Cranes, Rigging, and Personnel Lifting

Status

The Department of Labor and Industries (L&) is conducting rulemaking related to WAC 296-155, Part L, Cranes, Rigging, and Personnel Lifting. This rulemaking is required under the Washington State Plan in order to remain at least as effective as the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

See all the rulemaking activity for Cranes, Rigging, and Personnel Lifting on our L&I Rulemaking page.

Learn more about our rulemaking process and terminology.

Overview

The purpose of this rulemaking is to amend the safety standards for cranes and derricks in construction. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently updated their standards. These updates included clarifying each employer's duty to ensure the competency of crane operators through training, certification or licensing, and evaluation.

OSHA also altered a provision that required different levels of certification based on the rated lifting capacity of equipment. While testing organizations are not required to issue certifications distinguished by rated capacities, they are permitted to do so, and employers may accept them or continue to rely on certifications based on crane type alone.

OSHA’s rule also establishes minimum requirements for determining operator competency. Another recent update by OSHA included exemptions and clarifications for unique equipment used in roadway railway work.

This rulemaking is also intended to provide clarity on L&I’s interpretation of requirements related to crane decertification and reinstatement. The changes under consideration would clarify what activities are covered, and will clearly state that damage to critical parts of the crane would require notification, rather than just implying it. The proposed language will also add crane tipovers as a reporting requirement, while the assumption is that a crane involved in a tipover would be given an inspection prior to returning to service.

Finally, state-initiated amendments will also be proposed to address other areas in chapter 296-155 WAC relating to cranes that either need to be updated based on current industry practice or clarifying some of the language to maintain safety and health protections for employees. Additional housekeeping changes will also be included.

Due to OSHA recently updating their standard, prior rulemaking preproposals regarding Safety Standards for Cranes initiated in 2018 and 2019 have been withdrawn under WSR 21-14-078 and WSR 21-14-079.  A new CR-101 was filed on July 6, 2021 to address this entire rulemaking, under WSR 21-14-080.

Meetings & Timeline

Action Item Date
Filed CR-101 Pre-proposal Statement of Inquiry​ March 20, 2018 (Rescinded July 6, 2021​)​
Filed CR-101 Pre-proposal Statement of Inquiry​​ November 19, 2019 (Rescinded July 6, 2021​)​
Filed CR-101 Pre-proposal Statement of Inquiry​​ July 6, 2021​
Stakeholder Meetings TBD
Small Work Group Meetings Monthly - October, 2023 through February, 2024
File CR-102 Proposed Rulemaking​ Summer, 2024

Upcoming meetings

  • TBD

    Previous meetings

    Rule Drafts & Documents Stakeholder Feedback

    Staff Contacts

    For rulemaking questions, please contact:
    Cynthia.Ireland@Lni.wa.gov or 360-791-5048.

    For technical questions please contact:
    Bill.Sloniker@Lni.wa.gov or 425-295-5996.

    Get updates via email

    If you would like to receive email updates regarding this proposed rulemaking project and future stakeholder meetings, please sign up for our email updates.