News Headlines

CCO is soliciting applications from qualified individuals to fill 10 open positions on its Commission. Applications must be received by April 17, 2023.

CCO announced today the inaugural awardees of its new Training Provider Awards, awarded to those companies that help prepare the most candidates for CCO exams leading to CCO certification. These awards are indicative of the recipients’ commitment to improving safety through CCO certification.

In response to feedback received during the initial launch of CCO’s new Online Proctored Testing (OPT) option, CCO is excited to announce a change to materials permitted during the exam.

CCO announced today the inaugural awardees of its new Employer Awards, awarded to those companies that have had the most candidates earn CCO certification over the last 12 months. These awards are indicative of the recipients’ commitment to improving safety through CCO certification.

CCO has announced plans to develop a new certification program for operators of side boom tractors. This development is a result of multiple industry requests, a desire to bring safety to operators of this equipment who encounter unique challenges and hazards, and to ensure compliance with ASME B30.14 and OSHA.

In response to numerous industry requests, CCO has announced plans to develop a new certification program for those serving as Assembly/Disassembly Directors (A/D Directors) and seeks subject matter experts to assist in exam development.

CCO is honored to announce that 19 industry experts have been selected to develop a new certification program for evaluators of crane operators.

As CCO continues to improve processes and review best practices in the industry, candidates will see changes in their score reports. Moving forward, candidates will receive a pass or fail result only rather than a numerical or percentage score.

Candidates can now opt to take their CCO written exams using the new Online Proctored Testing (OPT) option on their own internet-connected computer from almost anywhere, 24/7/365.

CCO has improved the design of the ID cards issued to CCO certificants by removing all time-sensitive data and relying instead on the real-time data reported via the Verify CCO Online (VCO) system. As a result, those who verify certification will have access to much more accurate and up-to-date data.

There’s exciting news from the CCO Customer Service Department! We’re excited to introduce you to a virtual web chat option, affectionately named "Derrick."

CCO is announcing the first telehandler operator certification that meets OSHA 1926 and OSHA 1910 requirements. Candidates will be able to apply for the new exams as early as December 1, the same day that the practical exams will be first available.

CCO will be debundling certification cycles to ensure that most candidates receive the full term of their certification period.

CONEXPO 2023 will provide an excellent opportunity to get up to speed on what’s new at CCO. The event—the largest construction show in North America—will be held March 14–18, 2023, in Las Vegas, NV.

The updated myCCO portal website is the one-stop shop to create candidate and customer accounts, apply for certification exams, and see exam results and certifications. Sets the stage for launch of new exam modalities.

To help the industry comply with OSHA requirements for crane operators to be evaluated, CCO has announced plans to develop the first national credential for evaluators of crane operators. To create the strongest program possible, CCO seeks the expertise of those who are currently serving as evaluators of crane operators to serve on the task force that will develop this credential.

Beginning January 1, 2023, CCO’s candidate fee structure will be updated to include both EOT and Online Proctored Testing (OPT) options, as well as reduced fees for computer-based testing (CBT), and an adjustment to practical exam fees.

Effective January 2023, the structure of CCO’s Mobile Crane Operator Program will see two updates that will simplify the program, create consistency, and improve the overall testing process.

CCO is set to develop a credential for crane operator evaluators that will meet OSHA regulations. By offering this credential, CCO hopes to bring some clarity and uniformity to evaluations, to make evaluations more reliable and defensible, and to establish a “gold standard” for the qualification of crane operator evaluators.

CCO is preparing to release new certifications for operators of rotating and fixed telehandlers. As the Telehandler Task Force puts the final touches on the written and practical exams that will be required for CCO certification, CCO sat down with the Task Force chair Tony Dotto to discuss why and how this new certification was developed.

Graham Brent—CEO of the NCCCO Foundation and former CEO of CCO—retired, effective July 29, 2022.

SC&RA Crane Operator Safety Awards are presented to certified crane operators who exhibit exemplary work achievements by accumulating 10,000 consecutive man-hours and, within that time, recording zero incidents or accidents.

The SC&RA Rigger Safety Award was presented to riggers who exhibit exemplary work achievements, including four riggers who are CCO certified.

five of CCO’s Committed to Crane Safety employer recognition program members received SC&RA Crane & Rigging Safety Awards due to their superior safety records, achieving an incident rate of less than or equal to 2.1 plus an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 1.0 or less.

CCO Committed to Crane Safety member company Phoenix Crane Rental (Mableton, GA) won an SC&RA Crane & Rigging Zero Accidents Award for having no recordable accidents.

Two CCO Committed to Crane Safety member companies earned an SC&RA Crane & Rigging Safety Improvement Award by reducing their incident rate compared to the previous year’s contest entry.

CCO is excited to announce that as part of its technology initiative to improve efficiencies, those who administer practical exams will record candidate performance via a tablet rather than on a paper score sheet.

CCO wants candidates and certificants to know that they are more than just a certification number. CCO understands that behind each program participant is a hard-working, safety-minded professional who cares deeply about the work they do.

CCO is excited to announce its technology initiative to move all written exams to the computer.

The CCO Board of Directors has announced the industry leaders who will serve during 2022–2023.

Kerry Hulse, who served CCO for 25 years, first as Chair of the Commission and then as a member of the Board of Directors, will step down from the Board on June 30, 2022, as his term has been completed.

Candidates may now apply and take the exam for the new CCO Concrete Pump Operator certification.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released a new compliance directive CPL 02-01-063 for cranes and derricks.

The highly anticipated OSHA Compliance Directive for the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard (29 CFR Part 1926 Subpart CC) (dated February 11, 2022) has been published.

The 52nd Biannual NCCCO Commissioners Meeting was held on April 22, 2022, at Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando, Florida.

The CCO Concrete Pump Operator certification program will launch later this summer, and CCO recently spent some time with Kyle Rask, chair of the task force developing this new program.

CCO certification cards issued beginning May 1, 2022, will include a QR code that links directly to the Verify CCO Online (VCO) system.

A new version of the CCO Signalperson Practical Exam has been released as of April 1. The new exam consists of 30 scenarios of still imagery for which the candidate needs to provide the correct hand or voice signal to match the scenario.

Fifth in a series of related articles reviewing the roles that have been identified when working with cranes, explaining Signalpersons’ responsibilities, defining their training requirements, and outlining their documentation requirements.

Join us in congratulating Bob Mahlman, CCO Director of Certification & Credentialing, and Joel Oliva, CCO Senior Director of Innovation, who recently earned the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) new Certified Credentialing Professional (ICE-CCP) certification.

A federal judge in Alabama has awarded CCO a nearly $1 million judgment for copyright infringement, as well as a permanent injunction against the two defendants involved in the misconduct.

NCCCO discusses the fundamental benefits of registering copyrights.

More than 150 volunteers and guests attended celebration of 25th anniversary of when CCO certifications first became available.

Fourth in a series of related articles reviewing the personnel roles that have been identified when working with cranes, explaining Crane Operators' responsibilities, defining their training requirements, and outlining their documentation requirements.

CCO is adopting standardized test site layouts for the Mobile Crane Operator certification program.

To improve fairness across all exams and candidates, CCO is migrating away from shortened recertification exams and replacing them with the initial (longer) certification written exams to be taken by all candidates.

CCO continues to permit continued written (paper/pencil and computer-based) and practical testing safely during COVID-19.

Because one of its primary activities is lifting and moving loads, a digger derrick may be performing as a crane in construction activities and needs to follow OSHA regulations.

Third in a series of related articles reviewing the personnel roles that have been identified when working with cranes, explaining Lift Directors' responsibilities, defining their training requirements, and outlining their documentation requirements.

Second in a series of related articles reviewing each of the roles that have been identified when working with cranes, this article explains the responsibilities of Site Supervision/Controlling Entity, Crane Owner, and Crane User.

First in a series of related articles reviewing each of the roles that have been identified when working with cranes, explaining the responsibilities, defining the training requirements, as well as outlining the documentation requirements.

Those the pile driving industry may not have realized that they were also impacted by the OSHA crane rule that went into effect in November 2018, including the requirement for operators to be certified.

Find out how NCCCO and CCO certification programs can help employers ensure personnel working in and around their equipment have documented qualification through fair, unbiased, defensible certification, thereby avoiding costly OSHA fines.

Reflecting its expanding scope into personnel certifications for load handling equipment other than cranes, NCCCO is transitioning to a new logo, effective January 1, 2021.

Federal OSHA has specific—but different—qualification requirements for signalpersons and riggers. In both cases people often wonder whether “certification” equals “qualification,” and, if not, what the difference is.

Written and practical exams are developed after a comprehensive job analysis process.

NCCCO is honored to announce that 26 industry experts have been selected to develop a new certification program for operators of telehandlers.

In response to numerous industry requests to serve the growing Spanish-speaking construction labor force, NCCCO has made available its CCO Articulating Crane Operator written certification exams in Spanish.