October 2008 – In response to the rash of crane-related accidents across the nation, Flintco, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK, has implemented a mandatory training program for employees serving as signalpersons and riggers.
“Flintco is leading the way in signal person and rigging training,” said Mark Grimes, division president of Flintco’s Oklahoma City office. Flintco started the program in August of 2007 and have been improving it ever since. 43 employees have completed the program along with 19 employees of subcontractors.
Flintco’s Oklahoma City division has nine CCO-certified crane operators now in training on the signalperson and rigger certification recommendations developed by the task forces established by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO). The five-module course consists of approximately 24 hours of classroom training on basic rigging and flagging procedures, including hand and voice commands; basic knowledge of crane operations; situational awareness; basic rigger knowledge and advanced rigger knowledge.
On completion of the program, employees are trained to recommended American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) specifications in order to prepare them to take the two-part signal and rigging exam, both written and practical application, which leads to certification by a third-party entity, NCCCO.
“Flintco had the foresight to start this training – they understand the benefits of providing it and that it is the right thing to do for the safety of their employees,” said Shawn Cosby, an operator/trainer with Flintco.
Cosby spent more than a year serving on NCCCO’s Signalperson’s Task Force. He says he has seen “amazing changes” at Flintco jobsites since implementation of the signaling and rigging training. Ground personnel have a heightened awareness and see so much more than they did before, he noted. “In the past, ground personnel did not have a lot of knowledge and they relied strictly on the crane operators,” said Cosby. “But now they know exactly what to look for.”
Founded in 1908, Flintco, Inc. is the largest American Indian-owned construction company in the US and is one of the largest commercial contractors in the nation. The company provides a full range of construction services including pre-construction, construction management, design/build, program and project management as well as general contracting. Flintco has offices in Albuquerque, NM; Austin, TX; Memphis, TN; Sacramento, CA; Springdale, AR; Springfield, MO; Tulsa, OK and Oklahoma City, OK.