31.12.2009

Washington crane deadline looms

With only a day remaining for all cranes working on construction projects in Washington State to be certified and registered, the state suggests that barely 10 percent of them have so far been registered.

The new rules came into force in 2007, with a two year transition period. The State Labor & Industries Department says that so far only 760 cranes have been registered out of an estimated population of 7,000.

State inspectors will start making visits to construction sites with non-certified/registered cranes next week. Charles Lemon Labor & Industries crane safety manager told a local TV station that its first question will be "Is the crane safe to operate?” If the cranes are found to be safe to operate, the contractor will be given a week or two to comply with the new rules.

After the initial grace period, owners and contractors that operate uncertified cranes will face citations and possibly site shutdowns.

The new rules followed the fatal accident in Bellevue, Seattle in 2006 when a 70 metre tower crane collapsed killing a man in his apartment. Subsequent investigations found that the design of the unusual foundation was flawed. Click here to see original report
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The fallen crane in Bellevue November 16th 2006

The Associated General Contractors of Washington has been urging members to get their cranes certified in advance of tomorrow’s deadline. It says that the reason for the low compliance rate relates to the fact that fewer cranes are in use at the moment due to the slow down in construction.

The rules cover all slewing cranes with a maximum capacity of more than a ton. Tower crane must be inspected by a certified inspector both before and after erection with special rules applying to non-standard foundations.

Vertikal Comment

Washington State estimates that it has a population of 7,000 cranes that are affected by the new rules and thus derive from this that 90 percent of cranes remain uncertified. The fact is that the states population is likely to be considerably lower than this, even at its peak.

We would be delighted to hear your views on this.