14.07.2009

UK publishes plans for tower crane register

The UK Health & Safety Executive has published a consultation document for its plan to introduce a national register of tower cranes by April next year.

All interested parties are encouraged to provide feedback via a simple questionnaire that asks for each respondent’s agreement or not on the key proposals.

The consultation will close on Friday 9th October, the proposal is hosted in our library section
Click here to open it

The register has been driven by demands from a number of lobby groups and the mass media that want to see ‘something done’ following eight fatalities over the past nine years in tower crane accidents.

Six of the deaths were tower crane rental company employees – five erectors and one operator. One was a construction site worker that was hit by a falling counterweight and one member of the public who was struck by a crane when it fell into the street.

Under the proposals, details about a tower crane being used on a site will have to be notified to the HSE within 14 days of the thorough examination being completed. Information will include:

-The name and address of the crane owners,
-The site address,
-Details needed to identify the crane,
-The date of its thorough examination.
-Details of the employer for whom the examination was made.
-Details of any defects detected that might pose a risk of serious injury.

Each registration, which can be completed online, will cost £20 to cover administration costs, All details notified to HSE will be contained in a register that will be open to public scrutiny.

There will be no requirement to remove a tower crane when it is dismantled, so the HSE is proposing that if no updates are received for two years the particular entry for that crane will be removed from the register. As a result some cranes will appear on the register more than once.

The HSE has proposed that the scheme should cover conventional tower cranes on construction sites and is looking for views on whether this should be extended to include self-erecting tower cranes and those used in non-construction settings.

The HSE believes that there are around 2,400 tower cranes operating in the UK, with around 1,800 in use at any one time.

It estimates that the cost of setting up the register for conventional tower cranes on construction sites at £450,000 and says that if Self-Erecting tower cranes are added the cost will soar to £3.2 million.

Philip White, HSE’s Chief Inspector of Construction, said: “There have been a number of high profile and tragic failures of tower cranes in recent years and there is widespread interest in finding ways to improve safety.”

“The consultation we have launched today is designed to give everyone with an interest in the safe use of tower cranes a chance to have their say. We are giving people an opportunity to shape significant aspects of the scheme and we look forward to receiving their responses.”

The full consultation document can be read or downloaded at www.hse.gov.uk/consult/live.htm By clicking here you can also complete the online questionnaire.


Comments can also be sent to:

Essien Ekpenyong
Construction Policy Team
Health and Safety Executive
5SW Rose Court
2 Southwark Bridge
London SE1 9HS

Tel: 020 7556 2210 Fax: 020 7556 2102

E-mail: [email protected]


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