Regulations, standards, and operator responsibilities
Domain 7 tests the regulatory framework and the operator's personal duties. Expect questions that separate consensus standards from law and employer duties from operator duties.
Framework
In U.S. construction, OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC governs cranes and derricks; general industry uses 29 CFR 1910.180. ASME B30.5 covers mobile cranes, B30.9 slings, B30.20 below-the-hook devices, and B30.23 personnel lifting. Manufacturer instructions and load charts are binding. The employer must provide a safe site, qualified signal persons and riggers, inspections, and training; the operator must be certified for the crane type, physically able, and trained on that crane.
Operator duties
Read and follow the load chart and manual; perform pre-shift checks; stop unsafe lifts; refuse to operate a damaged or out-of-calibration crane; never leave controls with a suspended load; report defects; no drugs or alcohol; use signals; document inspections. Certification is not a license to operate every crane or configuration.
Worked example
A supervisor directs a lift over an occupied road with no barricades or traffic control. The operator stops and asks for a lift plan. The road must be closed or controlled, the load path barricaded, and power-line clearance verified before the lift. The operator's refusal is correct: the duty to stop an unsafe lift is personal and cannot be signed away.
Traps
Saying OSHA or NCCO "licenses" operators; treating ASME as voluntary where adopted; assuming certification covers all crane types; letting the employer override a chart limit; skipping signal-person qualification; operating with an expired inspection because "the annual is scheduled."