NCCCO Digger Derrick Prep for Alaska Line and Telecom Crews

Topics in this prep

• Digger derrick components: boom, auger, pole guides, winch and outriggers
• Site evaluation for ground conditions, slope, traffic and overhead lines
• Pre-operation inspection, including auger teeth, pilot bits and hydraulic lines
• Augering technique, including hard and frozen ground
• Setting, plumbing and pulling poles with the pole claw
• Manufacturer load charts and how auger and pole-handling weight affect them
• Insulated booms, dielectric testing and minimum approach distances
• How 1926.1400(c)(4) separates exempt pole work from crane work

What frozen and thawing ground does to pole work

Augering in winter is a different job from augering in July. Frozen silt and gravel can stop a standard bit, and in permafrost areas crews may need jackhammers to finish a hole the auger started. One North Slope cooperative that uses its digger derrick to prepare winter graves has described this exact combination, and noted that frozen soil turns sticky once it is exposed to warmer air, which makes cleaning out a hole slower.

The trouble continues after the pole is set. Alaska's state geological survey defines frost jacking as poorly anchored structures being pushed upward by frost heave, and thawing permafrost can do the opposite. A telecom provider has had to repair or replace leaning poles along a swampy stretch of the Richardson Highway north of Delta Junction, and Chugach Electric has sent crews to straighten tilting poles in south Anchorage. Replacing, resetting and re-plumbing poles means more hours on the derrick, often on soft or uneven ground.

• Check auger teeth and pilot bit wear before a frozen-ground job
• Expect outrigger pads to sink as surface frost thaws
• Watch hydraulic response until the oil warms up
• Keep the work area clear of slush and ice around the hole

Where the Subpart CC exemption stops

Digger derricks get a narrow carve-out from the federal crane standard, which applies in Alaska through AKOSH's adoption of the construction rules. Under 1926.1400(c)(4), Subpart CC does not cover a digger derrick when it is augering holes for poles carrying electric or telecommunication lines, placing or removing those poles, or handling materials being installed on or removed from them, or when it is used for other work covered by Subpart V. That exclusion is only available if the work fully complies with Subpart V, or with 1910.268 for telecommunications.

The exemption follows the task, not the employer. NCCCO's guidance points out that a utility's crew is not exempt just because the company is a utility. Setting a padmount transformer on the ground involves no hole and no pole, and OSHA has treated it as covered. Installing signs, streetlights or similar structures for a construction project is also crane work, so operators doing it need accredited certification and an employer evaluation under 1926.1427.

Many Alaska utilities and contractors certify their digger derrick operators anyway, because a single crew can switch between exempt and covered tasks several times in one week.

How NCCCO tests digger derrick operators

Certification takes a passing written exam and a passing practical. You can do them in either order, but once you pass the first one you have 12 months to pass the other. Written exams are offered by online proctoring, at test centers and at scheduled testing events.

NCCCO organizes the written exam around five areas: Site, Pre-Operation, Operation, Technical Knowledge, and Manufacturers' Load Charts. Operation carries the most weight, and load charts are a large share as well, which is where most of our practice questions focus. The practical is hands-on and asks you to control a load, dig a hole and place a pole at an NCCCO-approved site. For crews in remote communities, that usually means coordinating with an employer or training center that can host an examiner and a machine.

Course outline for line crews

The material moves in the same order a crew works: arrive and read the site, inspect and set up, dig, handle the pole, then load charts and regulations. Each unit is short enough to finish during a break, and the practice sets can be repeated on a phone, tablet or laptop at any hour. Lessons on power line safety cover minimum approach distances and the role of insulated booms, without replacing the electrical safety training your utility already requires.

Utilities and contractors can enroll several crew members together so everyone studies the same material on their own timeline.