A WorkSafe inspection program of tower crane owners has uncovered low levels of awareness and understanding of the requirements for major inspections.
Director of WorkSafe WA, Sally North said the aim of the inspection program was to ensure that tower cranes were being operated safely.
“Tower cranes are high-hazard plant, and as they age it’s crucial 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 10 years old 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.”
She said the inspectors 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,” Ms North said.
“In situations such as this, the major inspection must be conducted as per the relevant Standard 10 years at the most after the crane is commissioned.”
She said 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 10 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.”
