28.02.2007

Crane bill introduced

A bill requiring crane inspection and operator certification in Washington State has been introduced.

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Representative. Deb Eddy, both Democrats, have introduced a bill in the Washington state senate and house to regulate crane safety and require that operators be certified.

Senate Bill 5990 and House Bill 2171 would require the state Department of Labor and Industries to establish by rule a crane certification program, which would allow inspectors to issue certificates for the operation of certain cranes.

Crane owners would be assigned several responsibilities. And under rules to be written by Labor and Industry, crane operators would need to meet certain requirements for certification.

"With all the construction going on in Seattle, the Eastside, and across the state, the potential for another accident is still present," said Kohl-Welles, the chair of the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee. "This is a matter of worker and public safety, first and foremost."

If successful the legislation would take effect in 2010 and has been spurred on by the fatal accident in Bellevue last November.