WA focusing on tower crane safety

Tower cranes will be the focus of a WorkSafe WA inspection campaign to begin later this month.

Tower crane safety has received global scrutiny recently, after the disastrous collapse of a crane towering over a high-rise construction site on the East Side of Manhatten, New York. The falling crane crushed an apartment building and a townhouse, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen others.

During the campaign, inspectors will visit construction sites with tower cranes in the Perth metropolitan area to identify any common safety risks and to ensure that sites are complying with regulations.

WorkSafe WA Commissioner Nina Lyhne said the inspection campaign had dual purposes.

“When our inspectors conduct this type of proactive inspection program, we aim to both provide safety information and identify any problems that are common throughout the industry,” Lyhne said.

“The overriding aim is to raise awareness within the industry on the safe use of tower cranes and as a result to reduce the potential dangers in working with this equipment.

“However, if breaches of the occupational safety and health laws are found, inspectors will issue notices.”

Tower cranes are used at around 25–30 construction sites at any one time, and WorkSafe inspectors will visit these sites during the three-month inspection campaign period.

They will look at areas such as:

• evidence of individual plant and design registration
• maintenance and inspection records
• safe access and egress
• operator certification/licensing
• systems of work

“This campaign will identify any common safety issues with tower cranes, which will allow WorkSafe to more accurately set about raising awareness of the hazards,” Lyhne said.

For further information on tower crane safety visit www.worksafe.wa.gov.au.