Tower crane inspection program finds low awareness of inspection requirements

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Employee / workerEmployer

A WorkSafe proactive inspection program has found that the owners of tower cranes have limited knowledge and understanding of the correct procedures for major inspections of tower cranes.

The inspection program was conducted throughout the 2019/20 financial year, looking at safety issues relating to tower cranes in service at WA construction sites in both metropolitan and regional areas.

WorkSafe WA Director Sally North said today the aim of the program was to ensure that tower cranes were being operated safely.

“Tower cranes are high hazard plant, and as they age it’s crucial that they undergo a major inspection to assess their continued safe operation,” Ms North said.

“We used our registration database to identify tower cranes that were ten years of age or older and our inspector engineers then examined them closely, including seeking evidence that these cranes had been inspected by a competent person at the appropriate intervals.

“They discovered that many of the cranes were being maintained and inspected as per the manufacturer’s instructions, and others had been maintained in accordance with the relevant Australian Standard.

“For many of the tower cranes the design life is not specified by the manufacturer, and the necessary information on when to conduct major inspections is not provided.

“In situations such as this, the major inspection must be conducted as per the relevant Standard ten years at the most after the crane is commissioned.

“The inspectors observed that in some cases major inspections had been conducted but the reports had often not been signed off by a competent person or professional engineer.”

All cranes audited as part of this program had their major inspections done when they were older than ten years, with most aged between 11 and 15 years.

Ms North said the primary focus of the inspection program was to deliver information to crane owners and operators on their responsibilities under WA’s workplace safety and health laws.

“WorkSafe’s proactive inspection programs aim to ensure that employers have the information they need to operate within the laws, and I’m satisfied that we’ve done that with this program,” she said.

“We plan to carry out follow-up audits later to ensure ongoing compliance - that maintenance and inspections are being kept up to date as per the Regulations.

“The risks associated with the failure of a tower crane make it crucial that they are maintained and inspected strictly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions or the relevant Australian Standard.”

Media Contact: Caroline De Vaney 6251 2363 or 0408 927563 (media enquiries only).

caroline.devaney@dmirs.wa.gov.au

Follow @WorkSafeWA on Twitter

WorkSafe
Media release
06 Nov 2020

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