Tower cranes «shall at all times be operated by a crane operator» holding the licence, and a licence issued under annex VI is valid throughout the national territory (article 7). Annex VI regulates how to obtain it.
Requirements (annex VI, point 3)
- Be of legal age.
- Have the necessary knowledge to operate the tower crane.
- Pass a medical examination on visual acuity, sense of direction, balance, hearing and psychological aptitudes. If it is not passed, the centre or the doctor must notify the body responsible for industry in the autonomous community.
The four routes to prove knowledge
- a) The usual route: a graduate in ESO certificate (or equivalent for employment purposes) + passing a theoretical and practical course at an entity authorised by the autonomous community + passing an exam run by the competent body of the autonomous community.
- b) A vocational training (FP) qualification or a certificate of professionalism whose scope includes the subjects of the Lifting Equipment Regulations and of this ITC.
- c) A personal certification granted by an entity accredited by ENAC (standard UNE-EN ISO 17024), whose scheme must assess the minimum contents of the course.
- d) The tower crane operator qualification recognised from another European Union State (Royal Decree 581/2017).
The theoretical and practical course (annex VI, point 4)
It lasts at least 200 hours: a 50-hour theoretical module and a 150-hour practical module. The theory syllabus is, in short, what you see in this course: description of the crane and its components, classification and jib, ballast and counterweights, steel ropes, siting (uneven ground, track, buildings and power lines, several cranes, safety zone, earthing), safety elements and limiters, weathervane mode, stability, tying-in, operation and load chart, maintenance, adjustment and commissioning, and legislation. The practical part: permitted and prohibited manoeuvres, safety, daily and weekly checks, and handling a tower crane and a self-erecting one.
Anyone who proves professional experience in handling tower cranes through a certificate from the company, within one year, is exempt from the ordinary practical module, but must take a 15-hour practical module (point 4.2).
Who gives the course and who issues the licence
- The entities that give the course submit a responsible declaration to the autonomous community and must have means, competent staff and dismountable and self-erecting tower cranes, owned or rented, for the exclusive use of the course (point 5).
- The licence is issued by the competent body of the autonomous community once the requirements are proven (point 6.1).
- Validity: 5 years, renewable for equal periods by proving the medical examination again (point 6.2).
Do not confuse it with the mobile crane licence
Self-propelled mobile cranes have another ITC (MIE-AEM-4, Royal Decree 837/2003) and another licence, with category A (up to 130 t of rated load) and category B (more than 130 t). Its course lasts 300 hours for A (75 theory and 225 practice) and 450 for B (150 and 300), with the same three requirements (legal age, knowledge and medical examination) and a validity of 5 years (annex VII). One licence is no use for the other crane.
Source: Real Decreto 836/2003, ITC MIE-AEM-2 del Reglamento de aparatos de elevación y manutención, grúas torre (tower cranes, consolidated text, in Spanish), article 7, annex VI and first transitional provision · Real Decreto 837/2003, ITC MIE-AEM-4, grúas móviles autopropulsadas (self-propelled mobile cranes, consolidated text, in Spanish), section 8 and annex VII