Safety is of paramount importance in most areas of the crane industry. If procedures are not adhered to it can be a dangerous place of work.

The hazards that exist within the workplace are as significant for the smallest capacity units as much as the high capacity crawlers and tower cranes. The Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers & Importers (ALLMI) is an organisation that is constantly looking to raise awareness within the industry of the hazards that exist within its particular sector. One area ALLMI decided should be highlighted were the dangers of using remote controls with loader cranes.

"This campaign has been produced within a month of ALLMI first issuing a Major Safety Alert on this topic following two recent fatalities," says Alan Johnson, ALLMI’s technical director,

"Although ALLMI already places strong emphasis on good practice when using remote controls in its training scheme, there are many thousands of operators who are possibly a year or two away from their next refresher or have perhaps been trained by another scheme which doesn’t cover it in the same detail. We want to give everyone immediate, easy and free access to a comprehensive set of materials to refresh or correct their understanding or to smarten up any bad habits seems the best way of achieving that. We are all human beings and it is possible that we become complacent or suffer from skills fade."

"ALLMI operates, by a significant margin or percentage, the largest training scheme in the UK specialising solely in the operation of lorry loaders and related lifting-team roles. We therefore have both the ability and the obligation to use our influence and vast contacts to raise awareness of the best way to use remote controls safely and efficiently."

Launching a scheme is one thing; getting the industry to actively participate is quite another. The association has recognised this and adapted the method in which the campaign will be delivered accordingly. Johnson, continues: "Niched e-mails have been distributed to all membership categories within ALLMI, as well as our instructor database and wider industry contacts. In each case, we have highlighted how each group can best assist in raising awareness on this important topic and requested that they circulate it as widely as possible."

"We have received an excellent response so far, not only from our members and training providers who are now embarking on their own internal campaigns as well – but also from our sister organisations, several of whom have been extremely quick to distribute the information further afield which is highly appreciated."

Danger on a jobsite can never be underestimated it is the job of organizations such as ALLMI to ensure that hazards such as the ones surrounding the use of controls and loader cranes is vital to the sector. However the success of such initiatives can only be maintained with full industry participation and this ultimately will define whether the programme is achieves its goals. ALLMI’s campaign is a positive start but it is the beginning not the end.

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