September 2020—From the time of its founding in 1968, Morrow has focused exclusively on the tower crane and construction hoist industry. And Morrow has been involved with NCCCO since its inception. It was an original contributor during NCCCO’s formative years and became directly active when the tower crane program was developed in 2004. To this day, Morrow team members remain involved in different segments of NCCCO, including current NCCCO President Peter Juhren, who was recently named Morrow’s President and COO.
According to Morrow’s Juhren, “Morrow sees NCCCO as the pioneer and gold standard in the certification arena that has improved the safety of the industry immensely. The subject matter experts and volunteers are the best in the business and have developed the greatest certification programs in the many different industries associated with NCCCO.”
Morrow currently has over 130 NCCCO certified employees. All operators of tower cranes provided by Morrow must be certified. And all Morrow technicians and key yard staff are rigger and signalperson certified. Nearly all of Morrow’s work is in the construction field, whether it is commercial, housing, industrial, sports arenas, or infrastructure.
The company embraces CCO certification because it helps make sure individuals are qualified to work with cranes as required by OSHA regulations. This includes rigger and signalperson certification to close the loop on safety at the jobsite. Certification also brings credibility to the qualifications of its certified employees, and it allows the company to promote its people as knowledgeable and trained in the basics of the tasks at hand. And it improves safety by giving companies verified documentation that the individuals they have out at jobsites demonstrate a fundamental knowledge of and skill in safe equipment operation.
“Using CCO certifications gives higher qualification baselines for those working in the lifting industry,” said Morrow Corporate Service Manager, Chris Smith. “If a candidate does not have a certain level of common sense and safety, the likelihood of that individual becoming CCO certified is exceptionally low. It is no longer acceptable that an individual is qualified because they have done it for ‘X’ years, or they are qualified because the boss says so.”
Employees who have become certified understand the right way to do things and recognize the hazards involved with the tasks. Confidence comes from training and meeting standards set to be competent in completing the tasks safely and efficiently. Most of the team members at Morrow are employees who were trained and certified as a condition of employment. However, several employees have advanced into full time positions as a result of being certified.
Morrow understands that certification brings a sense of pride to the individuals that are certified in knowing they are among the best around and have achieved recognition for their dedication to becoming certified. Employers can be proud displaying CCO certification medals earned for having their employees certified and know they have created a safer workplace. Safety, efficiency, and preventing damage are all results of properly trained and certified people.