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The simple pleasures of a quiet life
09 December, 2013
We’re at the time of year where we look back over 12 months of news from the crane industry. In many recent years we’ve noted dramatic changes: the soaring backlogs of the boom, and the subsequent global financial crisis; the launch of game-changing new cranes like Manitowoc’s GTK 1100, Terex’s Twin system or Liebherr’s LTM 11200-9.1; terrible accidents and drastic changes in regulation; or globally decisive regulatory changes, like the most recent revision of EN 13000.

Doing the legwork, building trust
04 December, 2013
More than any other industry I've reported on, the crane industry works on the basis of personal interaction and trust. Crane buyers need to be sure that their equipment is reliable and well supported. Customers need to know that crane suppliers will perform lifts safely and on time. Crane owners need to trust their operators to work safely, and operators need to know their bosses will offer proper training and support them if they refuse to perform an unsafe lift.

A conversation, not a monologue
11 October, 2013

Competing in the courts
22 August, 2013
Over recent years, I've often commented here on the likely ways competition between new Chinese entrants and established international players will shape the future of the industry. Until recently, my view had been that rather than customers choosing one or the other, partnerships and mergers would gradually draw the two closer together.

The slow work of safety
12 June, 2013
This month, US regulator OSHA announced it would be delaying the implementation of a nationwide crane operator certification requirement until 2017. Many US crane owners, who've already got their operators certified in anticipation of a 2014 deadline, will be frustrated by this. But the extra time will ensure the country ends up with effective regulation that enhances safety, without imposing excessive costs.

Bauma: Is it worth it?
15 May, 2013
Bauma is almost certainly the world’s biggest construction equipment trade show. This year, it drew more than half a million visitors, coming, the organisers say, from pretty much every corner of the globe.

Explaining risk, mandating safety
21 March, 2013

Safe on the road, not just on site
14 February, 2013
Our news lead this month looks at a British politician's call to enact legislation after a woman and her two young children were killed in Aberdeenshire when their car slipped on hydraulic fluid leaking from a mobile crane carrier. Local MP Sir Robert Smith is asking for an exemption from roadworthiness tests for cranes to be removed.

Getting harder to get on the road
31 January, 2013
At the last meeting of ESTA, the European special transport and mobile crane association, one member of the cranes group asked manufacturers why they couldn’t buy a crane that combined the three ideal taxi crane characteristics of capacity, reach and roadability.