As you are probably already aware, 2025 saw the final rule promulgation for crane rules in Washington following the legislation that was passed because of the 2019 tower crane collapse in Seattle. AGC had a front-row seat in the rule stakeholdering and despite not getting some of our desired outcomes, we have been fast at work creating resources for the membership as well as fighting back on some of the key aspects of the rule that are most onerous and not resulting in real safety outcome improvements. One aspect we have battled hardest on is the interpretation that a forklift is a crane when being used to raise and lower and move loads horizontally using a hook or shackle. After much input from our members and other industry stakeholders, as well as the most current OSHA Enforcement Directive, we decided to take action in the form of a rule petition. We lead a group of several industry associations, contractors and even had labor input to formulate our petition. We recently learned that the Department of Labor and Industries is granting our petition to open up that portion of the rule and have further discussions with industry. While this is a win, we are not done yet, we will still need member engagement to help impress upon the Department of Labor and Industries that they should follow the OSHA Enforcement directive that ONLY classifies forklifts as cranes when they are using a boom or hoist mechanist, not merely a hook or shackle. If you would like to be included in future communications and efforts on this rulemaking, please email Mandi Horton at mhorton@agcwa.com to be added to the list.
Much like other rulemaking efforts that we have strongly opposed, we took a two-pronged approach and proceeded to work with our crane task force and our work groups to create some helpful tools for our members to assist in compliance with the main elements of the new rules. To date we have created Site Supervisor Checklists for both mobile and tower cranes to help our members document and organize their crane-related work to align with Department expectations. We have also created a very helpful critical lift plan form. We would be happy to provide you with those documents as well as guidance on how to implement them.
Lastly, the Department recently created a Power Line tool online to help you properly address powerlines near your craning operations. You can access that eTool here: Crane Power Line Precautions e-Tool
As always, our team in the AGC Safety Department stands ready to assist you with implementing this rule as well as the others coming down the pike. Thanks for all you do to keep our industry safe, it is a privilege to serve you!