Provisional Crane Operator Supervision
Overview
BC Provisional Crane Operators (formerly Level B) require qualified and competent crane supervisors during their entire training period, until Provisional Operators achieve full certification.
Provisional Operators
Provisional crane operators require supervision during their entire training period, until they become fully certified operators.
What is a Qualified and Competent Crane Supervisor?
BC Crane Safety defines a qualified and competent crane supervisor as an individual who has at least 7+ years working knowledge, skill, and experience (recommended). This individual's skills and role can vary. Qualified and competent crane supervisors may provide direct and indirect supervision.
Qualified means the person has successfully completed exams or training courses or who has extensive knowledge, training and experience and has successfully demonstrated the ability to solve or resolve problems relating to crane assembly, disassembly, operation, and inspection on a worksite.
Competent means the person can also demonstrate knowledge, experience, and skill beyond the successful completion of exams or training courses, including crane assembly, disassembly, operation, and inspection knowledge and demonstrate the ability to identify and correct job/trade related hazards.
A recognized credentialed crane operator can be the qualified and competent supervisor, but this is not the only option. The list describes which other persons can also supervise a Provisional Crane Operator.
Qualified and Competent Crane Supervisor competencies should include many of the following:
- Rigging knowledge, including specialized rigging on various types of cranes
- Documentation requirements (crane logbooks) and regulations and standards that pertain to cranes
- Experience associated with assembly/disassembly, inspection and use of cranes
- Co-ordination of crews and workers carrying out assembly, and disassembly of cranes
- Crane functions, operations, maintenance requirements for cranes
- Communicating with engineers, assembly supervisor, WorkSafeBC Safety Officers and other representatives, and workers
- Understanding of site-specific safe work practices and procedures
- Experience with operations of cranes, including:
- Conducting Site Surveys/Risk Assessments,
- Planning routine, non-routine, and critical lifts,
- Acting on roles and responsibilities of crane operators and riggers,
- Assessing and overseeing lift requirements: rigging types, lifting capacity, sling angles, lengths, SWLs, shackles, beams, and
- Overseeing crane operations in terms of types, limitations, and capacity.
- Understanding of load charts for specific crane types
- List the crane types that the supervisor has experience with.
Crane Supervisors
Crane supervisors must be both qualified and competent.
What is Direct and Indirect Supervision?
Direct Supervision means the supervisor is close enough to observe and to provide verbal directions while you are performing critical lifts.
Indirect Supervision refers to oversight activities (other than direct observation) to provide guidance and to ensure that you are fully qualified to perform routine, non-critical lifts.
Large worksites with many different operations happening at the same time, or multi-employer worksites may require more than one qualified and competent person.
Can a Provisional Credentialed Operator Perform a Critical Lift?
Yes. It is important to understand that direct supervision is required. Under direct supervision, the supervisor is required to be close enough to observe and to provide verbal directions to the provisional operator while performing critical lifts. "In clear line of site and communication with each other during the critical lift".
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact BC Crane Safety at [email protected] or 604-336-4699. We're here to help.
