January 2014—It may be only a matter of weeks before the long-awaited Compliance Directive on the new crane rule is distributed to OSHA area offices.
That’s according to Jim Maddux, Director of the OSHA Directorate of Construction speaking at NCCCO’s 35th Bi-Annual Commission meeting towards the end of last year.
The lack of a Compliance Directive had certainly had the effect of “holding back” the full “qualitative and quantitative” effects of the new rule, Maddux said and, as a result, it hadn’t hit its “full stride” in terms of the safety effects it could have.
However, with all the responses from its regional offices now in, the Directive was now nearing publication, he said, having passed through the Directorate for review by the Solicitor’s Office.
And, perhaps good news for employers and OSHA compliance officers alike, the final draft has been reduced in size from about 260 pages to slightly less than 200.