UK construction industry group the Strategic Forum for Construction has published the recommendations produced by an industry-wide tower crane group.
Representatives from the crane industry collaborated with regulators, construction contractors and others over a year to develop these guidelines.
The guidance is part of a Strategic Forum initiative called the Safe Crane Campaign. Members of the Construction Confederation's Considerate Constructors programme will display a poster on site hoardings with the site manager's telephone number so that the public could ask questions about the tower cranes on the site. It has also published short crane guidelines for the public, which starts by saying: "If you would like to make enquiries about a tower crane operating near you C you can use the following summary checklist as a guide." (ED NOTE: The full text of the note is attached in a box below). UK crane trade group the Construction Plant-Hire Association will promote the scheme with construction sites that do not participate in the Considerate Constructors programme.
The tower crane group has published guidelines on working conditions and tower crane location planning (with checksheets). Guidance on competency of tower crane workers is expected to be published later this week. The group has also published near miss records and the Construction Plant-Hire Association's recent guide to maintenance and thorough examination.
Stephen Williams, chief inspector of construction, Health and Safety Executive, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission¡¯s Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC), said in a foreword to the working conditions guidance: "Sometimes, during the buzz of activity and the need to meet deadlines or targets, the person operating the tower crane is overlooked. However, the safety critical nature of the tasks that they perform means that in addition to being qualified and competent it essential for employers to ensure operators are in good health, fit for the job and that proper attention is given to their welfare at work." (ED NOTE: The guidance is attached to the right).
Crane companies that participated in the work include City Lifting, Falcon Tower Cranes, HTC, Kier, Manitowoc Crane Group, Select Tower Cranes and Vertical Transportation. Other groups involved include the United Crane Operators Association and the Battersea Crane Action Group, a residents group formed after the 2006 London crane accident. The construction companies involved were Barrett Homes, Bovis Lend Lease, Carillion, Galliford Try, McCarthy and Sons, St. George PLC and Stephensons. Insurers Allianz Engineering, HSB Engineering Insurance and Mitsui also participated. Government organisations the Health and Safety Executive and ConstructionSkills also pitched in. |
