I just heard a rumor about chain motors.

[Sony]

So one of my co-workers at a design company I work for just came back from a gig at MIT. Apparently he heard from the head tech there that Massachusetts is requiring a Crane Operators license now for anyone who wishes to operate chain motors of 1/4 ton or larger.

He said the regulation is going to go National in 6 months and that employers are expected to pay for employee's to get their crane op license in order to run pretty much any type of chain motor.

Has anyone heard about this? I find it hard to believe...but I wouldn't put it past out legislators to dick us over like this. Getting a license to operate a crane is expensive, my friend who is a crane operator had to go through 2 years of training at what was basically a diesel tech college in order to get his operators license. This just seems a bit ridiculous to me.

 

[Footer]

Never heard that. If it was true, the entertainment industry would grind to a hault. Running a chain hoist is not the difficult part, putting it up and keeping it there is the difficult part. I have not seen anything about this in any trade mag, blog, or anything else like that. This would be major news if it was true, right up there with some states requiring LD's to be licensed electricians.

 

[Sony]

Never heard that. If it was true, the entertainment industry would grind to a hault. Running a chain hoist is not the difficult part, putting it up and keeping it there is the difficult part. I have not seen anything about this in any trade mag, blog, or anything else like that. This would be major news if it was true, right up there with some states requiring LD's to be licensed electricians.

That's what I figured, I figured we would have heard SOMETHING about it. I don't know if this guy from MIT was privy to some new regulations that are coming out.

 

[Footer]

That's what I figured, I figured we would have heard SOMETHING about it. I don't know if this guy from MIT was privy to some new regulations that are coming out.

It very well could be something local... and odds are union related. In the world where some places require IBEW guys to plug in the lights after IA guys hang them, anything is possible. It would not surprise me if the local iron workers union saw a chain hoist in use in a venue they have a maintenance contract with, they spoke up about it saying that was there job, and next thing you know you have a bunch of iron worker running chain hoists.

 

[avkid]

I hope this is not true.
On the up side, then I could operate cranes!!!

 

[MNicolai]

I believe this is Massachusetts' official position on the matter:

The Department of Public Safety (“Department”) licenses and regulates the operation of hoisting equipment. The Department derives its authority to regulate hoisting operators from Massachusetts General Laws chapter 146, section 53. Additionally, the Department has promulgated regulations which are codified in section 6.00 of title 520 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations.

Anyone who wishes to operate hoisting equipment (including derricks, cableways, machinery used for discharging cargoes, and temporary elevator cars used on excavation work or used for hoisting building material) must obtain a license from the Department. Hoisting operators must be 18 years of age, complete an application, and successfully pass an examination covering all working parts of the hoisting machinery, safe operating practices, hand signals, and inspection procedures in order to obtain a license.

There are several different classes of a hoist operator's license, such that someone operating an electric hoist may not need to take the same exam as someone working with forklifts or with lattice cranes. Unfortunately, operation of an electric chain hoist possibly falls into the 1A (+3A) license, which is not a particularly easy exam to pass. It's possible that the guy who flies out line arrays now may also have to be someone to knows how to operate many different forms of hoisting equipment (most of which are specific to the construction industry).

 

[Anvilx]

This would be major news if it was true, right up there with some states requiring LD's to be licensed electricians.

Those were my thoughts exactly, people would have something to say about this. Additionally I wouldn't think that most production companies would be opposed to this because it would intail spending money to train there employs, for something that they already know how to do and do do just fine.

 

[egilson1]

This guy at MIT might have been speaking about the fact that the state required all of the guys from JCAL Pro (in house labor/rigging) at the convention center to get their hoisting licenses to drive fork lifts. I have heard nothing of it going beyond that.

Regards,
Ethan

Ethan Gilson
ETCP certified Rigger
Arena & Theatre
Voting Member of PLASA Rigging Work Group

 

[Footer]

This guy at MIT might have been speaking about the fact that the state required all of the guys from JCAL Pro (in house labor/rigging) at the convention center to get their hoisting licenses to drive fork lifts. I have heard nothing of it going beyond that.

Regards,
Ethan

Ethan Gilson
ETCP certified Rigger
Arena & Theatre
Voting Member of PLASA Rigging Work Group

Ya, I have not heard anything on this side of the state either. Many of my vendors do work in western Mass, this would have come up.

 

[mstaylor]

I was working on the Dew Tour for the past few weeks and a friend of mine had the crane contract. I told him I needed to I could help him out. Never thought about going that far.