The Health and Safety Executive has issued a safety alert on the use of tower cranes in the wake of last month鈥檚 collapse on a site in Battersea, south-west London.
The notice, which the HSE said had been prompted by 鈥渁 number of serious incidents鈥� involving tower cranes, follows the death of two people in the collapse at Barratt Homes鈥� Thessaly Road site.
The document asks tower crane managers to undertake a series of checks. It wants:
- An independent and impartial person to examine each crane after its erection
- Pre-use checks to be carried out by the crane operator at the start of each shift
- In-service inspections to be carried out by the crane operator at weekly intervals, with records kept of the inspections.
Full list of HSE recommendations
- Ensuring cranes are erected and dismantled by competent workers with necessary training and experience
- Companies should draw up written procedures for each type of tower crane based on manufacturers鈥� instructions, with procedures to be available on site.
- An independent and impartial person should examine each crane after its erection
- Pre-use checks to be carried out by the crane operator at the start of each shift
- In-service inspections should be carried out by the crane operator at weekly intervals, with records kept of the inspections
- A properly planned maintenance system should be established and used, with replacement parts usually acquired from the original manufacturer.
- Lifting operations should be properly planned and appropriately supervised.
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