LyondellBasell Sets the Standard with CCO Platinum-Level Recognition
The prestigious Platinum Level Employer Award for 2025 from CCO Certification has been awarded to LyondellBasell (LYB) for their dedicated commitment toward safety and workforce development. The award demonstrates LYB’s strong safety culture and its proactive requirement of crane and rigging operation certification at all U.S. sites.
LYB bases its operations on safety which functions as a fundamental organizational value that penetrates all business activities. The “Goal Zero” initiative at the company works to eliminate workplace incidents and injuries. The company’s training methodology and operational methods and certification procedures were developed by this initiative. According to Global Crane and Rigging Training Specialist, Ricky Gracia, “Certification is key to that. The organization dedicates funds to employee safety protection because safety stands as our top organizational priority.
LYB conducted an evaluation process for their US sites with multiple nationally accredited organizations to determine CCO as its certification partner selection. According to company leadership, CCO certification aligns directly with their safety culture, providing a consistent, nationally accredited standard that ensures employees possess the knowledge and skills necessary to operate safely and efficiently. Gracia mentioned that the organization sought out the most prestigious organizations in the industry and CCO was their chosen certification option.
“We wanted the best,” he said. “So we researched the available nationally accredited programs and felt most confident with CCO. Certification through CCO gives us the comfort of knowing our employees have the baseline understanding to operate cranes and perform rigging tasks correctly.” The company has seen a marked improvement in employee confidence upon receiving certification, with team members reporting they feel more competent in their roles and more confident in both the equipment and their coworkers. He said, “The certification process from CCO provides us assurance that our workers possess fundamental crane operation and rigging competency for safe work practices.”
Why Certification Over Qualification?
The minimum requirement for all crane operators and riggers at LYB is that their employees hold a valid nationally accredited certification according to their global safety policy. Gracia states, “CCO certifications are the primary and preferred choice for all LYB US Sites.”
The difference between the basic in-house qualification and certification stands out to LYB because Gracia explained that, “In-house qualification sometimes means ‘go out and do it.’ The certification process verifies that workers comprehend essential principles about equipment limitations and applicable standards. It’s not just task-based. It’s knowledge-based.” Gracia further stated that, “I’ve seen employees come from other companies, sometimes with no certification at all, and they’re shocked at what they didn’t know until they went through the CCO process,” the representative said. “It raises their understanding of OSHA, ASME, and other industry standards in a way that in-house qualification simply doesn’t.”
The company’s emphasis on requiring CCO Certification has resulted in positive outcomes. The safety performance has improved and both operating skills and employee confidence have increased substantially at LYB. They said, “The greatest feedback we receive pertains to confidence because workers feel assured about their activities along with their knowledge base and their colleagues.”
The implementation of CCO certification by LYB resulted in better operational efficiency together with safety enhancement. The training process that LYB provides to certified employees leads to enhanced work precision along with decreased delays because they learn theoretical and practical aspects. The smooth operation of these processes result in operators who understand fundamental principles behind their work activities according to Gracia. The training journey ultimately leads to CCO certification, which remains essential for this learning outcome.
Many LYB employees transition from companies where certification was optional and discover substantial knowledge gaps during their first months at the organization. The CCO process reaches depths which surprise numerous workers who join the company according to Gracia. The awareness of OSHA and ASME and other standards increases for employees through CCO certification and in-house qualification failed to achieve this level of understanding Gracia observed.
Staying Ahead of the Curve
LYB established the requirement for CCO certification among riggers and signalpersons before other businesses made similar standards mandatory. According to Gracia, “The company has enforced these standards for complex operations for multiple years. Our organization leads industry developments in safety standards while maintaining this position because we prefer it.”
LYB maintains its safety practices by continuous enhancement and improvement. The company conducts yearly assessments of training programs and policies to maintain proper alignment with industry developments. LYB employs an extensive Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver its employees direct access to the most current ASME B30 standards through a company-wide subscription.
They are currently exploring the possibility of requiring more CCO certifications for their staff, including telehandler certification, to prepare for future safety requirements that will guide their internal policy development.
A Culture of Safety is Recognized
The CCO Platinum Employer Award stands as a major achievement, yet LYB considers it a natural result of their standard operational practices. We’re greatly honored. The CCO award demonstrates our organization’s belief in employee development and our dedication to workplace safety because we invest in employee safety and safety is our number one priority. Certification is key to that.”
Gracia stated, “The Award demonstrates our organizational commitment to employee growth and workplace security. The award establishes the value of our structured system and confirms the financial investments toward proper implementation.” LYB serves as a national standard for excellent certification practices which shows that top-down safety emphasis delivers advantages to all site personnel. When asked why all employers in construction and utility sectors should require CCO, Gracia exclaimed, “CCO certification is worth it. Your team becomes safer through CCO certification which creates confidence and provides assurance that they possess both qualification and national certification.”
