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Training Directory

NYC DOB CRANES AND DERRICKS TRAINING

16-Hour Special Rigger

The NYC DOB-approved course you must finish within the year before applying for a Special Rigger license. It prepares you for the work, but it is not the license.

  • In person · Live online · Hybrid
  • 16 hours
  • English

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Course at a glance

Format
Instructor-led, in English. In person, live online, or hybrid. Not available self-paced.
Length
16 hours of instruction, not counting breaks and meals. No session may run longer than 9.5 hours including breaks.
Assessment
Written multiple-choice test at the end of the course. This is not the DOB licensing exam.
Credential
Course completion certificate that counts toward a Special Rigger license application. Not a license or Worker Wallet certification.
Official NYC DOB course outlinePDF · revision 03/26(opens in a new tab)

What the 16-hour special rigger course in NYC is for

The 16-Hour Special Rigger course is NYC DOB-approved training for people applying for a Special Rigger license. Special rigging centers on suspended scaffolds, industrial rope access, and small hoisting equipment. The course covers suspension methods, anchors and pull testing, rigging math, building structure and facade conditions, and the codes and DOB rules that apply.

Under NYC Administrative Code section 28-404.3.2, a Special Rigger license applicant must finish this 16-hour course and a DOB-approved 32-hour Suspended Scaffold Supervisor course within the year before applying. You also need experience: 2 years in the last 3 as a designated special rigging foreman under a licensed Special Rigger, or 3 years in the last 5 supervising the installation or use of suspended scaffolds in NYC.

This course does not give you the license. DOB also requires you to pass a DOB-sponsored practical exam within the year before you apply, meet age, English, fitness, and background requirements, and file a license application with DOB. The practical exam tests NYC hoisting and rigging rules, weights of materials, safety and accident prevention, and your ability to perform rigging operations.

The course is instructor-led and taught in English. It has no hands-on component, so DOB allows it in person, live online, or as a hybrid, but never self-paced. You must attend all 16 hours of instruction. It ends with a written multiple-choice test, and your training provider gives you a certificate of completion to submit with your license application.

Before you enroll

You need the following before you can take this course.

  1. Able to read and write English (DOB requires courses that count toward a license to be taught in English)

What you'll learn

Drawn from the training objectives in DOB's outline.

  • Work rigging calculations: leverage, center of gravity, sling loads, drifting loads, tipping points, and buoyancy.
  • Choose and check suspension methods: C-hooks, outrigger beams, clamps, counterweights, and masonry and concrete anchors, including pull testing.
  • Judge building structures that support rigging and spot facade deterioration in masonry, curtain walls, stone, and embedded anchors.
  • Apply Building Code sections 3307, 3314, and 3316, DOB rules, and the OSHA subparts that cover rigging and hoisting.
  • Use operational aids, safety devices, fall arrest systems, and exclusion zones, and respond to scaffold failures and power loss.
  • Keep logs and records, and evaluate the training and qualifications of rigging and specialty crews.

Course topics

Everything in DOB's outline for this course.

  1. Part 1 · Special rigging, incidents, and rules

    • What rigging is and its uses, including industrial rope access, small hoisting equipment, and related tools
    • Rigging incident causes, 24-month statistics, and two case studies (one suspended scaffold, one other rigging)
    • OSHA 1926 overview of Subparts E, L, M, and X, and review of Subparts H, K, and N
    • 2022 NYC Building Code 3307, 3314, and 3316; 1 RCNY 104-20 and 3316-01; DOB policies, bulletins, and memos
    • DOB procedures, permits, notifications, filing and site documents, inspection logs, and wind advisories

  2. Part 2 · Plans, structure, and design

    • Basic plan reading and symbols, with emphasis on rigging
    • Design criteria for rigging and factors of safety
    • Building structure, material strength and weight, and structures used to support rigging
    • Weathering of facade elements: masonry, curtain wall panels, stone and tile, railings, and embedded anchors

  3. Part 3 · Math, equipment, and suspension

    • Rigging math: measurement, geometry, leverage, friction, loading, wind on netting, and center of gravity
    • Hoisting and rigging equipment: stirrups, blocks, sheaves, drums, slings, chains, hoist motors, and capacity
    • Suspension methods: C-hooks, outrigger beams, clamps, counterweights, shoring, and anchors
    • Pull testing of anchorage devices, off-the-shelf and site-built hardware, and ground conditions
    • Lifting and lowering loads, critical picks, and material handling for hoisting, scaffolds, and facade repair

  4. Part 4 · Safety, emergencies, and records

    • Communication by radio, hand signals, and flags
    • Operational aids, personal fall arrest, PPE, exclusion zones, and electrical safety on suspended decks
    • Protecting rigging from damaging materials and welding or burning, and emergency procedures for scaffold failure or power loss
    • Logs and record keeping, and evaluating rigging and specialty crews
    • General site hazards, 311 reporting, review, and a written multiple-choice test

Credit & certificate

A course completion certificate that meets one of the training requirements for a NYC Special Rigger license application. It is not the license itself and is not a Worker Wallet certification.

Renewal: Once licensed, take the 8-Hour Special Rigger Renewal and the 8-Hour Suspended Scaffold Supervisor Refresher within the year before each license renewal.

Who it's for

  • Designated special rigging foremen working under a licensed Special Rigger who plan to get their own license
  • Suspended scaffold supervisors with NYC experience who want to apply for a Special Rigger license
  • Applicants who need the 16-hour course completed within the year before their license application

Before you buy

Format and schedule
Taught by an instructor in scheduled classes, in person or live online. The dates, times and place of each class are listed under Upcoming classes; registered students in a live online class get the join link.
Certificate and credential
When you finish, Training Directory issues a course certificate.
Identity verification
No identity verification or proctoring is required for this course.

Questions

Can I take this course live online?

Yes. It has no hands-on part, so DOB allows it in person, live online, or as a hybrid, but not self-paced. For live online classes, your identity is confirmed before you get access, you attest that you will complete the training without help, your participation is monitored, and your webcam stays on for the whole class.

Does this course give me a Special Rigger license?

No. It is one requirement. Within the year before you apply, you also need the 32-hour Suspended Scaffold Supervisor course and a passing score on DOB's practical exam, plus the required experience, and then you apply to DOB.

Is the test at the end the license exam?

No. The course ends with its own written multiple-choice test. The Special Rigger exam is a separate DOB-sponsored practical exam that you apply for through DOB.

What do I get when I finish?

A certificate of completion from your training provider that you submit with your Special Rigger license application. Special Rigger is not a Worker Wallet certification.

Who should take this course?

People who plan to apply for a Special Rigger license, such as designated special rigging foremen with 2 years of experience in the last 3, or suspended scaffold supervisors with 3 years of NYC experience in the last 5.

Are there prerequisites?

DOB's outline does not list a prior course. It is taught in English, and license applicants must be able to read and write English.

When should I take it?

Time it so you apply for the license within 1 year of finishing. A course completed more than a year before your application does not count.

What do I need to renew the license later?

Within the year before each renewal, licensed Special Riggers take the 8-Hour Special Rigger Renewal and an 8-hour Suspended Scaffold Supervisor course.

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