Regulations, which will come into force on 6 April, follows three-month public consultation on crane safety

New regulations for a tower crane register have been agreed today by the board of the Health and Safety Executive.

It follows a three-month public consultation in which the HSE received 100 responses from trade unions, construction contractors and various other stakeholders.

The new regulations are intended to come into force on 6 April 2010, and will cover conventional tower cranes on construction sites.

The register is a response to increasing public concern about tower crane safety, and follows 好色先生TV's Safer Skyline campaign. Eight people have been killed in incidents involving tower cranes since 2000, including one member of the public.

The new proposed regulations are to:

  • Place the duty to notify on the employer
  • Require notification of the relevant information within 14 days of thorough examination of the crane
  • Require cranes already erected when the regulations come into force to be registered within 28 days
  • Allow electronic notification via the HSE website.

Details that would have to be notified to HSE are:

  • The site address where the tower crane is being used
  • The name and address of the crane owners
  • Details needed to identify the crane
  • The date of its thorough examination
  • Details of the employer for whom the examination was made
  • Whether any defects posing a risk of serious injury were detected.

All details notified to HSE would be contained in a register that would be open to public scrutiny. Registrations would be subject to an administration fee of 脜铆20.

Philip White, HSE chief inspector of construction, said:

脜gThe public consultation has helped us to develop a proportionate response to an established risk. We have learnt a great deal from recent incidents and are working together with hirers, suppliers, manufacturers and stakeholders to ensure that anything we have learnt is acted upon.脜h

About 1,800 conventional tower cranes are thought to be operating in Britain, with about 1,300 in use at any one time.

Following ministerial approval, HSE plans to send out information to all duty-holders over the next few months.

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