Allianz in crane HSE warning

Allianz Engineering’s chief engineer Phil Wright has warned that Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE’s) new crane registration rules will not prevent further accident and injuries.

The rules that come in on 6 April place a ‘duty to notify' on employers to inform the HSE of relevant information, including the site address and the name and address of the crane owners.

The HSE will have to be notified within 14 days of a thorough examination of the crane, which must be carried out following installation or reinstallation on a site before it can put into service. All details notified to HSE will be contained in a register that will be open to public scrutiny.

No substantial difference

Wright said: "We applaud the HSE for this initiative, which raises the profile of tower crane safety issues, and continue to urge brokers to make their clients aware of their responsibilities under these regulations.

“However, we are not convinced that these laws will make a substantial difference to safety figures in the sector. The new scheme will track the location of cranes at any one time but will not really address the problems of errors being made in the installation or the examination of such cranes."

"Despite our caution, this change provides brokers with an opportunity to add value to their client relationships. Brokers should help clients to ensure they are aware of the new registration scheme and comply with the guidelines."

Eight killed

The guidelines were formulated in response to growing concerns about the safety of tower cranes eight people have been killed in incidents involving tower cranes since 2000, including one member of the public.

Around 1800 conventional tower cranes are thought to be operated in Britain, with around 1300 in use at any one time.