John Varcoe, addressing the UK Construction Plant-hire Association’s Crane Interest Group annual open meeting, had looked in detail at the debate between industry, government and environmental groups over emissions standards in London. This, Varcoe said, was a vital question, despite London’s relatively small size within the overall UK market. EU standards demanded that all member states set emissions standard, and other UK cities, such as Bristol, would soon be following London’s lead.
Transport for London’s charging scheme for road vehicles, the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ), had been agreed to the CPA’s satisfaction, with off road vehicles, such as mobile cranes travelling to the job site, exempted from the scheme. However, a different set of standards applied at the job site. These, the London Best Practice Guide (BPG), were agreed by planners from the GLA and the Energy Saving Trust, and drew largely on advice from Precis, an environmental pressure group, with no advice taken from the plant-hire industry.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London disputed this, saying: ‘It is completely wrong to suggest that the Best Practice Guidance to reduce dust and air pollution from construction and demolition sites in the capital was developed without consultation with the plant hire industry. Detailed consultation was carried out with representatives of the Construction Plant-Hire Association (CPA), Construction Equipment Association (CEA) and Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).
The BPG had been set up as a system of planning requirements, rather than a regulation. While carrier engines on off road cranes would be exempted (as a result of being exempted from the LEZ), superstructure engines on two-engine plant would be covered by the scheme. This, Varcoe explained, requires that all engines comply with Euro II or Euro IIIa standards (meaning they can be no more than six years old) and that those over 37kW (including all cranes) be fitted with a diesel particulate filter. He explained that there are two types of diesel particulate filters which capture carbon particles. Passive systems use the heat from the exhaust to burn them off, but only work once the exhaust has reached a particular temperature. Active systems use an external power source. This can mean that they need to be removed from the machine and connected to an electrical wall socket, to burn off the particles. This is a problem, as passive systems don’t work immediately, and active systems need to be changed by the operator. Rental firms will need to fit active, automated, filters. Fitting the filters will come at a cost: Varcoe estimated that fitting them could cost anywhere from £6,000–£12,000 (EUR 9,000-18,000), and take from five weeks, at best, up to two months.
Colin Wood, speaking to Cranes Today after the event, said that the costs didn’t end there: plant hire firms would have to consider the commercial and safety effects of changing filters high up on the crane structure, the visibility and burn risks the large filters pose, the engine manufacturer’s warranty (which may be voided by fitting the filters), and the need to switch from tax-exempt red diesel to filter-compatible low sulphur diesel, when arriving at a BPG job site. Wood pointed out that these regulations, and the potential costs they would bring to plant hire firms, are coming only a few years before Euro IIIb and IV standards will ensure that all engine emissions are reduced to levels similar to those demanded by the BPG.
Varcoe said, “The CPA will meet the GLA and Energy Saving Trust’s Technical Advisory Group to discuss this on the September 25. The CPA will argue for more engine categories, including superstructure engines, to be exempted. It is telling the GLA the current Best Practice Guide is unworkable. The CPA advises members not to buy diesel particulate filters, until the final exemption list is agreed.
It was discussion of this meeting that prompted Wood to deliver his warning to the GLA: “We’re fully supportive of the aim of reducing emissions, but it needs to be a practical solution. I’m hoping the GLA will see sense, and exempt crane superstructure engines from the requirements. If we cannot get a satisfactory response from GLA, we will advise members to think long and hard about the practicalities and cost implications of fitting diesel particulate filters, and whether to supply equipment on high profile sites, which will include the Olympic sites.”
When Cranes Today caught up with Wood after the meeting, he was able to tell us that the Technical Advisory Group had prioritised 10 plant types to consider for exemption first. This initial list did not include mobile cranes. As a result, mobile crane hirers will be able to operate plant with filters on Best Practice Guide sites without filters, until a decision is reached. This delay looks likely to be welcomed by hirers.
Other items on the agenda
The Crane Interest Group meeting took place at Cranes and Access magazine’s Vertikal Days event, on Thursday 20 September. Opening the meeting, Geoffrey Marsh, managing director of Marsh Plant and chairman of the Crane Interest Group, raised a note of caution over the state of the house-building market in coming years: “I believe economic growth will slow next year as the credit market turmoil undermines investor confidence. There may be a decrease in house building, and commercial developments are likely to decrease. “
Marsh went on to introduce the rest of the speakers, including consultant Tim Watson, who spoke on work at height and the regulation of high-capacity loader cranes; Peter Brown, who discussed training; HSE inspector Ian Simpson, who gave an overview of recent investigations; and Paul Gooddall, of Tadano Faun dealer Cranes UK, who demonstrated Tadano’s new lift planning software.
The outside exhibition at Cranes & Access magazine’s Vertikal Days show, in Haydock, UK, where the Construction Plant-hire Association Crane Interest Group held its annual open meeting. Vertikal Days John Varcoe addresses the CPA-CIG’s open meeting John Varcoe
