Read the latest update to the RLB Index for cranes throughout New Zealand

CEO of the Association was interviewed today on a segment about the construction boom and need for experienced crane operators

Many crane operators know that working in an urban environment brings its own set of challenges and hazards. One of those challenges is working the crane over an occupied building. 

The key risk in any job is whether there is an element of serious harm of death to persons and if there is, then the Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016 need to be followed.

Under the Regulations, a PCBU has a duty to identify hazards that could give rise to reasonably foreseeable risks to health and safety.  

If a PCBU cannot eliminate risks to health and safety in accordance with section 30(1)(a) of the HSWA, then Regulation 6, the Hierarchy of Control Measures, must apply.

This means that one or more of the following actions that is most appropriate and effective taking into account the nature of the risk must be taken:

•  Substituting (wholly or partly) the hazard giving rise to the risk with something that gives rise to a lesser risk;
• isolating the hazard giving rise to the risk to prevent any person coming into contact with it; or
• implementing engineering controls.

The Crane Safety Manual (Section 2 pg 12) states " Keep out of the danger zone which includes the:

•  path of the crane components,
• path of the load
• area beneath the suspended load".

It also states "Never stand under the suspended load".
A crane operating over an occupied building that is a workplace must consider the above as well as abide by the HSWA Regulations.

​Does a crane operating over an occupied building give rise to reasonably foreseeable risk to health and safety?

I would argue that it does based on the following potential scenarios:

• Load separates from rigging,
• Crane boom drops uncontrolled, or
• Crane collapses on building.

These are foreseeable events and although unlikely to happen must be taken into account in the risk assessment.
The questions then are:

• Can you substitute the risk? Answer would probably be no.
• Can you isolate the risk? Answer would be yes. Empty the building or sections of the building to isolate the risk,  or work when there is no-one around (after hours).
• Can you implement engineering controls ?  Answer would probably be no as there would still be a risk if people are occupying the building under the load.

It is the duty of the PCBU to ensure that the risk and hazards are identified and the appropriate steps are taken. 

​If you have any comments on this It would be great to get some feedback
  

​If you are part of the Association's  Caltex Fuel Scheme then you can view the latest price changes each week.

​You can view the pricing here

Terex announced a 1st quarter loss of $74.2 Mil primarily due restructuring and merger and acquisition activities.
​“Our Cranes and Material Handling & Port Solutions (MHPS) segments had a challenging quarter, impacted by soft markets. Our Aerial Work Platforms (AWP), Materials Processing (MP) and Construction segments executed well and delivered results that were consistent with or better than last year, on an adjusted basis.”

Read more here 

Zoomlion posted a net loss of $101.5mil for the 1st quarter. This brings into question their ability to finance a Terex Corp buy-out

​Read more here

The Association has been working with NZTA and other stakeholders to improve the application process for Bridge Engineered Self Supervision (BESS).

We are pleased to announce that NZTA have advised us today that there will no longer be a requirement  to provide a Ministry of Justice report on previous criminal convictions as of today.

While removing trees from a property in New Hampshire, a crane found a septic tank.

​Read more here

Construction is a key driver of economic growth in New Zealand. It is the fifth largest sector in the New Zealand economy. It is a $30 billion plus industry (measured by annual revenues), generating around 6% of GDP.

One in 12 jobs is in construction, with almost 194,000 people (193,562 as at June 2014) employed in the sector.

WorkSafe New Zealand and ACC have combined data to produce some risk statistics for everybody in the sector to take on board.

Read More Here

If you are looking for any indications of the growth in the New Zealand construction sector then you only need to look at the skyline in Auckland , Wellington and Christchurch to see the number of cranes in action.
​
The Rider Levitt Bucknall second quarter of 2015 shows that there has been a 40.2% increase in the movement of cranes in Auckland, 31.9% in Christchurch and 12.5% in Wellington. Regionally there has also been an increase to a lesser scale. This is in comparison with the 3rd quarter of 2014.

Every quarter Rider Levitt Bucknall (RLB) produce a crane index as an indicator of construction. The index   attached relates to New Zealand but they report world-wide for those that are interested.

Download the RLB Crane Index Report here