THE UK’s Construction Plant-hire Association has launched a ‘Best Practice Guide for Crane Hire and Contract Lifting’.
The guide, endorsed by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), details the procedure to be followed to determine whether the supply of a crane will be under a contract lift, where the crane hire company plans and supervises the lifting operation, or a simple crane hire where the customer is responsible for the planning and supervision of the lifting operation.
The CPA said that the HSE had become increasingly concerned about the number of accidents or near misses which could be directly attributed to a lack of planning and/or supervision. The CPA Best Practice Guide aims to ensure that all lifting operations are planned correctly which involves the preparation of a method statement/risk assessment by the competent appointed person and supervision on site by the appointed person and/or a qualified lifting supervisor.
The CPA said that companies that hire cranes should ensure that where they do not have the necessary expertise to ensure compliance with the relevant regulations, they should enter into a contract lift arrangement with the crane hire company.
