February 2015—After a thorough onsite audit of its certification procedures and psychometric protocols, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has granted NCCCO continued accreditation for its more than 20 crane and crane-related personnel certifications.
Additionally, the scope of NCCCO’s accreditation has been extended to include the CCO Lift Director and CCO Service Truck Crane Operator certification programs (see separate story).
ANSI’s audit of NCCCO occurs annually as a requirement of its accreditation to ISO 17024, with an on-site inspection by ANSI auditors every other year. Although NCCCO’s current accreditation runs through 2017, ANSI requires specific data be submitted on an annual basis, and grants continued accreditation only if all requirements are met.
NCCCO also picked up another highly-prized commendation from ANSI—its seventh since it was first accredited in 2007—this time for its development of videos for use by candidates prior to taking CCO practical examinations. “NCCCO is to be commended for developing very high quality video tutorials on its website for the Mobile Crane and Service Truck Crane practical examinations,” ANSI’s assessors stated. “These videos provide detailed descriptions and illustrations of the requirements and candidate experience during these activities, and very likely increase the readiness and comfort of individuals taking the examinations.”
NCCCO Chief Executive Officer, Graham Brent, noted that a central part of NCCCO’s mission since its inception 20 years ago had been to establish national testing programs that are fair to all candidates while at the same time are both valid and reliable assessments of essential knowledge and skills. “ANSI’s continued accreditation CCO certification programs is clear testimony that that goal is being achieved,” he said.
“Achieving ANSI accreditation is a major undertaking,” said ANSI Director, Personnel Credentialing Programs, Dr. Vijay Krishna, “and NCCCO can be very proud of this accomplishment. No other accreditation process demands the degree of psychometric or management disclosure that ANSI requires for accreditation under ISO 17024.”