NEWS CENTER

June 2014—In support of the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators’ policy of providing calculators for certain CCO written exams, Sicklesteel Cranes (Mt. Vernon, WA) has donated 20,000 calculators for candidates’ use.

Basic calculators are supplied for CCO Mobile Crane Operator Specialty Exams (not Core), Digger Derrick Operator, Rigger Level II, Mobile Crane Inspector, Mobile Crane Lift Director, and Tower Crane Lift Director exams.

“Sicklesteel Cranes is delighted to show its support of CCO certification programs and the safety benefits certification brings,” said Thom Sicklesteel, president of Sicklesteel Cranes. “This highly visible sponsorship opportunity demonstrates Sicklesteel Cranes’ commitment to NCCCO’s primary mission of promoting safe lifting practices.” Sicklesteel also currently serves NCCCO as its 2014 President. Candidates are permitted to take the calculators home with them after completing their exam(s).

Since the new policy allowing calculators on specific tests went into effect two years ago, NCCCO has given away approximately 30,000 calculators to certification candidates. Only NCCCO-supplied calculators are permitted to be used—for security reasons, candidates may not bring their own calculators into the secure exam room. Candidates testing via computer-based testing are permitted to use an on-screen calculator.

NCCCO began allowing calculators on specific exams in light of a study commissioned by International Assessment Institute (IAI), the company that provides test development and administration services to NCCCO. The study, The Effects of Calculator Use During NCCCO Testing, concluded that, while the use of calculators would not be appropriate for use on basic math questions such as those contained in CCO Core exams, their use would be supportable on load chart calculations used on CCO Specialty exams.

“We’re grateful that Sicklesteel Cranes has agreed to make this major investment in support of CCO certification,” said NCCCO Commission Chairman, Ellis Vliet. “Part of the reason NCCCO remains at the forefront of operator certification is its continual review of processes, and NCCCO’s revised calculator policy has been popular among candidates who get to keep the calculators to use in their daily work.”