Alaska Worker Safety—Cranes in the Workplace

A number of serious crane accidents in New York and across the country have prompted a review of crane safety in many states. As a result, the Alaska state Labor Commission has been focusing recently on safety regulations regarding the use of cranes in the workplace.

“These crane accidents illustrate the importance of crane and jobsite safety. In Alaska, we have not had a crane-related fatality for several years and I intend to keep it that way with a proactive safety effort,” the Alaska Labor Commissioner Click Bishop says. “We ask all employers who use cranes to review crane lifting and safety policies, check cranes for mechanical integrity, and ensure crane operators are qualified and use the appropriate safety procedures.”

This means that more safety inspections, including stronger enforcement of existing regulations and penalties for any violations, will be added to the regulations.

Alaska Occupational Safety and Health regulations require that employers must give employees who operate cranes appropriate training, and make sure the crane operators are physically capable of the task.