Jenkins Academy of Applied Technology

CRN-001 — Learner reference

Cranes, Derricks, Rigging and Signaling · v1.0.0 · October 22, 2026

Course developed by Todd Jerome Jenkins, MS, CSP.

Learn the OSHA requirements for crane work in general industry and construction, including operator evaluation, rigging, signaling, inspections, power lines and lift controls. Fourteen audible lessons; allow about 45–60 minutes.

Online knowledge component only. This course does not provide operator certification/licensing, employer practical evaluation, qualified-rigger status or signal-person qualification. Actual equipment training, practical tests and employer authorization remain separate.

1. Choose the rules for the equipment and work

By the end: Identify the actual equipment, activity, applicable standard and separate role qualifications before assignment.

A falling load, overturning crane or moving counterweight can kill people who never touch the controls. Start by identifying the equipment, its configuration, the work being done and everyone who may enter the work area. Crane size or the employer’s business name does not decide which requirements apply.

Construction Subpart CC generally covers powered equipment that lifts, lowers and moves a suspended load horizontally. Its exclusions depend on equipment and use. For example, an excavator is excluded even when lifting with rigging, while a forklift configured with a winch or hook to hoist, lower and horizontally move a suspended load can be covered. Exclusion from CC does not remove other equipment, rigging or training duties.

General industry has separate rules for overhead and gantry cranes in 1910.179, crawler/locomotive/truck cranes in 1910.180, derricks in 1910.181, and slings in 1910.184. Construction overhead/gantry crane coverage requires the distinction in 1926.1438 between permanently installed equipment and other installations. Maritime and specialized utility/railroad work need their own coverage review.

This course teaches how to recognize requirements and arrange the next actions. It does not provide operator certification or licensing, the employer’s practical operator evaluation, qualified-rigger status or signal-person qualification. Small construction equipment with a maximum manufacturer-rated capacity of 2,000 pounds or less has tailored rules in 1926.1441; a light load on a larger crane does not create that exception.

Basis: 1926.1400, 1926.1438, 1926.1441; 1910.179-.181, 1910.184

2. Assign competent and qualified people

By the end: Name each responsible person, verify role-specific ability and authority, and correct training gaps before work.

A competent person can identify existing and predictable hazards and has authority to correct them promptly. A qualified person has demonstrated the knowledge and ability to solve problems for the relevant work through credentials or extensive knowledge, training and experience. One title does not automatically satisfy both roles.

Construction assembly/disassembly must be directed by someone who is both competent and qualified, or a competent person assisted by qualified people. The employer must train competent and qualified persons in the Subpart CC duties that apply to their roles. Rigging, inspecting, directing assembly and evaluating operators require different skills.

The employer must train people working with the equipment to avoid crush/pinch hazards and train authorized operators and maintenance personnel in applicable tag-out and start-up procedures. Operators and crew members also need the required power-line hazard and emergency training. A toolbox talk that omits assigned duties is not enough.

Under 1926.1430, the employer must evaluate understanding, provide retraining when conduct or knowledge indicates a need, and provide required training at no cost to employees. There is no single universal annual class or fixed online duration that replaces all these duties. Use clear language, questions and safe demonstrations to confirm understanding.

Basis: 1926.1401, 1926.1404(a), 1926.1430(d)-(g)

3. Verify operator training, certification and evaluation

By the end: Verify the separate credential, training and employer evaluation for the actual assignment.

For operators covered by 1926.1427, the employer must ensure training, certification or licensing, and evaluation before independent operation. Certification demonstrates specified tested knowledge and skills; it is not the employer’s evaluation for assigned equipment and work. Verify the applicable state or local licensing requirements as well as the federal certification route.

The rule permits qualifying accredited third-party certification, an audited employer certification program, or applicable government licensing. Their conditions and portability differ; an employer-program certification is not portable to another employer. Confirm the actual equipment type and any capacity limits, validity period, testing language and scope. The course completion here is none of those credentials.

An operator-in-training needs formal and practical instruction and the supervision required by 1926.1427(b). The trainer must meet the rule’s qualifications and monitor operation; specified higher-risk work has additional restrictions. A nearby coworker or radio left on a desk does not automatically meet those provisions. Do not assign unsupervised work while qualification is incomplete.

The employer’s evaluator needs the knowledge, training and experience to assess skills and the ability to recognize and avoid risks for the equipment and assigned work. Document the operator, evaluator name and signature, date, and equipment make, model and configuration; keep it available at the worksite while the operator is employed. Other equipment may be assigned only where the employer can demonstrate no substantially different skills or risk-recognition ability are required. Retraining requires reevaluation of the affected subject.

Basis: 1926.1427(a)-(f), (h), (j); 1926.1430(c)

4. Verify task-specific rigging competence

By the end: Match demonstrated rigging competence to the actual load and task, and resolve unknowns before lifting.

A qualified rigger meets the qualified-person definition for the rigging work being performed. The employer must determine whether the person can handle the specific load and rigging arrangement. Experience with repeated simple bundles does not establish competence for an unusual load, changing center of gravity or complex multiple-leg lift.

For covered construction work, qualified riggers are required for assembly/disassembly rigging and for rigging loads when employees are engaged in the specified hooking, unhooking, guiding or initial-connection activities in the fall zone. Apply the actual scope and exceptions, including the tailored small-equipment rule, rather than assuming every task has identical wording.

The rigger must understand load weight, balance, attachment points, hitch choice, sling angles, hardware compatibility, rated limits and removal criteria. A rigging certificate can be evidence of learning, but a generic card or operator certification alone does not establish qualification for every load. Subpart CC does not prescribe one universal third-party rigger certification card.

Before work, explain the load path, landing support, communication, hand positions and safe escape positions. Resolve unknown weight, lifting points or rigging limits with the appropriate qualified people. Do not discover an unknown arrangement’s capacity by trying a lift. Document the employer’s task-specific determination as a useful readiness record.

Basis: 1926.1401, 1926.1404(r), 1926.1425(c); 1926.251

5. Qualify signal persons before assignment

By the end: Verify the proper evaluator, knowledge and practical tests, signaling types and available documentation.

For work subject to 1926.1428, a signal person must understand and competently apply the signals used, understand basic equipment operation and limitations, and know the applicable signaling rules. Crane dynamics include the continuing movement of a swinging load, stopping distance and boom deflection as load is applied.

A third-party qualified evaluator or the employer’s qualified evaluator must assess the person. Qualification requires an oral or written test and a practical test. This online knowledge assessment does not include that practical test and does not award signal-person qualification.

The employer must make the qualification documentation available at the site while the signal person is employed there. It must specify each signaling type for which the person is qualified, such as hand or radio signals. An assessment by the employer’s own evaluator is not portable for another employer’s compliance; third-party documentation still needs to cover the assigned signaling type.

If later actions show the qualification requirements are not met, the employer must stop the person from signaling until retraining and reassessment confirm competence. Equipment governed by 1926.1441 has its own signal training provision. Do not use an exception to omit the instruction needed for safe communication.

Basis: 1926.1428; 1926.1441(f)

6. Use clear signals and stop when communication fails

By the end: Agree, test and maintain the communication method; obey every safety stop and stop on lost communication.

Provide a signal person when the load travel or placement point is not fully visible, travel-direction visibility is obstructed, or the operator or load handler determines one is needed for a site safety concern. Choose communication suited to the distance, noise, lighting, sight lines and radio conditions.

Use the Standard Method hand signals in Appendix A. Where the rule permits a nonstandard hand signal, the signal person, operator and lift director if present must agree before the operation. Post a hand-signal chart on the equipment or conspicuously nearby. Reading descriptions here does not replace learning and demonstrating the actual signals.

Only one person gives operating signals at a time, but anyone aware of a safety problem may give a stop or emergency-stop signal; the operator must obey it. If communication is interrupted, stop operations requiring signals until it is restored and a proper signal is given and understood. Do not keep moving based on the last instruction.

Test radio or other electronic transmission at the site for a clear, reliable and effective signal. Use the required dedicated channel subject to the rule’s exceptions and hands-free reception for the operator. Agree on voice signals beforehand: function and direction, distance or speed, then stop. Everyone involved must communicate effectively in the language used.

Basis: 1926.1419-.1422; Subpart CC Appendix A

7. Plan support, access and changing ground conditions

By the end: Confirm support and underground hazards with responsible parties and stop if the setup changes.

A crane’s support must carry the forces created by the actual configuration and lift. Firm-looking pavement may hide a vault, buried tank, utility, recent fill or weak edge. Rain, excavation and other work can change conditions after setup. Review the whole support and travel area, not just the visible outrigger pads.

Under 1926.1402, equipment must not be assembled or used unless the ground and any supporting materials meet the manufacturer’s support and level requirements. The rule addresses firmness, drainage and grading, with a drainage exception for wetlands. Mats or cribbing need suitable capacity and placement; their presence alone does not prove adequate support.

The controlling entity must arrange required ground preparations and disclose known underground hazards or those identified in documents it possesses. If there is no controlling entity, the employer with authority to arrange the preparation has the stated preparation duty. When the operator or assembly director finds inadequate ground, their employer must discuss needed preparation with the controlling entity.

Use the actual configuration’s outrigger and stabilizer instructions, load chart and level limits. Include ground conditions in the shift inspection. Stop when settling, water accumulation or changed surroundings undermine the setup; obtain correction and reassessment before resuming. Keep people away while stabilizers move.

Basis: 1926.1402, 1926.1412(d), 1926.1417

8. Control assembly, disassembly and special equipment

By the end: Use the correct procedures and director, control component movement and verify specialized requirements.

Assembly and disassembly can release large forces before a crane is ready to lift. Follow applicable manufacturer prohibitions and either the manufacturer’s procedures or compliant employer procedures developed under 1926.1406. The assembly/disassembly director must understand the procedures and review them as required before work.

Before a crew member begins work, the director must ensure the person understands tasks, hazards and positions to avoid. Support components before removing pins. A worker who moves where the operator cannot see must inform the operator; the operator must not move equipment until informed the person is in a safe position. Do not stand under a boom section during pin removal except under the narrow engineered procedure permitted by the rule.

Derricks have specific requirements for load charts, foundations, anchors, guys, construction, inspection and testing under 1926.1436. Their operators are excepted from 1926.1427, but the employer must train each operator in safe operation of the type of derrick before use. General-industry derricks follow 1910.181. An exception to one certification provision is not freedom from equipment training.

Tower cranes, floating equipment, sidebooms, overhead/gantry cranes and small-capacity equipment have specific provisions. Capacity-affecting modifications require the approvals and procedures in 1926.1434. Stop and obtain the applicable qualified technical review for specialized work; this course is not an assembly manual or approval to alter equipment.

Basis: 1926.1403-.1406, 1926.1434-.1438, 1926.1440-.1441

9. Inspect equipment and control defects

By the end: Verify required inspections and records, report defects, and prevent use until an allowed correction or measure is established.

For construction equipment governed by 1926.1412, a competent person begins a visual inspection before each shift in which it is used. Look for deficiencies in controls, brakes, hooks, ropes, hydraulics, safety devices, operational aids, support and other listed items. A prior annual inspection does not replace current checks.

Monthly inspections cover the shift items and require records of items checked, results, inspector name and signature, and date, kept for at least three months. A qualified person performs the annual/comprehensive inspection at least every 12 months; keep those records at least 12 months. Modified, repaired, assembled, severely used or long-idle equipment can require additional inspections before use. Follow more comprehensive or frequent manufacturer safety inspections.

Resolve deficiencies using the applicable inspection and equipment provisions. Required safety devices must function before operations; the rule does not permit substitute measures for a failed safety device. Some operational aids have specific temporary alternatives and repair deadlines under 1926.1416. Only use an alternative when all applicable conditions are met, not because an operator feels confident.

Tag out equipment or affected functions as required, communicate defects and allow only properly qualified maintenance and repair personnel to perform their tasks. Do not start tagged equipment until the rule’s correction and release conditions are satisfied. General-industry standards use their own frequent/periodic inspections and records; do not copy the construction timetable without reviewing the applicable equipment rule.

Basis: 1926.1412-.1417, 1926.1429; 1910.179-.181

10. Inspect and select slings and hardware

By the end: Use identified, inspected and compatible gear within the actual hitch and angle limits.

Rigging must be suitable for the load, hitch, angle and environment. Read the attached capacity markings and manufacturer information. The capacity of an assembly can be limited by its weakest component. A vertical rating is not permission to use that same load in every hitch or angle; wider sling-leg spreads can increase tension.

Construction rigging is inspected before use on each shift and as necessary during use. General-industry slings and their fastenings and attachments are inspected each day before use by a designated competent person, with additional inspections when conditions warrant. Both require defective gear removed from service. Sling types have additional periodic inspections, tests and removal criteria; for example, alloy-chain sling thorough inspections cannot be more than 12 months apart.

Do not use gear with missing or illegible required identification. Look for cuts, burns, broken wires, kinks, corrosion, stretched or deformed components and damaged fittings, then apply the criteria for that exact gear. Do not shorten slings with knots, bolts or makeshift devices, mix incompatible hardware, or make an unauthorized repair. Custom lifting accessories may require marking and proof testing; construction 1926.251(a)(4) specifies 125 percent for the described custom designs before use.

Protect slings at sharp edges using suitable protection, balance the load and attach it securely. Keep hands out while tightening, avoid shock loads, and do not pull a sling from beneath a load resting on it. Land onto adequate supports so the load is stable and rigging can be removed safely. Store unused rigging so it does not create a hazard or deteriorate.

Basis: 1910.184; 1926.251

11. Prevent power-line contact and plan emergencies

By the end: Have the employer establish the correct power-line plan, distances, controls and emergency instruction before work.

Electricity can arc to equipment without contact and can energize the crane, load, rigging and ground. Treat power lines as energized unless the utility owner/operator confirms they are deenergized and visibly grounded at the worksite. A dark-looking wire, insulated-looking cover or a coworker’s assurance is not that confirmation.

For operations covered by 1926.1408 up to 350 kV, define the work zone and determine whether any equipment, load line or load including rigging could approach within 20 feet. The rule provides options: utility-confirmed deenergizing and grounding; maintaining 20 feet with the required precautions; or determining voltage and using Table A with the required precautions. Twenty feet is not a universal clearance for every voltage or operation.

Where encroachment precautions apply, use the planning meeting, visible warning boundary, nonconductive tag lines if used, and the additional measures specified by the rule. A dedicated spotter must be trained, positioned and equipped to communicate and judge clearance effectively. Above 350 kV, 1926.1409 changes the planning distance; assembly, closer-than-Table-A operations and no-load travel have separate provisions. Do not invent clearance distances or treat a proximity alarm as permission to approach.

Train operators and crew in contact hazards and the emergency plan. If contact occurs, keep everyone away from equipment and the surrounding energized area, call the utility and emergency services, and do not touch the crane or load. The operator should remain inside unless an imminent danger requires escape; workers need the specific emergency instruction on safe escape, step/touch potential and why approaching to help can kill rescuers. Do not move toward or touch the equipment until the responsible utility establishes safe conditions.

Basis: 1926.1407-.1411, 1926.1430(a)

12. Control capacity, load movement and fall zones

By the end: Confirm actual capacity and the lift plan, control access, and stop when a safety concern arises.

Before lifting, establish the load weight using a source or method permitted by the rule, the correct load chart and actual configuration. Consider radius, boom/jib, reeving, counterweight, support, load-handling accessories and all required deductions. Do not use a crane’s advertised maximum capacity as the limit at every radius. Keep required procedures and charts accessible.

Control the load route, swing/crush area, landing area and access by other trades. Train exposed people, erect the required boundaries and coordinate cranes whose working radii overlap. Keep workers clear of loads and limit fall-zone access to the specific activities and safeguards permitted by 1926.1425. Permission for essential hooking or guiding is not permission to stand directly under a load or let unrelated workers pass beneath it.

Use manufacturer limits and adjust for wind, ice and snow. Do not side-pull or drag a load with covered construction equipment. Use controlled movement and planned tag or restraint lines when needed to prevent hazardous rotation. Do not leave a suspended load unattended except where every condition of the rule’s narrow exception is met. The operator must have authority to stop and refuse a load until a qualified person has assured safety.

A lift supported by more than one crane requires a plan developed by a qualified person, directed by a person meeting the rule’s competent/qualified criteria, and reviewed with involved workers before the lift. Load sharing changes as equipment moves. A simple division of weight by the number of cranes does not establish safe capacities. Replan when the load, configuration, route or conditions change.

Basis: 1926.1417-.1418, 1926.1424-.1426, 1926.1432

13. Apply general-industry crane and derrick rules

By the end: Use the general-industry rule for the actual crane, train designated personnel and verify inspections and safe controls.

Only designated personnel may operate cranes and derricks covered by 1910.179, 1910.180 and 1910.181. Designation involves selection as qualified for the specific duties. These sections do not impose the construction 1926.1427 certification framework on every general-industry crane; the employer must still meet the actual equipment, operating and training requirements.

For overhead/gantry cranes, inspect controls and applicable components and test the upper hoist limit switch under no load at the start of each operator’s shift with care. Do not use that limit switch as a normal operating control. Know which pendant or remote operates which unit, the rated load, travel route and emergency stop. Avoid carrying loads over people, riding the hook or load, and unapproved side pulls.

General-industry crawler, locomotive and truck cranes require the correct chart, support, operating practices and equipment-specific power-line precautions in 1910.180. Derricks require the appropriate charts, anchorage, guy arrangements and safe operating procedures under 1910.181. Do not substitute a construction checklist for those provisions or assume the same inspection intervals fit all equipment.

Frequent and periodic inspections depend on the applicable section and service conditions; required hook, rope and other inspection records differ. Correct unsafe conditions before operation. Maintenance needs the specified shutdown, signs and safeguards, as well as applicable hazardous-energy control. Only authorized personnel may remove controls or return equipment to service under the required process.

Basis: 1910.179, 1910.180, 1910.181, 1910.184; 1910.147

14. Recognize special lifts and finish workplace verification

By the end: Verify the actual role and job evidence, escalate specialized lifts and close out safely.

Hoisting people is specialized work. Construction 1926.1431 generally prohibits it unless conventional access is more hazardous or is impossible because of structural design or site conditions, subject to specified exceptions. Where allowed, all applicable platform design, capacity, trial lift, proof test, inspection, meeting, fall protection and operating requirements remain. Equipment governed by 1926.1441 must not hoist personnel.

Do not improvise a work platform from a pallet, rigging sling or material basket. Specialized tower, floating, steel-erection, pile-driving and other work can add or modify requirements. Stop for the appropriate procedure and qualified review before performing work beyond the ordinary material-lift plan. This course is an overview of requirements, not detailed authorization for these operations.

Before assignment, the employer should assemble the applicable evidence: scope decision, operator credential and evaluation where required, signal-person qualification, task-specific rigging ability, actual training, inspections, ground and power-line arrangements, communication, emergency procedures and lift plans. Separate mandatory documents from useful planning worksheets. Record real observations and unresolved restrictions, not just checked boxes.

At shutdown, land and secure loads, leave equipment and rigging in the manufacturer-specified safe condition, report defects and communicate restrictions. Reassess training when conduct, knowledge, equipment or work indicates a gap. Successful completion here records online knowledge only; practical tests, equipment-specific evaluation, specialized procedures and employer authorization must be completed separately.

Basis: 1926.1431-.1432, 1926.1436(q), 1926.1441(j), 1926.1427-.1430

Sources

Federal OSHA sources reviewed October 22, 2026. Confirm the actual work, jurisdiction and applicable additional requirements. Agency guidance supports planning; it is distinguished from mandatory standard text.