The Safe Operation of Cranes - Health and Safety Hub

1 The safe Operation of CranesRevised August 2007 THE safe Operation OF CRANESCONTENTSC ontentsPageINTRODUCTION11. MANAGEMENT OF LIFTING Management Responsibilities safe Systems of Work the Organisation 22. PERSONNEL AND THEIR DUTIES Project Manager Appointed Person crane Supervisor crane Co-Ordinator Slinger/Signallers Fitters/Erectors 73. PLANNING OF LIFTING operations Tender Planning Project Planning Lift Planning Contractual Considerations Selection of Cranes Siting of Cranes safe Working Load Grabbing, Demolition and Piling operations Operating in High Winds Multiple crane lifting operations 134. SPECIALIST LIFTING Raising or Lowering Personnel (Man Riding) Vacuum Lifting Devices Magnetic Lifting Devices Deep Shaft Working 165.

2 Cranes (Other than Tower Cranes ) Site Based Mobile and Crawler Cranes Visiting Mobiles Excavators Forklifts and Telescopic Handlers Lorry Loaders Beam and Trestle Hoists TAG Jib Cranes & Mini Tower Cranes Other Types of crane Operators of Hired Cranes 22 ContentsPage6. TOWER Cranes Introduction Appointments Tower crane Planning Procedure Foundation Design Foundation Design Check Foundation Design Review Ties Installation Inspection and Testing Operator Access/Egress Gotcha Rescue Kit 357. INSPECTION, TESTING AND Introduction Daily Checks Weekly Inspections Maintenance Thorough Examinations Testing Examination Schemes Hired Mobile Cranes Competent Person 378.

3 RADIOS Use of Radios Radio Licences and Frequencies 389. ELECTRICAL MATTERS 3910. ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE 4011. APPENDICES 41 Appendix 1 Bibliography 41 Appendix 2 Lifting operations Assessment Form 42 Appendix 3 Tower Cranes Method Statement 45 Appendix 4 The Inspection of Tower crane Foundations 47 Appendix 5 Glossary 52 Appendix 6 TIS 157 53 Appendix 7 Lifting Accessories Procedures 54 Appendix 8 Vacuum Lifting Guidance 56 Revised August 20071 THE safe Operation OF CRANESINTRODUCTIONTHE safe Operation OF CRANESThis document is issued with the authority of Laing O Rourke. It must be adhered to on every site or other place of work in the United Kingdom where the company, its subsidiaries and/or their sub-contractors are using document follows the requirements of the British Standard BS 7121 use of Cranes necessitates compliance with Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations1998 (PUWER) and the Lifting operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).

4 Healthand Safety legislation also imposes additional duties on all concerned. Furthermore, accidentsinvolving Cranes can have serious cost and programme implications for the site concerned, as wellas considerable adverse publicity. Finally, a mishap with a crane is likely to lead to serious injury ordeath. Legally, every individual concerned with Cranes carries full personal responsibility for theirpart in its selection and where otherwise stated, this document refers to all Cranes whether internally or externallyhired, or supplied as part of a contract. Where the company is operating on sites under the controlof third parties, or in partnership with other companies, then this booklet is the minimum standardwhich will may be sought on the application of LOLER and the contents of this document from theSelect Safety Department at St. August 20072 THE safe Operation OF CRANES1. MANAGEMENT OF LIFTING MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIESU nless otherwise directed by Business Unit ManagingDirectors, the Project Manager is responsible forensuring that the requirements of this document are Project Manager may delegate duties to othermembers of staff and will retain any not so delegated,provided he is qualified to do so by holding theappropriate AP or CS CPCS card.

5 The Project Managermust ensure their Appointed Person will haveadequate time and resource to discharge their duties,commensurate with extent or type of lifting. Thisdelegation will be in writing, and will be recorded inthe Project Health , Safety & Environmental Project Manager will ensure that all externalorganisations responsible for any lifting operations on aLaing O Rourke site are clearly informed, in writing, ofthe parts of this document relevant to their safe SYSTEMS OF WORKIt is a basic requirement of Health and Safetylegislation that, in any work situation, there must be asafe system of work. Most accidents happen becauseof the absence of such a system or because it has been development of the safe system of work for liftingshall include the following main steps: Defining the lifting requirements Gathering information Establishing the organisation Identifying hazards and assessing risk Planning the Operation Communicating the system crane advice notes on larger projects T5 Implementing the plan Monitoring to ensure that what should happen does ESTABLISHING THE The Appointed PersonIn order to ensure effective development andimplementation of such systems, one person, the Appointed Person , will be appointed to act on behalfof the site management and have overall control oflifting operations on each site.

6 Where the company isthe Principal Contractor, then the Appointed Person willbe a company employee. As a rule, there will be onlyone company Appointed Person on each project. Theexception to this is on the very largest of projects thatare sub divided into substantially autonomous trade and sub contractor carrying out significantlifting operations will normally be required to providetheir own Appointed Person. These Appointed Personsare subordinate to the Laing O Rourke AppointedPersons, who must be satisfied with their Appointed Persons must have a Construction PlantCompetence Scheme (CPCS) Card and adequateexperience to carry out their duties competently (seeSection ).All Appointed Persons, by virtue of their appointment,have the necessary authority for the performance oftheir duties. In particular, to stop an operationwhenever they consider that danger is likely to arise ifthe Operation were to continue.

7 Duties, but notresponsibilities, may be delegated to other personswhere considered The crane TeamAny lifting Operation will involve a number of peoplewith specialist skills and knowledge. To effectivelyimplement the safe system of work, the AppointedPerson will establish and lead the crane Team. Thiswill include: The Laing O Rourke Appointed Person (CPCS) crane Supervisors (CPCS) crane Co-ordinator crane Operators (CPCS) Slinger / Signallers (CPCS) Other personnel as deemed necessary by theAppointed PersonRevised August 20073It is essential that all members of the crane Team begiven adequate time and resources to enable them todischarge their duties meetings are essential to ensure that the teamcommunicates effectively, and that advice andcomments from all members of the team are heard. Asuitable meeting agenda is given in the liftingoperations section of the template Health and SafetyPlan contained in Section 8 of the Laing O RourkeSafety Management The crane SupervisorA crane supervisor must be appointed to direct andsupervise the lifting Operation , ensuring that these arecarried out in accordance with the method crane supervisor should be competent andsuitably trained and should have sufficient experienceto carry out all relevant duties.

8 The crane supervisorThe composition of this team will change ascontractors, Cranes and equipment arrive on, andleave, site and will include all sub contractor s CraneTeam personnel as deemed appropriate by ourcompany s Appointed have sufficient authority to stop the liftingoperation if they consider it dangerous to crane supervisor must hold a CPCS card and haveadequate experience to carry out his The crane Co-ordinatorA crane co-ordinator must be appointed to plan anddirect the sequence of operations of tower Cranes toensure that they do not collide with other Cranes andother equipment concrete placing booms,telehandlers and pilings role may be combined with another. It does notcurrently have a CPCS sites with a high density of Cranes , seriousconsideration should be given to the appointment of afull time crane co-ordinator dedicated to that Organisation on a Multi crane Site Structure (Derived from BS 7121 Pt 5 Fig 2)Tower crane 1 Lifting TeamCrane SupervisorOperatorSlinger/Signaller(s)To wer crane 2 Lifting TeamAppointed Person(Lifting operations ) crane Co-ordinatorMobile crane 1 Lifting TeamCrane SupervisorOperatorSlinger/Signaller(s)Cr ane SupervisorOperatorSlinger/Signaller(s)Re vised August 20074 THE safe Operation OF CRANES2.

9 PERSONNEL AND THEIR INTRODUCTIONSafe lifting requires suitable, competent, adequatelytrained personnel, whose appointments are made inwriting and recorded in the Project Health and SafetyPlan. All personnel involved in lifting operationsshould be adequately organised into an effective teamand given regular opportunities to meet, as a team, toreview past lifts and plan future ones. All personnel inthe team should be aware of their own and eachothers duties, with trainees being suitably PROJECT DutiesThe Project Manager will: Be responsible for ensuring that this document is followed Ensure that the Lifting operations Plan is drawn up at the start of the Project Appoint the Appointed Person, in writing, and ensure that they hold a CPCS card in the (Management of Lifting operations Course, Appointed Person) and are competent Appoint the crane Supervisors, and ensure that they are trained (Management of Lifting OperationsCourse CPCS)

10 And competent Make arrangements for the provision of a deputy toensure continuity of operations in the event of the absence of the Appointed Person Monitor and review appointments regularly, particularly in the event of changing site conditions, complexity or workload Delegate duties to other staff Perform duties not delegated provided they are suitable qualified to do so Check any pre-contract APPOINTED Selection When selecting and assessing an Appointed Person,the variety and complexity of the lifting operations tobe undertaken should be considered, as well as all theproblems that may arise from proximity hazards andthe environment. The appointment must be madeformally in writing, confirming that the appointee hasthe necessary authority to undertake the role. Theappointee must also be given the time and resourcesto carry out the duties involved. This will includeconsulting others with specialist knowledge andexperience, and delegating duties and tasks for anypart of the safe system of work to suitably qualifiedindividuals or organisations.