Safety Training & Certification
Crane and Rigging Safety Training in Yakima and Central Washington
Rigging and signaling failures cause some of the most severe incidents on any jobsite. We qualify your riggers and signal persons to OSHA and Washington L&I requirements using your rigging gear and your crane, so the training matches the lifts your crew actually performs.
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Trusted by crews across Washington
Overview
What this training delivers
Crane and rigging safety training teaches workers and supervisors how to work safely around cranes and hoists, read load charts, spot rigging hazards and prevent the high-severity incidents cranes are known for. It is built for anyone who works near cranes, signals or rigs loads, or oversees lifting operations, not just certified operators.
OSHA treats crane work as a high-hazard activity, and improper rigging or signaling is one of the leading causes of fatal construction accidents. This course helps you stay compliant, prevent catastrophic failures, and make sure every lift is planned, communicated and executed safely.
On operator certification: for mobile and construction cranes we train and prep your riggers and operators for national certifications such as NCCCO or ITI, and the certification itself is issued by that accredited body. We do certify general industry overhead crane operators directly.
What's covered
What your crew will learn
Classroom instruction covers the why from a certified instructor. The hands-on portion proves your crew can do the work safely.
Classroom Topics
- Crane types and components: mobile, tower, overhead, boom truck, and telehandlers with lifting attachments
- Roles and responsibilities: operator, rigger, signal person, lift director and competent person
- Load charts and crane capacity, and how capacity changes with boom angle, radius and configuration
- Rigging fundamentals: slings, shackles, hooks, hardware and hitch types
- Sling angle calculations and safe working loads
- Inspection requirements and documentation
- Standard hand signals, radio communication and blind lifts
- Lift planning: load weight, rigging selection, swing radius and hazard identification
- Power line safety, minimum approach distances and voltage tables
- Critical lifts: multi-crane, heavy, over personnel and limited clearance
- Common failure modes: tip-overs, dropped loads, rigging failures and communication errors
- Wind limits, ground conditions, outriggers and cribbing
- Emergency procedures and incident reporting
Hands-On Practical
- Rigging inspection practice: identifying damaged slings, bent shackles, worn hooks and incorrect hardware
- Sling angle demonstrations using real rigging to show how angle changes capacity
- Hands-on rigging setup: choosing the correct sling, hitch and hardware for a load
- Load weight estimation using tags, formulas and visual cues
- Hand signal practice and directing mock lifts
- Lift planning walkthrough using your equipment and your hazards
- Crane setup observation: outriggers, cribbing, swing radius and exclusion zones
- Communication drills including radio calls and blind lift coordination
- Site-specific hazard identification walking your facility
Who needs this
Who is this training for
- Crane operators: mobile, tower, boom truck and overhead. We certify general industry overhead crane operators directly, and train and prep mobile and construction operators for NCCCO or ITI certification.
- Riggers: anyone who selects, inspects, attaches or adjusts rigging must be a Qualified Rigger. Ironworkers, millwrights, maintenance mechanics and anyone attaching loads to a hook.
- Signal persons: anyone giving hand or radio signals to an operator must be qualified. Spotters, signalers and anyone directing blind lifts.
- Lift directors and supervisors: foremen, superintendents, project managers, safety coordinators and facility managers overseeing lifts.
- Workers near cranes: trades, warehouse and maintenance crews who benefit from awareness training even when it is not required.
If you rig the load, you must be qualified. If you direct the crane, you must be qualified. If you oversee the lift, you must be competent.
Certification
Certification details
A card that means something. Issued by a body that inspectors recognize and valid for a period that keeps you ahead of the deadline.
Certification Issued
Crane and Rigging Safety training certificate, Qualified Rigger and Qualified Signal Person documentation, and general industry overhead crane operator certification
Issuing Body
A/F Business Solutions as Qualified Evaluator under OSHA 1926 Subpart CC, 1926.251, 1926.1428, 1910.179 and WAC 296-155-53300. Mobile and construction crane operator certification is issued by an accredited body such as NCCCO or ITI.
Validity Period
Rigger and Signal Person qualification: 3 years. NCCCO operator certification: 5 years.
What They Receive
- Crane and Rigging Safety training certificate
- Qualified Rigger and Qualified Signal Person documentation where applicable
- General industry overhead crane operator certification where applicable
- Written evaluation and skills verification
- Wallet card and digital certificate
- Employer-verifiable training record for OSHA and L&I audits
Recertification Triggers
- When a contractor or site policy requires updated qualification
- When a worker changes roles, such as becoming a lift director or supervisor
- After a serious incident, near miss or demonstrated unsafe behavior
- When rigging equipment or crane types change significantly
- When NCCCO operator certification reaches its five-year renewal
Process
How it works
We come to your facility. Here is what to plan for, and what we bring with us.
Time Required
Crane and rigging awareness: 3 to 4 hours. Qualified Rigger or Signal Person: 4 to 6 hours depending on class size. Hands-on evaluation adds 10 to 20 minutes per person.
Class Size
No strict limit for classroom. Hands-on qualification runs one worker at a time. Ideal group is 6 to 15 for practical time.
Prerequisites
None, and no prior crane experience required. For qualification, workers must demonstrate competency in rigging inspection, sling angles and signaling.
Employer Provides
- A safe indoor space for the classroom portion
- Access to your rigging gear for inspection practice: slings, shackles, hooks and hardware
- Access to your crane if you want site-specific demonstrations
- An area where we can safely walk through lift planning, exclusion zones and communication drills
What We Bring
- All classroom materials and regulatory content
- Rigging examples for inspection and sling-angle demonstrations
- Qualified Rigger and Signal Person evaluation forms
- Wallet cards and digital certificates
- We carry rigging for inspection practice, though using your own gear gives your crew the most relevant training
Why A/F Business Solutions
Trained by someone who has done the work, not just read the standard.
Most low-cost crane and rigging classes are PowerPoint slides taught by someone who has never rigged a load or directed a lift. We have worked in real construction, industrial, utility and manufacturing environments across Central Washington, where cranes, boom trucks and overhead systems move heavy, high-risk loads every day. I have run every crane form other than tower, designed pick plans and rigging plans, built rigging and inspected rigging for ten years.
We come directly to your facility, use your rigging gear, your crane and your actual site hazards, and qualify your workers under OSHA and Washington L&I rigger and signal person requirements. You get a fully documented, employer-verifiable qualification, not a generic certificate of attendance that will not pass an audit.
Common questions
Questions about our training
Straight answers to the questions we hear most from foremen and safety managers.
Rigger and Signal Person qualification runs three years. Requalify sooner if a contractor requires it, if a worker changes roles, after a serious incident or near miss, or if your rigging equipment or crane types change significantly. NCCCO operator certification runs on a five-year renewal cycle.
Crane and rigging awareness runs 3 to 4 hours. Qualified Rigger or Signal Person runs 4 to 6 hours depending on class size, plus 10 to 20 minutes per person for hands-on evaluation. Classroom has no strict size limit, though 6 to 15 workers gives the best practical time.
Yes. We come to your facility and use your rigging gear and your crane so the training reflects your real equipment and hazards. We carry rigging for inspection practice, but working with your own gear gives your crew the most relevant training.
Yes. Qualified Rigger and Qualified Signal Person qualification is issued directly by A/F Business Solutions under OSHA 1926.251, 1926.1428 and WAC 296-155-53300. That is the qualification OSHA and Washington L&I expect to see for anyone rigging loads or signaling a crane, and it comes with written evaluation and skills verification your employer can produce during an audit.
It depends on the crane. For mobile and construction cranes we provide the training and exam preparation for national certifications such as NCCCO or ITI, and the certification itself is issued by that accredited body. We are not an NCCCO certifier, and we are straightforward about that line.
General industry overhead cranes are different. We certify those operators directly.
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