January 28, 2013 - The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) today launched an online system that allows the credentials of CCO-certified individuals to be instantly verified via the Internet.
Access to the new system, known as Verify CCO Online or “VCO,” is through the NCCCO website www.nccco.org or via a special address, www.verifycco.org. After registering and logging in, users simply enter a certification number and the system provides a listing of all associated certifications, together with their expiration dates. VCO can be accessed at any time from nearly every device with an Internet connection, including computers, smartphones, and tablets.
“Providing this access to the NCCCO national certification database allows an individual’s CCO certifications to be checked with a few keystrokes, 24/7, 365 days of the year,” said NCCCO Commission Chairman, Ellis Vliet. The service is being provided completely free of charge to registered users, he said.
“VCO is expected to be particularly useful in cases where employers are presented with a photocopy of a CCO certification card which, by itself, is not sufficient proof of certification,” said NCCCO Executive Director, Graham Brent. But he also cautioned that, similarly, printouts from the VCO system are also not considered valid proof of certification by themselves and do not replace an official CCO photo ID certification card.
NCCCO issues separate CCO certification cards for operators, riggers and/or signalpersons, and crane inspectors, with separate certification numbers and expiration dates. The comprehensive VCO system not only lists the types of equipment that operators are certified on but also indicates if they have additional CCO certifications and displays all this certification data on a single screen. This feature will help employers maintain up-to-date records of their employees and ensure their compliance with all current and future governmental requirements.
“With OSHA’s November 2014 deadline for crane operators working in construction to be certified fast approaching, we expect this system to become an increasingly important tool for employers and government entities seeking to verify operators’ certification status,” Brent added.
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