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The year gone by, and to come
01 December, 2015
This has been a good year in many ways for Cranes Today. I think that we've again achieved our editorial mission of keeping crane owners around the world informed of trends in their industry, and advocating for safe and efficient working practices.

A watershed moment?
09 November, 2015
This quarter has seen big changes at the top at the US's biggest multiline, multinational, crane manufacturers. At Terex, Ron DeFeo is retiring from the company that he helped put together through a series of acquisitions in the 1990s and early 2000s. At Manitowoc, Glen Tellock is departing from the company after 24 years.

Papers, please
30 October, 2015
This month, I've had a series of conversations about documentation. Written records are often a good way to show that correct safety checks have been carried out. A well-designed form can ensure that each check in and inspection is carried out. It can then be used to confirm the results of the inspection, to regulators or to anyone else with an interest.

Putting you in the spotlight
07 September, 2015
At Cranes Today, we believe the most important thing we do is giving a voice to everyone in the lifting industry. We aim to make sure that our coverage includes not just the biggest crane manufacturers and their customers, but local hire firms and dealers, as well as smaller manufacturers, equipment and component suppliers. New features we've introduced recently will help us include more of these companies.

Getting engaged
03 August, 2015
This month, we have two features looking at standards and regulation. Both illustrate the importance of crane owners and users working together to engage with the rules that shape the lifting industry. Too often, I think, influencing these rules is left solely to manufacturers. Often their interests coincide with those of their customers, not least because they flourish when their customers flourish. But these issues are often too important to be left to manufacturers alone.

A more refined Fleet File opens
01 July, 2015
Over the past few years, we've been working to refine Fleet File, our annual survey of crane fleets around the world.

Treading water in Europe
01 June, 2015
This month, we focus on Western Europe, reporting in more detail from Intermat. The show itself demonstrates some of the problems facing the region. No longer one of the big three international crane shows, it has now been relegated to the second division, with very many international manufacturers declining to take part.

EU may 'ban new cranes in 2019'
01 May, 2015
This week, the UK votes on a new parliament, after an election dominated by the xenophobic UKIP, or UK Independence Party.

Wisdom meets ambition in the UAE
01 April, 2015
It’s a testament to the scope and ambition of construction in Dubai that at first glance the Burj Khalifa—at more than 800m high, currently the tallest building in the world—doesn’t stand out against the city’s skyline as dramatically as one might anticipate. There are so many other towering structures in the city that it becomes easy to lose perspective as to what a ‘normal’ height for a building should be.

Speak up for safety
13 March, 2015
This spring has seen two opportunities for the industry to have a say in safety issues, in the USA and the UK. Both have their roots in events many years ago.

Standards in the digital age
16 February, 2015
I recently met with a contact who has, for many years, been active in developing standards and best practice guidance. He pointed out that while he learnt to understand documents like this by reading carefully through binders full of A4 pages, this sort of reading is becoming less common. Many of us will still spend much of our day reading and otherwise dealing with written material, but on a screen of one form or another, and not as a single long document that we read uninterrupted from start to finish.

Closing the global skills gap
22 January, 2015
Over the last year, we've seen complaints from crane owners around the world about a shortage of skilled operators. In some ways, this is one of those good problems: it's a sign that, globally, the crane industry recognises the importance of qualifed operators and rigging crew to safe and efficient lifting.