Operating Engineer - Winter 2015

Canadian News
Group Advancing Development of National
Demonstration of Skills Test for Mobile Crane Operators
AN INDUSTRY COMMITTEE
led by the Asia Pacific Gateway Skills
Table (Skills Table) is advancing
the development of a voluntary,
Canada-wide demonstration of
skills test (DOST) for mobile crane
operators, a key occupation serving
many industries.
In recent years, industry
stakeholder groups have expressed
support for harmonization of
competency standards and a
national DOST to provide benefits
to industry, operators and the public in terms of: increased
safety; reduced costs and red-tape; greater employer
assurance in meeting liability of worker competency; and
more fluid employer and worker mobility, says Lionel Railton,
chair of the project committee. The committee, working
closely with the Canadian Hoisting and Rigging Safety
Council, is seeking to develop and pilot a voluntary, national
mobile crane operator (lattice boom friction and hydraulic)
DOST. This standard is being developed to complement the
existing Red Seal endorsement.
“We want to develop a national, mobile crane operator
DOST based on existing best practices, both nationally and
internationally. Ideally for jurisdictions currently using a
DOST, it would be adopted and used going forward; and,
for jurisdictions not currently using a DOST, when choosing
to engage, our standard would be used in the introduction
of their activities,” says Railton, who is also the Canadian
Director of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
The IUOE has advocated for a national DOST for more than
20 years.
The committee -- comprising industry employers and
labour -- has now published the first iteration of a working
background report focused on mobile crane DOSTs and
related research found both in Canada and internationally.
A working group of national subject-matter experts will hold
their second meeting in Toronto in March. Consultation with
industry stakeholders in various provinces is set for mid-year.
The need for a standardized DOST comes at a critical
time. Shortages in this industry have been well documented
in recent research, as well as in direct union and employer
feedback from across Canada. Data from BuildForce indicates
excess demand for mobile crane operators in many provinces.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has included crane
operators as one of the 29 occupations that are given priority
in the immigration application
process because of short supply.
Several provinces in Canada
offer mobile crane operator
training programs that include
theory testing, practical
assessment through a DOST
method, certification and Red
Seal endorsement. However,
approaches to DOSTs vary across
the provinces and territories. This
fragmented approach to mobile
crane operators DOST activities
across Canada creates many negative impacts, including:
• Restricted labour mobility: Available crane operators
can’t travel to another province for work due to
jurisdictional requirements to meet a specific DOST
standard.
• Increased red tape: Employers are faced with the
administrative burden of continually demonstrating
new workers’ competencies.
• Liability risk: Employers in jurisdictions without
compulsory practical assessment criteria shoulder
increased liability for ensuring their workers’
competency.
• Additional costs: When a crane does not operate, the
rest of the site operations are significantly impacted.
Employers incur costs due to project delays because of
an empty seat until an operator is available.
• Increased safety risk on the worksite: By not having
to demonstrate their competencies in a consistent
manner, crane operators may perform lifts incorrectly.
A DOST is a practical assessment that requires the
candidate to perform a particular task, or set of tasks, to
demonstrate competence before working on a job site. A
DOST was identified as “the single most important form
of assessment” in a Canadian Council of Directors of
Apprenticeship survey of tradespeople, employers, educators
and labour representatives.
“We know there is strong and increasing support for the
standardization of practical assessment in labour training.
Importantly, we know it can be done in Canada, as seen in
other occupations,” says Railton. “Although the needs and
interests of industry vary across the jurisdictions, we have
seen successful agreement on benchmarks for a trade,
allowing each jurisdiction a degree of freedom.”
20
INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER