I get asked this question many times over and the answer hasn’t changed. There are (at the time of this update), no Provincial requirements that mandate your company to take the awareness program we provide.
All knuckle boom instruction is voluntary only. If you are told by anyone who sells cranes that you are required to have training of any sort (particularity in Saskatchewan), I would ask them to provide you with Provincially mandated proof!
I get someone wants to sell you a training program, we will never “Lie” to you or mis-lead you in any way. You either want the program as part of your pro-active COR or safety recognition program, or you don’t.
Suffice it to say, good core implementation always starts with a conversation and once you talk to us over the phone, you will soon see what sets us apart from anyone else trying to do this. Our 18+ years of experience soon show through in what we can tell you and we’ve never been stumped by any questions, give us a call, you have everything to gain and nothing to loose.
We’ve done tremendous amounts of training “on-site” and that’s not about to change. In fact, we are one of the very few companies that come directly to your location, train on your cranes and save you significant revenue and eliminate downtime by coming to you.
So far in 2013, we have saved 9-companies the need to shut down for a full day, send their crew to the Cedar Park Inn and all the added costs, make it a better choice to simply come to you and do all that is required to safety train.
We also travel to the following areas:
Grande Prairie
Fox Creek
Ft. St John
Fort McMurray
Lloydminster and many more
Call us at (844) 334-8847 or click HERE and send us an email
When we teach knuckle boom crane safety training programs around Western Canada, there is a very common theme among all of the business owners and operators. Over 90% of the owners tell us that they are “guessing” at the weights that they are picking up. Meaning, ALL of the operators know that the Hiab or Palfinger or what-ever model they are operating, that as the crane reaches out, once it is over-loaded, it will simply stop. I’m not sure about you, but do you think that is the best method to determine how heavy a load really is? We can agree it’s not, so with that, we decided to bring in a cost-effective, portable crane weight scale or indicator that everyone can use and will give them an accurate picture of the weight they are actually lifting using the crane.
Like stability, knowing more information makes your operators much better, safer and more confident! That is our goal and it should be yours as well! We now stock a variety of knuckle boom crane load scales or weight scales that are lightweight, portable, easy to use, bright display and range from 4,000 pounds up to 50,000 pounds or more. For more details on this scale, click HERE to go that page on our site.
Contact us by clicking HERE or calling (844) 334-8847 and requesting your demo, remember, a safe operator is an informed operator.
I’ve been hearing about a company that provides knuckle boom training in SK, is advising companies that OH&S in SK is saying it is mandatory to have knuckle boom training in that province and that once you are trained in their program, you can then operate any knuckle boom crane. This is simply NOT TRUE!
Click HERE to review the information directly from OH&S Sask and read the NOTICE 1/8 down the page, “They do NOT certify, endorse or recommend any one company”.We will never advise you of anything other than, our training is the best there is.
The conversation I just had with SATCC (Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission) has indicated the following:
“SATCC doesn’t have any requirements for operating a knuckle boom in Saskatchewan. If the lifting device falls into the scope of a designated trade or subtrade, SATCC offers training and certification.
The Crane and Hoist Operator trade/subtrades are not compulsory, but they are regulated by Occupational Health & Safety. OH&S has stated their requirements in their acts/regulations. OH&S has requirements such as “competent operator” and “qualified operator” for the operation of a crane or power mobile equipment. A qualified operator is an apprentice or journeyperson for the trade/subtrade of the crane they are operating, a competent operator has met the requirements of Table 16 in the OH&S regulations.
You are correct to say that an operator of a crane under 5 ton does not need to be qualified operator. For a crane to fall under the scope of the sub-trade Boom Truck Operator “B” (up to and including 15.5 tons), it is required to have “(iii) incorporate a power drum and wire rope” (The Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission Regulations, Section 58 (b)).
If your knuckle boom trucks fall under this scope, you can apprentice the operator. SATCC would have to review the company training for credit, but that is all it would likely be, technical training hour credits (8 hours).
SATCC and OH&S do work together regarding powered mobile equipment/cranes to ensure consistency. Since OH&S is the regulatory body for this equipment, this question is best for them to answer. They will be the people on site checking the requirements to operate this equipment.
You can contact the Occupational Heath and Safety Division of the Saskatchewan Minstry of Labour and Workplace Safety toll-free at 1.800.567.7233.
Meanwhile, if you need more information regarding the Crane and Hoist Operator trade/sub-trades or have any other questions, please feel free to contact Dean Frey in our Program Development area at (306) 933-5076.”
In spite of the ability to ride the rails, these knuckle boom cranes can actually be more dangerous.
The ONE most critical issue with cranes that we promote – STABILITY– and once you have this ingrained into the operator, the rest comes easier.
HOWEVER…what we find is that with Hy-Rail Crane Trucks primarily, that while sitting on the tracks, the issue is the ground around the rail lines slopes downward at an angle, making it very difficult to use the outriggers properly and get a good, stable working platform. Many companies are “used to” this and simply use short reach cranes (less than 25′ – see photo below) to offset the reduced stability, good practice but makes it very challenging to use the right crane for the job.
We always have and always will promote a solid foundation along with 3-core principals will get your operators home, safely, every day! You simply can’t put a price on that.
If this is what your crew is operating, then you should be prepared to offer them our knuckle boom operator program.
Give your company a competitive edge by showing that your guys have been certified to operate the crane. It’s a simple process, we provide the foundation for a good knuckle picker operator, like driving, we can’t teach anyone to drive like a pro in one-day, but we can give them a solid foundation to make sure they know the few items that can really get them into trouble as well as keep them out of trouble!
We also show the difference between being “stable” and not being stable. We also test the limit of the unit you have purchased to ensure that the crane you have will lift “SAFELY” what you need it to lift. Many of these packages have 40′ of reach, however after we test them with max weight/distance, find out that the chassis is NOT capable of handling the load at max distance.
In spite of the ability to ride the rails, these knuckle boom cranes can actually be more dangerous.
We always have and always will promote a solid foundation along with 3-core principals will get your operators home, safely, every day! You simply can’t put a price on that.