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Regulatory impact assessment casts doubt over tower crane register

On 29th April 2009 the HSE Board considered how the proposed statutory tower crane register might be implemented by April 2010. Key points of the proposals included:

• introduction of register by a new set of regulations;
• making the register available directly to the public;
• excluding self-erecting tower cranes from registration;
• excluding non-construction site tower cranes and;
• presenting a regulatory impact assessment by June 2009.

The register is part of a package of measures involving HSE and the construction industry to address issues around tower cranes. These include:

• competence requirements for crane erectors and dismantlers;
• adequacy of crane design standards;
• research into the effect of wind loading;
• improved understanding of crane incidents causes and;
• promotion of the industry Safe Crane Campaign.

Comment: The Better Regulation sub-committee of the National Economic Council will scrutinise how the new regulation will affect business and it is not clear what impact this will have on the proposed Register. HSE state, somewhat ominously, that early work on the regulatory Impact Assessment indicates that there is a “potential imbalance between the costs and benefits of introducing the Register.” It is believed that the nature of this imbalance will be clearer when the work is complete by June 2009.

This article was posted on 30th April 2009 in ALL LATEST NEWS, CRANES TOWER.
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