![]() As the President, it is with great pleasure that I can start my first Word from the President by introducing our new Chief Executive, Sally Dunbar. She replaces Rod Auton who has made an outstanding contribution to the Crane Association for nearly six years. Please join me in wishing Rod all the best in his retirement. Sally comes to us from the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors, and we’re blessed to have her wide tranche of industry association experience utilised as CEO. She will help us to develop a new licence that will not only benefit Association members, but the industry as a whole. If you are not aware, the Pressure Equipment Cranes and Passenger Ropeways regulation is being replaced - this is resulting in a call for some form of Operator licensing. WorkSafe NZ has many options to consider, which we are all to happy to be involved with. We place a great deal of emphasis on training and safety, and we continue to succeed in raising the standards of operation and efficiency across the crane industry. So, we want to ensure we are leaders in this process – informed by consultation submitted by members and the industry. Who else knows more about the industry than you, our members, and others within the industry? Being proactive about this issue will be important in allowing us to comprehensively inform regulators about what the industry requires from its licenced operators. The best approach is to produce a licence that is fit for our industry – one that we have played a leading role in developing, rather than having one imposed on us. We also know of some organisations that are attempting to create a licence, so if we don’t proceed with some haste, then we may lose our chance to create an industry-led licence. And the association is best suited to do this because our members are on the frontlines. Sally will soon visit her Australian counterpart to get information on this issue. The Crane Industry Council of Australia’s Chief Executive Brandon Hitch will help us ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes they made, and there might even be some uniformity of standards. Following the Australian visit, findings will be presented to members and Council for consideration. On to other industry related news, the majority of you have enjoyed a Road User Charge (RUC) refund. However, I feel that there are some more areas to address with the NZTA regarding how the RUC rate is set, and this should be raised at the upcoming conference. Watch this space. Another issue to keep our eyes on is the NZTA proposed amendments to the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999. These will simplify and standardise the driver licensing system, facilitate the move to a digital licensing environment, improve the customer’s experience, support the productivity of the commercial driving sector, and strengthen the driver training and testing regime. As we will be a significantly affected party, we would like to work with the Agency in this reform. So, we’ll be representing the industry and input from members is always appreciated. But looking into my crystal ball, I feel confident for our Association’s future. Personally, I’m excited about encouraging more younger people into our industry, and I’m beginning to see more millennials who are proving to be great employees. And as I’m slowing down in my own participation within the industry, I’m seeing more of these young guys develop their skill-sets to contribute in meaningful ways. This may come down to society’s views on the trades – they are becoming sexy again. Being a licenced operator is no small feat; it is a measure of one’s success, too.
Many small businesses are being financially penalised by the practice of some large corporates not paying their invoices for 90 days plus. Known as Unilateral Deferred Payment, this practice puts small businesses at risk of going under due to cash flow. The Government is going to consult soon on creating legal protection for small businesses over this practice.
Crane operator fined for overloading crane and injuring worker | Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
Read more here Caltex fuel prices drop for three weeks in a row.
Association Members can gain additional discounts through the Association fuel scheme Members can access the Caltex fuel scheme through the Members Portal here A recent incident involving a crane and power lines highlights the necessity to include overhead power lines in any job planning process and must also be included in liftplans and toolbox talks. The Crane Association liftplans have a site plan that is drawn up by the operator. This ensures that there is a greater awareness about overhead powerlines and will ensure that the operator always looks up. Power is a major hazard for Cranes. Cranes must stay 4 metres away from any line. You should also use a spotter when working near power lines. Use non-conductive tag lines and if possible earth the crane.
Transpower Contacts.If you intend to operate equipment near our transmission lines, please contact us at any of the numbers below to arrange a safety observer •Transpower - 0508 LANDOWNER •Service providers •North Auckland/Northland: Ox Wightman 029 771 1825 •South Auckland/Waikato: Les McKenzie 021 945 284 •Bay of Plenty: Jessie Phillips 027 600 5377 •Taranaki and Central North Island: Andy Ward 021 357 935 •Lower North Island/Hawke’s Bay: Stephen Howard 027 490 9464 •Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast: Isaac Hurst 027 535 5255 •North Canterbury: Ron Mackenzie 027 435 6240 •South/Mid Canterbury: Myles Stichman 027 477 9693 •Otago/Southland: Jimmy Cormack 021 357 996 WorkSafe has released the Good Practice Guidelines ‘Safe Work with Precast Concrete’ to replace the Approved Code of Practice for the ‘Safe Handling, Transportation and Erection of Precast Concrete’.
Importantly, this GPG aligns with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). The GPG reminds all upstream PCBUs, along with the crane driver, that even if they have no contractual relationship with another PCBU they may still share overlapping duties when they work on the same site. Where duties are shared, the PCBUs must consult, cooperate with, and coordinate activities with other PCBUs. (See Section 34 of HSWA for more information.) Click on image to download the GPG Read the latest update to the RLB Index for cranes throughout New Zealand ![]()
One death and one critical injury is the result of an incident on a worksite in Victoria, Australia.
Worksafe Australia issued a notice that can be read here CMEFU Construction have issued a safety notice recommending that all work stop on all Raimondi cranes. Read notice here Raimondi have sent out a notice to all dealers and clients about the three incidents in Australia. Download the notice here Indicative crane access maps have been developed by NZTA to identify bridge constraints for information purposes for the crane industry. These will enable crane operators to identify bridge's status when planning routes to and from worksites. These will be updated on an annual basis and they are available on the NZTA Maphub and on following link:
https://nzta.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=950bb82235f9488982767995fa028b94 |
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