What Documents a GC Needs Before Your Crane Shows Up

Before your crane rolls onto a commercial, government or plant job, expect the GC to ask for a packet: the crane's annual inspection certificate and full report, recent monthlies, the operator's certification card and your company's operator evaluation, rigger and signal person cards, the load chart that matches the serial number, and a certificate of insurance. Some add a lift plan and a medical card. Send it before mobilization, and send it again when the crane or the operator changes.

Why GCs ask for all this

The GC is not making it up. Their own safety program, the owner's contract and their insurer push it down to the sub. And OSHA's compliance officers are told to check the same things after an incident. The directive for Subpart CC, CPL 02-01-063, has inspectors "verify that the equipment and wire rope inspection requirements have been met and that the documentation is available," verify operator qualifications, check the signal person's documentation, and "see if the serial number on the load chart matches that of the crane."

So the packet is the GC's way of seeing, before the crane shows up, what a compliance officer would look at after something goes wrong.

The usual packet, item by item

Item	Where the demand comes from	Notes
Annual inspection certificate and full report	1926.1412(f); GC and owner forms	Many want the third-party report, not just the sticker or cover page
Green Sticker number, if you have one	Customer preference	See Green Sticker crane inspections
Last monthly inspections (often three)	1926.1412(e); GC forms	Federal retention is 3 months, which lines up with the common "last three" ask
Today's shift inspection	Some GCs, some states	Not required on paper federally; Washington requires it
Operator certification card	1926.1427(c)-(d)	Type, expiry, and test language
Employer operator evaluation	1926.1427(f)(6)	Make, model and configuration evaluated
Operator medical card	Owner and DOT specs	Not a Subpart CC item; contract driven
Rigger and signal person qualifications	1926.1425, 1926.1428	Signal docs must list each type of signaling
Load chart and range chart	1926.1417(c); GC forms	Serial number should match the crane
Certificate of insurance	Contract	Limits vary; $1 million GL is a common floor
Lift plan	Contract, not Subpart CC	GCs set their own "critical lift" triggers

What real forms ask for

Here is what a few published forms say, word for word where it matters.

Dimeo Construction (GC). Its Crane Lift Plan form tells the crane company to supply competent and qualified person designation forms for the operator, "worker credentials – license, medical certification, OSHA 10 cards," the load chart "complete with notes," the range chart, and a "copy of annual 3rd party inspection certification and report." The plan goes in "at least 48 hours (2 business days) prior to crane mobilization – 5 days for critical and helicopter lifts." In the cab, Dimeo checks for the operator's manual and load chart notes, the third-party annual report, the completed daily inspection sheet and "copies of last three monthly inspection reports."

University of Texas at Austin (owner). The pre-mobilization checklist wants a vendor insurance certificate with at least $1 million general liability, the operator's medical clearance, the operator's license or certification "with valid expiration date and equipment type," rigger and signal person qualifications, and the annual crane inspection certificate. Every row says "valid expiration date."

NIH (federal owner). Its checklist asks for "Complete Crane Inspection, (Third Party) not just cover sheet," operator NCCCO cards, rigger certs and signal person certs.

SCDOT (state DOT). Contractors submit each operator's NCCCO, NCCER or CIC certification before crane work, keep it current "within a 5 year expiration date," and submit a current medical card. If "any personnel or equipment is changed or added," everything gets updated and resubmitted before crane work continues. NCDOT's provision says the same thing about changes.

The two items small shops get caught on

The operator evaluation. A wallet card is not the whole story. Federal rules separate certification from the employer's own evaluation under 1926.1427(f), and that evaluation has to be documented with the operator's name, the evaluator's name and signature, the date, and the make, model and configuration of equipment used. Plenty of shops have the card and no evaluation sheet. See the 1926.1427(f) operator evaluation and the bigger picture in crane operator qualification vs certification.

The full annual report. The sticker on the boom is not the report. If your inspector hands you a one-page certificate and keeps the checklist, ask for the full report every time. You will need it.

Timing and resends

The packet is not a one-time thing. Expect to send it:

• Before each new job, often 48 hours to 5 days ahead
• When the crane changes (a breakdown swap means a new annual, new load chart, new serial)
• When the operator changes (new card, new evaluation, maybe new medical)
• When something expires mid-job

A crane swap is the classic scramble. The replacement shows up, the GC's safety manager asks for its annual and load chart, and the office is digging through a filing cabinet or an email thread from last spring.

When the GC sends it back

Packets get bounced for small reasons. The usual ones:

• The annual is the cover page only, and they wanted the full report
• The load chart serial does not match the crane on the lift plan
• An operator card expires during the job
• The COI limits are below what the contract says, or the GC is not named as additional insured
• The evaluation does not name the crane model or configuration

Fix the item, resend the whole packet with a new date on the cover sheet, and note what changed. It keeps the GC's file clean and shows you are on top of it.

How to build your packet once

1. One folder per crane. Annual certificate and full report, Green Sticker number if any, last three monthlies, load and range charts with the serial number visible, repair and modification records since the annual.
2. One folder per person. Operator card (front and back), 1427(f) evaluation, medical card if your customers ask, rigger and signal person qualifications.
3. One company folder. Certificate of insurance, safety program, any state certificates such as a Washington certificate of operation.
4. An expiry list. Annual due date, each card's expiry, COI expiry. Check it weekly.
5. A cover sheet. Crane, serial, operator, job, date, and a list of what is attached.

When the job comes in, you pull the crane folder and the operator folder and send both. For more on record keeping, see how long to keep crane inspection records.

Where CraneFile fits

This packet is the reason we're building CraneFile. We're working with a handful of crane shops on it now. Each crane and each operator gets a file, and when a GC asks, you send one link with the annual, the monthlies, the operator's card and evaluation, the load chart and the COI. If the crane or the operator changes, you send the new link. It is not live yet. If you want in early, reserve a spot or call Patrick at (786) 471-4419.

This is plain-English guidance, not legal advice. The regulation text governs, and your contract may ask for more.

Questions we get

This is plain-English guidance, not legal advice. The regulation text and your state's rules govern.

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