Crane collapses prompt calls for reform

The city’s two deadly crane collapses since March have prompted calls for a reform of at all levels of government. The state Department of Labor is creating a new task force with city and federal representatives to examine the city’s construction policies. The group that promotes crane safety standards, the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators, is calling for change at the federal level, saying the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 40-year-old guidelines for inspecting cranes are outdated.