Call for crane accident register

ESTA is to set up a new working group to investigate creating a Europe-wide register of crane accidents.

The decision was taken at the most recent online meeting of the organisation’s General Assembly – ESTA’s ruling body – on October 15.

Concern is growing in the crane industry that governments and regulators are proposing new safety measures based on inaccurate or mistaken information.

ESTA Director Ton Klijn said: “As an industry, the crane sector will strongly support any measures to improve safety, but they have to be effective.

“Without a register of accidents, we as an industry are open to the misinterpretation of accidents by ill-informed governments and regulators and the desire to improve safety can easily become a politically driven discussion, rather than one driven by science and professional analysis.

“So it is very important that we in the crane industry have our own data so that new rules and regulations are based on fact.”