better at stopping that sharp cutty thing than your hand. Yeah, THATS what they mean, oookayy.

Click to expand...

If you read the owner's manual to any Wahl products (trimmers, clippers & such), somewhere in there, it says for external use only. A friend used to work there and he claimed it was because a woman tried to use one as a "toy". God only knows if that believable.

Well, they do vibrate....

I understand where you guys are coming from talking about the small service truck cranes. I get it, used to run a small business myself and if I had a service truck I would be pretty hosed off too. However, common sense just doesn't exist anymore. I can think of just as many things to go wrong even though a pick is only made a few feet off the ground. Bad ground, guys that just don't understand physics of picking a load and "yard" on something, overload the winch and try to boom up out of it which could rip the drum right off, all sorts of bad things happen. Most dangerous knife in the cupboard is the dullest, the one you'd naturally think would be safest....same with cranes. Seems that all the small stuff like boom trucks and forklifts with picking gear get into more trouble than any other gear out there.