Safe Use Of Crane

Figure 1: Failure of cranes at construction sites

The safety alert is issued as a reminder to anyone involved in the construction industry to pay particular attention on the importance of safe erection, installation, operation, maintenance and dismantling of cranes – portable cranes, tower cranes and derricks. This safety alert has been issued in view of several serious incidents involving such cranes in the past few months between mid of 2011 and 1st quarter of 2012.

All duty holders responsible for the management, safe handling and operation of the crane in the construction site must ensure that:

1. The relevant design approval for the crane has been obtained from the Department. Prior to its installation in the construction site, written permission to install the crane has been obtained from the department at the regional level. The crane is certificated machinery and requires a valid certificate of fitness during its operation;
2. Crane is erected and dismantled by competent firm which is registered with the department. The competent firm shall prepare written safe procedures of erecting and dismantling for every type of crane and these procedures must refer to the manual or recommendations by the manufacturer. These procedures should be made available at site and the duty holder should ensure that all workers involved with the usage of the cranes are trained, briefed, well informed and familiar with such procedures;
3. Written plan for the safe usage, lifting, hoisting, jacking and dismantling of the crane has to be prepared and followed by taking into consideration its proximity to adjacent buildings, public roads and other properties;
4. Thorough examination of the crane should be carried by the competent firm after every crane erection and installation and his observations shall be documented and the records shall be kept for the attention of the authority when requested;
5. Only certified crane operators are allowed to operate the crane. Particular attention and support shall be given to the operator if he is not familiar with a particular model or type of crane that he is operating;
6. Crane operator should conduct pre-use check at the start of each shift to ensure that the crane has not suffered any deterioration, damage or deformation on its structure and mechanism and is safe to be used;
7. Crane operator should also carry out in-service inspections at appropriate intervals, and such inspections to be recorded;
8. A planned maintenance system should be established and implemented. Maintenance is to be carried out by the competent firm’s trained personnel at regular intervals specified by the manufacturer and the work undertaken should be recorded including any components that need to be replaced. Generally, the original manufacturer’s components should be used. In case there is no original components available, a competent engineer should assess the component selected to ensure that they meet the original manufacturer’s specifications and fit for purpose;
9. Additional thorough examination should be carried out by the competent firm, after any modification or repair has been undertaken on the crane or after the occurrence of an unsafe event on the crane;
10. Proper planning and appropriate supervision should be provided during the lifting operation; and
11. The department has to be notified immediately of any incident or event involving crane during its operation which can give rise to safety risk and hazard to the employees and the public.