Truck loader cranes
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The increase in the capacity of truck loading cranes means that instead of simply off-loading the goods beside the truck, they are being used to position loads – jobs usually carried out by mobile cranes. But the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was concerned that many of these additional operations were being done by truck drivers without the planning required by LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998) and the best practice laid out in BS7121 part 4.
To aid compliance, new guidelines have been drawn up by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) in consultation with the lorry loader manufacturers association (ALLMI) and the HSE (see www.cpa.uk. net/p/Safety-Leaflets/#3). The guide divides lifts into simple (placing roof trusses on the ground beside the truck), intermediate (such as placing roof trusses at some radius from the truck over a perimeter fence) and complex (placing roof trusses on the building while parked on a public highway). To comply with LOLER and BS7121, all lifts must be planned by a ‘competent person’ (known as an appointed person in BS7121) and be supervised, which, in the case of a simple lift, could be the truck driver if they have been assessed as competent by their employer. “Simple lifts are usually covered by a generic risk assessment and method statement, which must be drawn up by a competent person,” says CPA technical consultant Tim Watson, who helped draft the new guidelines.
Both intermediate and complex lifts require sitespecific risk assessments and method statements drawn up by a competent person, while complex lifts need the appointed person to be on site and also a lift supervisor (this could also be the appointed person). “That’s quite normal with traditional crane operations, but has been unusual with loader cranes,” says Watson, adding, “and that’s part of the reason using a mobile crane has been more expensive. But a load falling from a loader crane is equally as deadly as one falling from a mobile crane – the classification of the machinery doesn’t matter; it’s the difficulty and complexity of the lift that should determine the amount of planning and supervision required,” he says. He also points out that the requirement for risk assessment and planning apply even if the boom is fitted with a clamshell bucket, such as those used for muck removal on utilities jobs.
“Before they accept a job, companies running fleets of trucks fitted with loader cranes or grabs must establish what the driver will be asked to do when they reach the delivery site and ensure that the lifting operation has been adequately planned and appropriately supervised,” he concludes.