SC&RA recognized on its 10th anniversary

On its 10th anniversary, NCCCO recognized the initiative of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association in establishing the non–profit organization, at the SC&RA annual conference in Phoenix in April.

NCCCO was formed by SC&RA in January 1995 as a non–profit organization to develop effective performance standards for safe crane operation to assist all segments of general industry and construction. The establishment of NCCCO was the culmination of almost 10 years’ continuous work by representatives of all sectors of industries that use cranes.

This diversity continues to be reflected through NCCCO's Commissioners, who represent: contractors, labor unions, rental firms, owners, steel erectors, manufacturers, construction firms, training consultants, and insurance companies. Since NCCCO began testing in April 1996, more than 130,000 exams have been administered to 35,000 crane operators through more than 2,000 written test administrations nationwide.

“A program that was the mere germ of an idea in the eyes of its SC&RA Founding Fathers less than two decades ago, has developed to the point where it has been adopted by employers and organizations in all 50 states,” said NCCCO executive director, Graham Brent.

CCO certification has, he said, been endorsed by federal, state and local jurisdictions, accredited by NCCA as meeting the highest standards of exam development; and even recognized by its peers in the certification industry at the highest levels.

NCCCO's most recent honor, Brent added, was its selection by the Department of Homeland Security to serve on a Transportation Security Administration task force to review TSA's re–certification program for airport screeners.

“None of this would have been possible,” Brent said, “without the courage, wisdom and vision of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association in taking that first step into the unknown some 18 years ago–as well as its members that have sustained this organization throughout its 10–year history.”