Commissioner Spotlight: Douglas Sidelinger
A lifelong teacher with multiple degrees in education, Doug Sidelinger began working with The Cianbro Companies (Pittsfield, ME) in 1982, where he took over responsibilities for crane operator training in 1995. Although the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) was just in its infancy at that time, Cianbro identified the need for crane operator certification and its safety benefits. Accordingly, the company made a corporate commitment to not only embrace CCO certification but also seek representation on the NCCCO Commission, and Doug has been an active participant ever since.
As Cianbro’s Equipment Training Coordinator, Doug earned his first CCO mobile crane operator certification in 1998, and he led the effort to train and certify all 100+ of the company’s crane operators by 2000. Today, Cianbro still requires all of its operators and others involved in lifting operations to be CCO-certified, and Doug developed the training used to prepare the company’s equipment operators and riggers for CCO certification. In addition to Cianbro, he has also provided training and testing services to Crane Tech and Associated Training Services.
Doug’s initial participation in NCCCO was on the Mobile Crane Written Exam Management Committee, to which he has been appointed for consecutive one-year terms since 2000. He currently holds CCO certification and practical examiner accreditation in all four mobile crane categories, as well as tower and overhead cranes, as a signalperson, and as both a Rigger Level I and a Rigger Level II. Over the past decade, Doug has served NCCCO as a Commissioner and as an Auditor, and, for the past three years, has been an instructor for the Practical Examiner Accreditation Program.
“CCO certification shows companies that operators have met minimum standards, know applicable OSHA regulations and ASME B30 standards, and have the skills necessary to perform lifting activities safely,” Doug says. His experience training construction personnel for CCO certification has shown that in many cases what he’s taught them makes them better, safer operators, riggers, and signalpersons, often eliciting comments such as “I didn’t know that.” As a voice representing the construction industry, he knows the issues that come up in that sector “where the rubber hits the road.”
While now semi-retired from Cianbro, he still remains active as an instructor, NCCCO practical examiner, and instructor. He looks forward, however, to spending more time with his six children and his grandchildren and traveling more with his wife.