How many drivers does it take to operate a tower crane? If you answered one, you are both right and wrong. Of course there is only one set of controls, so only one person can operate the crane at any one time. However, on many construction sites the cranes are working non-stop for as long as there’s daylight. That’s why the typical tower crane cabin may not always be the tidiest of places and why every construction worker knows that it is unwise to walk beneath one of them.

A tea break

Tower crane operators should be given a chance to have a rest, argues the UK’s UCOA

Many operators work long shifts with few or no breaks.

The UK’s United Crane Operators Association (UCOA) is seeking to raise the issue of tower crane operators’ safety and welfare across the construction industry. It is calling for relief operators to be available to allow for proper breaks.

The crane rental companies that employ the majority of tower crane operators in the UK broadly support this proposition. The revised British Standard BS 7121 Part 5, published last year, now includes guidance on the number of operators per crane (see box). There doesn’t need to be two operators for every crane – three operators for two cranes, for example, or five operators for three cranes – just enough to allow for proper breaks.

This formula was taken from the crane policy of major contractor Bovis Lend Lease and the operating procedure of rental company Select Tower Cranes.

Although the British Standard now exists, the operators say that many companies are ignoring it. “It’s not being implemented,” claims John Batey, president of the UCOA. “As far as I’m aware, Bovis is the only contractor who says there must be a spare driver,” he says.

Bovis Lend Lease safety manager Ian Wallace confirms: “We do ask for more drivers than there are tower cranes and have done for many years.”

The issue for Bovis is safety at any price, Wallace says. “It gives the driver some rest and time away from the cab so he stays fresh and alert. It is expensive, yes, but I don’t think you can put expense in front of safety issues.”

Alex Lowe, managing director of rental company HTC, denies that the guidance is not being followed. Most of the major contractors have followed the lead of Bovis on this issue, he says.

“Where we have got more than one crane, we always have spare operators,” says Lowe. The extra cost is £1,100 (approx. $2,000) a week for each extra operator, but HTC pitches itself as the most expensive player in the business anyway, he says, with “the best standards and service”.

However, where HTC procedure does differ from the industry guidance is on sites with only one tower crane. “Where there is only one crane, as long as the operator takes his meal break with everyone else, you don’t need more than one operator,” Lowe says. These sites tend to be smaller and the work is less intensive, he says. “But we insist that they shouldn’t do more than six hours without a break. If we get sites where we think the drivers aren’t getting reasonable breaks, we’ll go and talk to them.”

Select’s policy document states that although there must be two operators if there is a single crane, there is also an exemption if the crane is not working continuously for more than six hours. In other words, so long as the operator takes a break for lunch, a second operator is not required. This makes it much the same as HTC policy.

To minimise the cost burden, when not operating or taking a rest break, Select operators may be assigned to other duties such as slinging and signaling.

So why are the operators complaining? According to their employers, they already get breaks and relief drivers. What’s the issue?

The crane operators, it seems, have a different perspective of their working conditions. There may be all kinds of company policies, industry guidance and good intentions, but when it comes to the real world of construction sites, life just isn’t like that. The picture is clearly more piecemeal than the bosses like to believe.

John Batey says the UCOA’s complaint is not with their employers, the crane owners, but with the contractors who are the paying customers.

“It’s down to the client, really, and they don’t want to pay,” says Batey. “It all comes down to who will pay. We want it to be mandatory.”

He adds: “We are trying to educate people now that it’s better to pay now rather than have an accident because a guy has been operating for 12 hours and he’s tired.”