September 10, 2015

Mr. Thomas A. Cady, CSP
Senior Safety Manager
The Boldt Company
2901 Business Park Drive
Stevens Point, WI 54482

Dear Mr. Cady:

Thank you for your August 25, 2015, letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Directorate of Construction. You have requested an interpretation of the "at least every 12 months" annual crane inspection requirement in 29 CFR 1926.1412(f)(1). This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of only the requirements discussed and may not be applicable to any question not delineated in your original correspondence.

Your question/statement is summarized below with OSHA's response.

Question: Does "at least every 12 months" refer to 12 months from the date of the previous inspection, or anytime during the month of the previous inspection? For example, if the crane was inspected on August 15, 2015, would the annual inspection be required on or before August 15, 2016, or by August 31, 2016.

Answer: The annual inspection is based on the anniversary date and would be due on or before August 15, 2016. As discussed in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction; Proposed Rule, Federal Register #73:59713-59954, (2008, October 9):

"The requirement that the inspection be conducted at least every 12 months means that an inspection must [emphasis added] be conducted on or before the anniversary date of the last annual inspection. A situation that may arise is where the equipment is not in service on the anniversary date. In that situation, since the equipment is not in service, the annual inspection would not have to be done at that point. However, the equipment could not be put back into service until the annual inspection had been done."

Based on this discussion, some of the crane inspections conducted in your plan would not be in compliance with the OSHA standard. This same "on or before the anniversary date" requirement would apply to monthly inspections as well for cranes that are in service for consecutive months.

Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. We hope you find this information helpful. OSHA's requirements are set by statute, standards, and regulations. Our letters of interpretation do not create new or additional requirements but rather explain these requirements and how they apply to particular circumstances. This letter constitutes OSHA's interpretation of the requirements discussed. From time to time, letters are affected when the Agency updates a standard, a legal decision impacts a standard, or changes in technology affect the interpretation. To ensure that you are using the correct information and guidance, please consult OSHA's website at www.osha.gov. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the Directorate of Construction at (202) 693-2020.

Sincerely,

James G. Maddux, Director
Directorate of Construction