Responsibilities of crane employer

Employers who operate cranes on a Marine Construction site are responsible for complying with all aspects of the standard, but other employers whose personnel work at the site have responsibilities as well. These employer duties are consistent with OSHA’s multi-employer policy, which recognizes that the Occupational Safety and Health Act imposes compliance duties on (1) employers who create or control hazards, (2) employers whose employees are exposed to hazards, and (3) employers with general supervisory authority over a worksite.

The following Questions and Answers explain the compliance duties of different employers under various common situations.

Question 1: I own and operate a crane on a construction site. The crane operator is my employee. What are my responsibilities under the standard?

Answer 1: You must comply with all requirements of the standard, as you control all hazards the crane may create.

Question 2: I operate a leased crane on a construction site. The crane’s lessor has informed me that the crane meets OSHA’s standard. Can I rely on the lessor’s word and assume that the crane complies with the standard?

Answer 2: No. As the employer operating the crane you are responsible for complying with all requirements of the standard. Even if the lessor states that the crane meets the standard, you must take steps to verify that claim. One way to verify their claim is to ask the lessor for the most recent monthly and annual inspections reports, which will identify any problems found by the inspectors that either needed to be fixed or that need to be checked in future inspections. These documents must be made available to all persons who conduct inspections under the standard, including the shift inspections you must conduct while operating the crane. If the lessor cannot produce the required inspection documents, you will need to conduct an annual inspection and document the results of that inspection before operating the crane.

Question 3: I lease a crane to a construction contractor and provide an operator for the crane. While on the site, the operator is supervised exclusively by the lessee’s foreman. Do I have any responsibilities under the standard?

Answer 3: Yes. You must comply with all requirements of the standard because your employee, the operator, would be exposed to any hazards resulting from the crane’s operation. Moreover, you are responsible for any violations caused by the crane operator because you are the operator’s employer and the lessee is relying on the operator’s knowledge and skills to ensure that operations are conducted safely.

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