ESTA’s much-anticipated Lifting Operation Risk Management (LORM) best practice guide has been published and is freely available to everyone involved in lifting operations. It was presented at ESTA’s Spring meeting in Munich in April by Blanca Claeyssens, managing director of ASA France and a member of ESTA’s LORM working group.
The guide is in English and is available at the ESTA Library section on this website.
ESTA intends the new guide to help companies assess the risks involved in different types of work and give them advice on how to protect themselves using state-of-the-art work preparation and properly drafted terms and conditions.
Subjects covered include:
- lines of communication
- safe systems of work
- equipment regulations
- equipment inspection and maintenance
- engineering a lift
- lifting regulations
- professional competence
- onsite preparation
- execution of a lift
The eight annexes also contain a range of supporting information such as details of a toolbox talk, a contingency plan and a wind limitation assessment.
The guide is especially aimed at smaller operating companies but also contains information for clients to manage projects safely and ensure that they give accurate and relevant information to their lifting contractors.
The preface explains: “The aim of this best practice guide is not to reissue a set of rules and regulations for the industry, but rather an attempt, by outlining different forms of contracts and listing existing regulations and incident prevention measures, to make users of lifting equipment aware of the risks of lifting operations and protection against their consequences.”
The guide was produced by an ESTA working group comprising Blanca Claeyssens, managing director of ASA France; Marcel Schets, former SHEQ manager at Mammoet; Joe Collins, heavy lift manager with Becht Engineering; Norbert van Schaik, senior lifting specialist with Siemens Gamesa; and Ton Klijn, ESTA Director.
Ton Klijn said: “The background for this initiative was the fact that crane companies are increasingly dependent on information or auxiliary materials supplied by the customer, the reliability or integrity of which cannot always be adequately established.
“ESTA was therefore looking for an opportunity to ensure members are aware of the risks, aided by publishing a best practice guide with operational recommendations and suggestions for adapting conditions.
“We hope members and the wider industry will find the guide useful and we await comments with interest.”
ESTA stresses that the publication is only for guidance and is based on the consensus of ESTA member organizations. It is not a regulation or standard and should not be treated as such, and it cannot replace the users’ own knowledge of relevant directives, laws and regulations.