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There has been recent confusion regarding OSHA's certification requirements for the operation of a digger derrick truck. Specific concerns raised by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and Edison Electrical Institute (EEI) have challenged OSHA's change of guidelines requiring certified and licensed electrical workers must also be digger derrick certified. Although it appears as if this issue is a closed book, OSHA has issued a statement indicating a potential compromise in the necessary requirements for electrical workers until further agreement can be reached. Contested Points Points contested by NECA and EEI state that while certified and licensed electrical contractors do use forms of digger derrick vehicles such as cherry pickers that may or may not also be equipped with an auger, the linesmen who are doing the actual work with live wires have already received proper training to operate the auger as an inclusion with any current work certification. There is also the opinion that the standards being levied by OSHA are significantly different from the electrical certification requirements, using safety measures that are ineffective for the scope of the work involved and have already been rejected by many States in regards to licensing requirements. The two organizations contest that by requiring certified linemen to obtain yet another approval for skills already certified to perform and to change safety practices already provided will not only unnecessarily cost companies time and money but will cause confusion in general and serve no real purpose in increasing job safety. Concerns NECA and EEI stress a much more important point, offering an opinion that two things are more likely to happen: digger derrick operators operating only an auger or crane and have no training for working with live current may view this change as allowing them to work on electrical lines; and existing electrical workers may find confusion with in which they are actually supposed to be practice on-the-job safety. These issues, the organizations point out, could be deadly! Response In response to these concerns and to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals by EEI against OSHA in 2011, OSHA has come to an agreement with the organization in the form of revisions to the proposed rule changes. As part of these revisions, OSHA has stated certain requirements will be excluded for specific certified contractors, allowing those requirements to remain under current categories. In other words, the digger derrick certification rulings will not require electrical contractor operators to comply with the rulings which will be enforced for other operations. Final Revisions As of this writing, the final changes to OSHA's standards on digger derrick certification have not yet been published. Once presented to the Courts for review, EEI is expected to withdraw the lawsuit; however, they have retained the right to challenge the guidelines again if the final revised rules do not favorably represent and protect electrical contractors. More detailed information and news of progress of this issue can be found at the NECA website at necanet.org. OSHA has always set high standards for companies to follow regarding the digger derrick; however, this particular situation seems to have caused some confusion for operators of these vehicles and the electrical workers who use them to work on live wires. Hopefully, these guidelines will be properly rewritten to be more clearly understood to maintain a high standard of safety as set forth for these mighty digging machines! Christopher M. Hunter is an expert in the auctioning of industrial equipment. To find out more about Digger Trucks, go to the main website at: http://www.jjkane.com/home.
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