Institution news
Now in its fifth successive year and taking place as a live online event, Crane Safety 2020 will once again bring the community together to share best practice and understand how to carry out safe and compliant lifting operations, particularly in the current pandemic.
Ahead of the seminar we caught up with speaker Ben Dobbs at Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LLEA), who will be contributing to this year’s programme by sharing best practice on lift planning to ensure safe and efficient lifting operations.
Q: Please could you briefly explain your role, involvement and experience with regards to Crane Safety.
Ben Dobbs (BD): I’m responsible for the management of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Associations (LEEA) technical interpretation of safety legislation and standardization. In general, I ensure that LEEA and its members are kept up to date with changes to legislation and standards, as well as provide member organisations with technical support and best practice guidance. I also represent our member interests globally on numerous standardization bodies including, BSI, CEN and ISO. I have been responsible for much of the content of crane and lifting accessory safety standards, both product and safe use, as well as numerous other publications such as the LEEA Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Lifting equipment.
Q: What are the main challenges facing the industry at the moment?
BD: The issues vary depending on geographical location, but in the UK and perhaps also common of other nations is that of the availability of competent and skilled lifting equipment engineers for design, manufacture, inspection and use. LEEA is working hard to address this issue through its military transition scheme and its ‘think lifting’ school engagement program. For details on how to get involved visit http://www.leeaint.com
Q: How have restrictions from COVID-19 been affecting your operations?
BD: Much of our members resources have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and their remaining resources have been focused on supporting critical services and keeping lifting equipment used in these industrial sectors safe and in a useable condition. This has resulted in other industries finding it difficult to get their equipment thoroughly examined within statutory periods rendering them legally unusable. LEEA has been working hard with its members, the authorities, and users to find resolutions to these problems and we are happy to report considerable progress and positive results
Q: What are your top tips when tackling a new lifting challenge?
BD: Meticulous planning; cooperation and communication with others, selection and installation of the most appropriate equipment, checking the equipment is fit for use, correct assembly of the slinging arrangement, making a trail lifts, clearing up.
Q: What developments in the crane industry are you most interested in for the future and why?
BD: My ongoing goal is to uphold LEEAs principle objective of Lifting Standards Worldwide ™ and set a minimum benchmark for safety globally. Doing this helps set a commercial level playing that ensures a minimum level of safety is met for all those involved in the industry.
Q: Why is it important for engineers to join this year’s Crane Safety seminar?
BD: There is a considerable amount of continuous improvement to the industry resulting in many new developments. Safety seminars such as this are a great way of informing, discovering, understanding, and initiating the process of implementing these changes.
Crane Safety 2020 takes place on 15 September 2020, Online
Join us for the live online seminar to understand how to ensure that your lifting projects are carried out with a high level of safety and are compliant with the latest industry regulation.
Hear insights and lessons learned from:
- Sir Robert McAlpine
- Health and Safety Executive
- Laing O’Rourke
- Babcock International
- EnerMech Ltd
together with an international keynote from
- The Men from Marr’s in Australia.
For full details and to book your place, visit the event website.