WIREDGOV

Tower crane registration scheme becomes law

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 22 February 2010

DWP/030/10

New laws to improve the safety of tower cranes on construction sites were laid before Parliament today, paving the way for the start of a statutory registration scheme.

The regulations, developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), will come into force on 6 April. They include a register of conventional tower cranes which is being set up in response to increasing concerns about crane safety.

Eight people have been killed in incidents involving tower cranes since 2000, including one member of the public, and more have been injured.

The register is part of a package of measures being taken to improve tower crane safety. The HSE is working closely with the construction industry to achieve this.

Health and Safety Minister Lord McKenzie said:

"It's completely unacceptable that lives are put at risk because of unsafe tower cranes. The new register will encourage high standards of safety on site and give the public confidence that these huge machines are being operated responsibly.

“The register is just one of the steps that the Government is taking to improve safety. HSE is developing specific competencies for crane erectors and dismantlers, conducting research into crane design standards, examining the effect of wind loading on cranes and looking to better understand the causes of crane failures internationally.”

Judith Hackitt, the Chair of HSE, said:

"In recent years we have seen too many tragic examples of what happens when tower cranes fail. The repercussions can be catastrophic – not only for the workers involved, but also for the businesses and clients concerned.

"In developing these regulations we have taken a common sense and proportionate approach to the registration scheme, building on valuable consultation with industry. The register will help us all – regulators, the industry and government – deliver improved safety performance."

The new regulations place a ‘duty to notify’ on the employer. Employers will have to notify the HSE of relevant information, including the site address and the name and address of the crane owners. HSE will have to be notified within 14 days of a through examination of the crane, which must be carried out following installation or re-installation on a site before it can put into service.
Cranes already erected when the regulations come into force will have to be registered within 28 days. Electronic notification will be available via the HSE website.

All information notified to the HSE will be contained in the register and the public will be able to request details.

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

Guidance on the new legal duties is available on the HSE’s website. More detailed information for duty holders on the practical aspects of notification, and how the public can make enquiries about particular cranes, will be made available in the coming months.

The package of measures the HSE and the construction industry are working on to improve tower crane safety includes:
- creating a competency requirements framework for crane erectors and dismantlers;
- undertaking more research into the effect of wind loading on cranes;
- consideration of the adequacy of crane design standards;
- greater research to improve understanding of crane accidents at an international level; and
- greater promotion of the industry safe crane campaign to improve public confidence in crane safety.

Notes to Editors

1. The April 2008 report by the Work and Pensions Select Committee into the role of the Health and Safety Commission and the HSE recommended that HSE should bring forward proposals for a statutory tower crane registration scheme.

2. The DWP Secretary of State James Purnell announced in April that a statutory tower crane registration scheme would be created. HSE launched a regulatory consultation exercise on 13 July 2009 which closed on 16 October 2009.

3 Details that will have to be notified to HSE are:
- the site address where the tower crane is being used
- the name and address of the crane owners
- details needed to identify the crane
- the date of its thorough examination
- details of the employer for whom the examination was made
- whether any defects posing a risk of serious injury were detected.

4. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to prevent death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement.

5. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 require tower cranes to be thoroughly examined by a competent person before first use and on a periodic basis (6 or 12 months depending if they are used to lift persons) or in accordance with a written scheme of examination.

6. There are two main types of tower cranes, known as conventional (or 'assisted-erected') and 'self erectors'. Conventional cranes are transported in pieces and assembled on site. Self-erecting tower cranes are complete units that are brought to site and then unfolded.

7. A leaflet containing guidance about the new legal duties can be downloaded from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/indg437.htm.

Contacts:

Department Work and Pensions
Phone: 020 3267 5144
NDS.DWP@coi.gsi.gov.uk