New concerns over crane collapse

The crane industry has urged site workers to report any incidents or near misses involving cranes amid mounting public safety concerns.

John Batey of the United Crane Operators Association urged sites to report any incident to UCOA, no matter how minor. "People are understandably afraid to speak but we need to wee whether there is anything fundamentally wrong with site practice," he told Construction News (CN). "We are already seeing at least one incident reported to us a week."

Last week's collapse of a Raimondi LR60 luffing crane jib at Forest Hill, south London, was the sixth major tower crane collapse in the last 18 months. The Health and Safety Executive is now investigating the collapse of the Deco-operated crane and will soon send it for testing at its Buxton-based lab.