SafeWork NSW to crack down on crane operator compliance

The findings of a research report from SafeWork NSW’s Centre for Work Health and Safety and RMIT into factors that contribute to crane incidents has prompted a mobile crane safety blitz. Crane operators have been put on notice, with SafeWork NSW inspectors conducting a compliance blitz across the state next month. Inspectors will be onsite, checking safe slinging and load movements, and issuing on-the-spot fines to anyone operating a crane without a valid high-risk work licence.

The Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson, said the blitz is about putting safety first, with inspectors visiting worksites to promote and teach safe mobile crane use as well as checking operators are using them in the right way, with the right licence.

“Crane incidents are preventable and the injuries and damage they can cause if used unsafely is just too high,” Anderson said.

The study found that certain factors contributed to causing crane accidents, such as worker competence, time pressures associated with the delivery of projects, the internationalisation of construction and subcontracting practices, as well as the operation of substandard machinery.

“This research project has helped us better understand the cause of crane safety incidents in the Australian construction industry and identify what actions can be taken to prevent them,” Anderson said.

More information about crane safety is available at SafeWork NSW. The summary of the report into crane safety is available on the Centre for Work Health and Safety website.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Olesya Shelomova