The 1926.1427(f) Crane Operator Evaluation: What to Document

The 1926.1427(f) evaluation is your company's own check that an operator can safely run the specific crane and configuration you put them on. The card says they passed a test for a crane type. The evaluation says they can run your crane, with your boom, jib and counterweight setup, on the work you assign. It must be documented with four things: the operator's name, the evaluator's name and signature, the date, and the make, model and configuration used, and kept at the worksite while they work for you.

Why it exists

OSHA's 2018 operator rule, published November 9, 2018, kept certification but made the employer's own evaluation an explicit duty. The evaluation and documentation requirements took effect February 7, 2019. The point was simple: a crane type certification does not prove someone can run a particular machine in a particular setup.

The rule says it directly: "Possession of a certificate or degree cannot, by itself, cause a person to be qualified" for the evaluation (1926.1427(f)(3)).

What the evaluation must cover

Per 1926.1427(f)(1), the operator must demonstrate:

• The skills, knowledge, and "ability to recognize and avert risk, necessary to operate the equipment safely, including those specific to the safety devices, operational aids, software, and the size and configuration of the equipment."
• Size and configuration "includes, but is not limited to, lifting capacity, boom length, attachments, luffing jib, and counterweight set-up."
• "The ability to perform the hoisting activities required for assigned work, including, if applicable, blind lifts, personnel hoisting, and multi-crane lifts."

In plain terms, the evaluator watches the operator set up and run the crane the way they will on the job, and asks questions about the load chart, the LMI or RCL, and what they would do when something goes wrong.

Who can evaluate

1926.1427(f)(4) and (5):

• Someone with "the knowledge, training, and experience necessary to assess equipment operators."
• An "employee or agent of the employer." You can hire an outside evaluator, but "employers that assign evaluations to an agent retain the duty" to make sure it is done right.

In a small shop that is usually the owner, a lead operator, or a hired evaluator. Pick someone who could explain the crane's load chart and safety devices in their sleep.

The required fields

1926.1427(f)(6): "The employer must document the completion of the evaluation. This document must provide: The operator's name; the evaluator's name and signature; the date; and the make, model, and configuration of equipment used in the evaluation. The employer must make the document available at the worksite while the operator is employed by the employer."

A sample evaluation form

The four required fields are the core. The rest makes the form useful when a GC or inspector reads it.

Field	Required?	Example
Operator name	Yes	J. Smith
Evaluator name	Yes	R. Jones, lead operator
Evaluator signature	Yes	(signed)
Date	Yes	2026-10-07
Make and model	Yes	Make and model of the crane used
Serial number	No, but helps	As on the load chart
Configuration	Yes	Main boom length, jib or no jib, counterweight, outrigger setup
Safety devices and operational aids reviewed	Recommended	LMI/RCL, anti-two-block, boom angle indicator
Software or control system	Recommended	Display and settings used
Load chart exercises	Recommended	Picks computed from the chart with deductions
Hoisting activities covered	Recommended	Blind lifts, personnel hoisting, multi-crane lifts, if applicable
Other equipment covered	Recommended	Machines the employer judges do not need substantially different skills
Operator certification and expiry	Recommended	Certifying body, type, expiry
Result and limits	Recommended	Approved, or approved with limits

Keep it to one page if you can. Operators sign more willingly when the form looks like it was written by someone who runs cranes.

Running the evaluation: a simple order

1. Paperwork first. Confirm the operator's certification is current, covers the crane type, and notes the test language. Check that the manual and load chart in the cab are in that language.
2. Walkaround. Have the operator do the shift inspection out loud. You learn fast whether they know the machine.
3. Setup. Outriggers, cribbing, level, counterweight, boom and jib configuration as the job needs.
4. Chart work. Give them a pick and have them work it from the load chart, with deductions.
5. Safety devices. LMI or RCL settings, anti-two-block, boom angle and length indicators. Ask what they do if one fails.
6. Operating. Smooth control, swing and stop, landing a load on a mark, and any special work you assign, such as blind lifts or multi-crane lifts.
7. Shut-down and securing.
8. Sign it. Fill in the form while the crane is still in front of you, with the configuration written out.

"Configuration" is the word that matters

Two evaluations of the same operator on the same model can be different documents if the configuration changes. Configuration under the rule covers lifting capacity, boom length, attachments, luffing jib and counterweight setup. If you evaluated someone on a 50-ton with main boom only, and the job calls for the jib and full counterweight, ask whether the new setup needs substantially different skills. If it does, evaluate again.

Other cranes, without a new evaluation

1926.1427(f)(5) lets you skip a fresh evaluation where "the employer can demonstrate" that other equipment "does not require substantially different skills, knowledge, or ability to recognize and avert risk." Write that judgment down. A line like "also approved on [other model], same control system and comparable capacity and configuration" on the form is your demonstration.

Operators hired before December 10, 2018

For operators you employed before December 10, 2018, 1926.1427(f)(2) lets you rely on your earlier assessments instead of a new evaluation. You still need paper: the document must show the date of your determination and the make, model and configuration of equipment the operator previously demonstrated competency on.

Retraining means re-evaluation

1926.1427(b)(5) requires retraining when an operator's performance or an evaluation shows it is needed. Then 1926.1427(f)(7): "the employer must re-evaluate the operator with respect to the subject of the retraining." That re-evaluation gets its own dated, signed entry.

Where it gets asked for

• OSHA. The compliance directive tells inspectors to verify operator qualifications and training.
• GCs. Dimeo's lift plan form asks the crane company for "Competent / qualified person designation forms for operator and A/D supervisor." Other GCs call it an operator designation letter. Your 1427(f) document, plus the card, answers it.
• Your packet. It belongs next to the operator's card in the jobsite crane packet.

For how the evaluation fits with training and certification, read crane operator qualification vs certification. For how long to keep it, see how long to keep crane inspection records.

Common gaps

• The form says "qualified on all company cranes" with no make, model or configuration
• No evaluator signature, or the operator signed their own
• No re-evaluation after a near miss and retraining
• The document is in the office, not available at the worksite
• Pre-2018 operators with no written record of the earlier assessment

Where CraneFile fits

We're building CraneFile with a handful of crane shops. The evaluation is a short form on a phone: pick the operator, pick the crane, set the configuration, the evaluator signs, and it lands in the operator's file next to their card. When that operator goes to a job, it goes in the GC packet with them. 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.

Questions we get

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

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