September 2010 - Philadelphia becomes the first jurisdiction in the country in October to require riggers and signalpersons to be certified, a requirement that exceeds the provisions of the recently released Federal OSHA rule.
Effective October 10, all tower crane operators—as well as all riggers, signalpersons, and crane inspectors involved with tower crane operations—working in the city of Philadelphia were required to be certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) or another organization that is NCCA or ANSI accredited and has equivalent testing and certification requirements.
According to bill number 080622-AA amending Title 9 of the Philadelphia Code, no person shall erect a tower crane unless the tower crane owner has disclosed the age of the tower crane, whether the manufacturer is currently in business, and whether the original equipment manufacturer’s parts are available to repair major components, should such repair become necessary.