National code of practice lifting equipment (COP) – The National Code of Practice for lifting equipment stipulates exactly how people should be trained and operate any device being used for lifting. The code is partly covered in the South African Occupational Health and Safety Act. Adherence to the Code is non-negotiable.
The code was developed to ensure the safety and security of those operating lifting equipment, as well as those around them. Operating cranes is restricted to only those who have passed some tests and not everybody is able to try doing so.
The COP states that a special screening should be done for aspiring learners who want to be certified as competent lifting equipment operators. Before they can commence on training, aspiring candidates should meet the following standards and provide the training provider with the following:
- a declaration or certificate from the employer confirming the medical fitness of the learner to undergo the intended training;
- an eye test results issued by a person trained to carry out such tests, confirming that the learner has adequate day and night vision, and depth perception (e.g. Purdue University standard vision test No. 3): Provided that a valid Professional Driver’s Permit can also be accepted in lieu of the eye test results.
- the required personal protective equipment as prescribed by the employer under the General Safety Regulation 2 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which the learner can wear while conducting training.
- All new entrants intended under this code will be required to hold at least a General Education and Training Certificate, Grade 7 and must be at least 18 years of age.
- All learners of whatever status must be physically capable of performing without difficulty the tasks involved in operating the lifting machine/equipment for which they are to receive training for or re-certification training for.
There is additional entrance qualification Conditions for special equipment like Mobile Jib Cranes and Tower Cranes. An appropriate driver’s licence for the particular vehicle is compulsory but the learner shall also wear protective footwear (steel toe-capped), just to mention two special requirements. All new entrants intended to train under these categories also shall hold a General Education and Training Certificate Grade 10 (Std 8),or National Qualifications Framework level 2 (Maths and English) or equivalent.
While the above is only relevant to the learners, training providers should also stick to some regulations.
The accredited training provider shall ensure that every learner is granted relevant theoretical and practical training to enable the learner to attain the prescribed competency level according to the assessment criteria of the applicable unit standard.
The law states that training should be provided by a facilitator who holds a valid certificate of competence or three to five years' experience for each lifting machine I equipment code. Provided that in cases where continuous training for a particular machine I equipment code or the re-certification criteria as a certificated operator may be relaxed /lapsed by the Authorised Body but limited to a maximum period of three (3) years.
The Code of Practise states that training duration and instructions should differ according to different stages of training. Learners without prior certification applicable to a specific lifting machine/equipment code shall be trained for a minimum of 40 hours of which 50% should be practical knowledge.
Classes should be kept small and the ratio of learners to facilitator shall not exceed 4:1 for theory training; and the ratio of learners to demonstration/practical training per machine shall also not exceed 4:1. All operation training must be subject to direct facilitator supervision.
Certified operators whose certificate has expired or are due to expire, shall be subject to re-certification. The re-certification training shall comprise a minimum of 4 hours theoretical instruction with special focus on safety and 1 hour practical training and assessment under a ratio of 1:1 assessor supervision.
Where lifting machines are in use that are reasonably considered to be a “one off’ type and where no experience in their use is available, the manufacturer or supplier of the lifting machine is expected to train the operator and issue a certificate of training.
This can be accomplished by conducting training on-site or sending the employee away for training. In such cases full course details must be made available to the relevant authorised body and the learner will be required to do a theoretical and practical assessment set by the authorised body.
It is a legal requirement that trainees that have completed training are issued with a certificate of competence by an accredited training provider. The certificate is only valid when the following information appears on the document:
- name and logo of the accredited provider or authorised body;
- address of accredited provider;
- accreditation number of provider;
- certificate identification or serial number;
- identification of Act and Regulation;
- initials and surname of operator;
- identification number of operator;
- lifting machine code, code description of equipment, attachments and capacity;
- registration number of Learning Material;
- restrictions of operation;
- registration number of facilitator and assessor;
- unit standard number and credit value;
- date of issue and
- Authorising signature.
A carry card will be valid for a period of up to 24 months, and must be issued upon certification.
It is essential that people using lifting equipment are properly trained and that training provider issue valid certificates. It is a criminal offence for a non-certified employee to drive or operate any lifting equipment without the specific certificate. No employer would like to see that lid lifted.
Comments (7)
Hi. During the 90 days after date of expiry, for overhead crane licene. May they operate the crane or not?
2023-05-16 15:40:02Is it possible train a refresher learner and a final learner on the same machine,, one assessor?
2023-02-22 10:25:25Dear Mozwakhe Thank you for your query via our comments... Yes, you can train a Novice / Recertification on the same machine, however please keep in mind that Novice is a 5 day course and Recertification is a one day course... Both courses MUST be conducted by an accredited entity... Please do follow this link to browse all our current training courses including lifting equipment: https://www.mysafetyshop.co.za/Shop/Category/Health-and-Safety-Training
2023-02-23 09:17:22Good day As we all know that the code of practice is revised in every 5 years and training providers need to comply with the latest national code of practice. On the latest national code of practice there is a few changes 1. TRAINING COURSE DURATION Operators without a valid certificate/carry card shall not operate the relevant lifting machine/equipment in the working or operating environment. • Operators of immovable machines (area specific) may be trained/ assessed in the working or operating environment only under the direct and constant supervision of a facilitator/assessor and the work area is safe and safeguarded. • Should the operator not meet the prescribed unit standard competency further training must be arranged, for the learner to achieve the particular outcome/so There: there is no 90 days and Operators with an 90 days expired certificate/license should attend Novice training. This is 2020 version 2: The duration of Novices training, according to the code of practice 2020 version Learners without prior certification applicable to a specific lifting machine /equipment code, a. The hours of training shall be according to the notional learner hours of the registered unit standards, components of learning I skills programmes, part -qualifications or qualifications with a minimum of 30% theory and 70 % practical. b. The ratio of learners to facilitator shall not exceed 12 :1 for theory training; and c.. The ratio of learners to demonstration /practical training per machine shall also not exceed 4:1 and all operator training must be subject to direct facilitator supervision. Meaning that the duration of Novices training is no longer determined by the number of days, but the number of credits and NOTIONAL HOURS Now with this information's operator have to attend a 4 hours for re licence regardless of the 90 days expirery date Onother changes on this code of practice is that operators need to have a certificate for the JIB wall mounted crane which is code C54 The Code of Practice requires that all lifting machine /equipment Operators of lifting machines listed in this code are trained regardless of the capacity of the lifting machine / equipment by accredited training providers. I hope your will be able to assist with this kind of loop holes Regards Vusi
2023-08-04 16:51:34Dear Vusi Thank you for your time writing the comment and your valuable input and information, we really do appreciate it...
2023-08-07 08:47:36Good day Responding to the last comment says with the customer request we issued certificate for the re fresher training My understanding is this training is gazetted our customer cannot determine the duration and re issuing of the certificates.the law requires training providers to upload their learners to TETA for the statement of results
2023-08-04 16:58:40Why people need to attend 5 days or novice training when they licenses are expired for any duration ? Why I'm I asking this question is because since the lifting equipment trainings are credit bearing and are no longer runned by the South african institute of materials handling the certificates are not expiring it is only the licence card which can be renewed in one day as the code of practice specified,it was during the south african institute of materials handling where this procedure was used not under TETA for TETA the licence can be renewed in the specified period applying the RPL rules ● The duration of licence renewal is confusing as most of the people will say it is 1 day.to me its not 1day it's 4 hours, 2 hours for safety Theoretically session per group and 2 hours for Practical's per learner in other words each learner must spend 2 hours preparing and for practical assessment
2023-06-03 17:29:53Dear Vusi Thank you for your comment and query, we really do appreciate it... It is true that we only need to issue a license card for re certification but on our clients request we issue a certificate with no expire date and a license card with an expire date. According to the Driven Machinery Regulations and the code of practice if the certificate is to be expire there will be re certification and if it is expired for 90 days or more the Candidate must undergo novice training (3.E) The re certification training shall comprise a minimum of 4 hours theoretical training and 1 hour practical see (3.a) The learner without prior certification applicable to a specific machine code, the hours of training shall be according to the notional learners’ hours of the registered unit standard for Example Over head crane NQF Level2 and 5 Credits (1 credit = 10 notional hours) so (5 X 10= 50 hours of training). You cannot do RPL (Recognition Prior Learning) on Lifting equipment you can only do training or Re certification. I have also sent you this via email...
2023-06-06 15:05:17Good Day, I have C54 hoists in my areas. Can someone with a C30 license operate this, or must they be re-certified for C54? Will the transition from C30 to C54 be seen as re-certification or full re-training? Kind Regards Quintin
2023-08-07 10:20:33Dear Quintin Thank you for your query via our comments: C30 (unit standard 116235) & C54 (unit standard 244407) are different unit standards and each unit standard requires individual novice training for certification. Thus, the transition from C30 to C54 will require novice training. I trust that the response to your query is satisfactory...
2023-08-08 11:53:31My crane licences is expired for 6 months , do I attempt the recertification or novice course
2023-05-08 18:09:52Dear Ted Thank you for connecting with us and your query via our comments... Unfortunately, you will have to complete the Novice course, you have 90 days from the date your licence expired to re-new... Follow this link to book: https://www.mysafetyshop.co.za/Products/Overhead-Crane-Training-Novice---Per-Day Follow this link for your Medical: https://www.mysafetyshop.co.za/Products/Medical---Lifting-Equipment-Medical
2023-05-09 07:34:54