CCO certified: 100,000 and counting

CCO certification reached a historic milestone last month when the 100,000^th person to be certified through the nationally accredited program since its launch in April 1996 received his certification card.

Because operators often hold certifications for various types of cranes, as well as related programs such as rigger, signal person and crane inspector, the actual number of certifications issued is much higher. In fact, the 75,000 individuals who are currently certified hold more than 240,000 certifications between them. And this equates to more than 850,000 written and practical exams administered over the 18 years NCCCO has been offering its CCO certifications.

While achieving these numerical milestones was in itself gratifying, said NCCCO Executive Director, Graham Brent, much more important was the improved crane safety that had resulted from having such a large percentage of operators on construction sites around the nation professionally and independently tested.

According to Brent, a majority of those certified over the last 18 years have been operators of mobile cranes, the first and still the most popular program. But other crane programs, such as tower and overhead cranes, had shown sustained interest in the decade since their launch, and the newer, “crane-related” certifications were growing in popularity.