Accreditation Requirements

CCO practical examinations are administered by Practical Examiners who have been accredited by NCCCO for this purpose. NCCCO publishes a list of those accredited practical examiners who have indicated they will offer their services on a "for hire" basis.

Individuals who wish to qualify as a NCCCO-Accredited Practical Examiner must meet the following requirements:

• meet the requirements of, and pass, the CCO certification written examination for the crane types in which they wish to be accredited.
• meet the requirements of, and pass, the CCO certification practical examination for the crane types in which they wish to be accredited.
• submit a Pracitcal Examiners Accreditation Application (admission to the accreditation workshop is based on approval of the application).
• document crane operating experience.
• successfully participate in a CCO Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshop during which their performance as an Examiner will be observed and evaluated, and a practical exam taken.
• pass a CCO Practical Examiner Accreditation written examination.

At the completion of the Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshop candidates receive a Certificate of Attendance. This will verify they have attended and participated in an official workshop of the NCCCO Practical Examiner Accreditation Program. Within three (3) weeks candidates receive a notification letter from NCCCO informing them of their accreditation status.

All newly-qualified Practical Examiners, upon qualifying, begin a 12-month probationary period.  Probationary Examiners are required to be monitored and/or audited at the first practical exam they administer, i.e. following accreditation they may not test until an NCCCO representative is present.

Accreditation is good for five (5) years. Once accredited, Examiners receive an official Accreditation Card listing the crane types in which they are accredited.

Accredited Practical Examiners are authorized to offer the NCCCO Practical Exam at approved NCCCO Practical Test Sites. Scheduling of such tests is done through the Test Site Coordinator responsible for each site.  NCCCO Accredited Practical Examiners are not permitted to participate in other crane operator certification programs.

Practical Examiners receive regular updates on the NCCCO Practical Examination Program. These updates are also posted on NCCCO’s web site.  We encourage Practical Examiners to share their experiences with NCCCO so that others may also benefit.

RE-ACCREDITATION
Prior to the end of their five-year accreditation period Examiners must re-accredit.

Requirements for re-accreditation are as follows:

• meet requirements for a CCO-certified operator.

and

• Attendance at a one-day NCCCO Practical Examiner Accreditation Refresher Workshop (if a Practical Examiner has more than one accreditation they may attend just one refresher workshop to cover all accreditations).

or

• attend a full workshop to earn accreditation in an area they are not yet accredited to administer exams.

Practical Examiner accredited in more than one crane type have only one accreditation period: for example, Mobile Crane Examiners who subsequently add the Tower Crane accreditation will have their Tower Crane accreditation period revert to the start of their Mobile accreditation period, unless they add it during the 12 months prior to the end of their Mobile Crane accreditation period, in which case it will continue through the end of the new accreditation period.

Refresher workshops are held concurrently with the first day of each regularly scheduled Practical Examiner Workshop.

MAINTAINING ACCREDITATION
Accredited Practical Examiners must administer at least one (1) practical exam every 12 month period in order to maintain accreditation.  Examiners accredited in multiple crane types must administer an exam in any one crane type to meet this requirement.  Examiners who do not administer at least one (1) practical examination in a 12-month period must attend a Refresher Workshop in order to maintain their accreditation. If an examiner is unable to conduct an exam within a 12-month period, an extension of up to 90 days may be granted, provided that an exam is scheduled within that 90-day period.  Refresher Workshops are held concurrently with the first day of each regularly scheduled Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshop.

Examiners who do not administer at least one (1) practical examination in a 24-month period must attend an entire two - three day (depending on the program) Practical Examiner Accreditation Workshop.

MAINTAINING CERTIFIED OPERATOR STATUS
In order for Practical Examiners to be in good standing they must also continue to meet all the requirements of a CCO certified crane operator, including physical requirements. Therefore, in addition to the Practical Examination, they must maintain a “pass” status on the written examination relating to the crane types in which they are accredited as a Practical Examiner.

If a Practical Examiner’s CCO crane operator certification expires before his/her accreditation period as a Practical Examiner, they must recertify in order for the Practical Examiner accreditation to remain current.

Examiners that fail their recertification exams and/or their certified operator status lapses for any other reason, will have their Practical Examiner accreditation status automatically downgraded to “provisional” status and they will not be allowed to administer any practical examinations in the category(ies) affected.

PRACTICAL EXAMINERS DIRECTORY
NCCCO maintains an online directory of Accredited Practical Examiners to assist employers seeking Practical Examiners to administer NCCCO practical examinations.

All fully accredited Practical Examiners are eligible for inclusion in this directory at no charge. Please note, however, that listing is not automatic. Examiners need to confirm they wish to be included, and that the contact information we have on file is current.

MENTORING PROGRAM
Practical test sites testing for the first time are encouraged to request a Mentor from NCCCO. Requirements to be a Mentor are that (s)he:

• is a NCCCO Accredited Practical Examiner
• has laid out at least one NCCCO practical test site
• has administered at least one NCCCO Practical Exam
• has been approved as a Mentor by the Practical Exam Management Committee.

While Mentors receive no compensation from NCCCO, test sites may negotiate fees with Mentors for test site set-up and/or practical exam guidance services.