Master Riggers and Tower Crane Riggers must furnish a letter in advance of certain rigging work to attest they will provide direct and continuing supervision of the rigging work.

For which type of rigging work is a letter required?

A letter attesting the licensee will provide direct and continuing supervision of the rigging work must be prepared by the licensed master or tower crane rigger for rigging work required to be performed by or under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master or tower crane rigger.

Rigging work that requires the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master rigger includes:

• The use of a crane performing work under the master rigger exemption in lieu of the crane obtaining a certificate of on-site inspection (CN)
• The hoisting or lowering of a boiler or tank weighing more than 1 ton at a construction/demolition site
• The hoisting or lowering of articles weighing more than 1 ton – other a suspended scaffold, and other than the loading/unloading of a material delivery truck provided the material is not raised more than 12 feet above the bed of the truck during the loading/unloading process – at a site that is not a construction/demolition site
• The assembly/jumping/or disassembly of a tower crane also requires the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master rigger or a licensed tower crane rigger.

How is the letter to be provided to the Department?
The letter must be maintained at the jobsite and provided to the department upon request. In addition, where the job requires a permit, such as a certificate of on-site inspection (CN), equipment use permit, or an on-site waiver, the letter must be submitted with the application for the certificate of on-site inspection or permit. For the assembly/jumping/disassembly of a tower crane, the letter must be submitted as part of the plan required by Section 3319.8.1 of the New York City Building Code.

In addition to a letter, the plans for the certificate of on-site inspection or permit must be stamped or otherwise clearly marked, in a format acceptable to the commissioner, indicating the rigging work will be performed by or under the direct and continuing supervision of the master rigger.

What constitutes direct and continuing supervision?

Direct and continuing supervision is defined in Article 401 of Title 28 of the New York City Administrative Code. A key criterion of direct and continuing supervision is that the crew performing the work is in the direct employ of the licensee or the business or city agency with which the licensee is associated. Simply having the licensee, or a rigging foreman designated by the licensee, present at the jobsite does not fulfil the requirements of direct and continuing supervision. To satisfy the requirement for direct and continuing supervision, the members of the rigging crew must also be in the direct employ of the licensee, or in the direct employ of the business or city agency with which the licensee is associated.

For a licensee to associate their license with a business, the licensee must notify the Department’s licensing unit. The association between the licensee and the business must be indicated as active on the license record. The department allows up to two businesses to be associated with a license. A licensee is not considered to be satisfying the requirements of direct and continuing supervision when supervising individuals employed by a business that is not associated with and indicated as active on the license record. For example, a licensee could not claim direct and continuing supervision of employees of a third business not indicated on the license record, nor claim direct and continuing supervision of employees of a business that is listed as inactive on the license record because, for example, the insurance for the business has expired.

1 RCNY 104-20, the rigging license rule, also provides additional requirements that a licensed rigger must fulfil in order to meet the requirements of direct and continuing supervision. These include planning the rigging work, designating a rigging foreman if the licensee will not be present at the site, and maintaining contact with the rigging foreman.