October 2016—NCCCO has discontinued use of its Physical Examination Form and Physician’s Instructions. In taking this action last month, the NCCCO Board of Directors recognized that, while use of the form has been voluntary for many years, it differed in several aspects from the B30 Physical Requirements. Since compliance with B30 Physical Requirements is a condition of certification, this had been the source of confusion among certain candidates and employers, and the form’s complete removal is designed to remedy that.
NCCCO’s physical requirements policy still explicitly states that certified crane operators must “meet ASME B30 physical requirements throughout their certification period and attest to their agreement to this requirement in their applications.” However, the policy no longer states that means of compliance include the NCCCO Physical Examination Form or a current DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate. In other words, the reference to the NCCCO Physical Examination Form has been eliminated.
Instead, the policy now states: “In appropriate circumstances, means of compliance with ASME physical requirements may include, but are not limited to, a current Department of Transportation (DOT) Medical Examiner’s Certificate.” By this language, the new statement of policy is intended to make it very clear that ASME medical requirements govern and that each certificant must satisfy the ASME standard under the circumstances of his or her particular employment. The language of the new policy also removes any potentially confusing reference to the (discarded) NCCCO Physical Examination Form.