NYC, other cities to share tower crane data

Associated Press
June 12, 2009

NEW YORK - Buildings officials in New York City, Jersey City, Philadelphia and Chicago will share information on tower cranes.

Officials say their goal is to track equipment failures, manufacturers' recalls, accidents and industry trends.

The agreement is the latest effort to improve crane safety after two accidents left nine people dead in 2008.

The new database will be running by the end of June. It will be updated quarterly.

Other cities have expressed interest in the new program.

Currently there's no national database to track building cranes or their parts.

An expert said officials also need to address training for crane operators, inspections, and preventive maintenance.

In the past year, at least 12 cranes used in New York City have come from elsewhere.

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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

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Recent tower crane incidents prompt greater sharing of information

The New York Times has reported that officials in several places, including New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Ontario and Dallas have expressed interest in a new database for tracking tower cranes or their parts.

The NY Buildings Commissioner described the planned database ?a major step toward establishing a standardised system of tracking tower cranes across the country.? The measure follows two recent tower crane incidents which claimed 9 lives. The system is intended to identify cranes in use in an area with details of the crane owner, make, model, date erected on the site etc.

An occupational safety and health expert commented that the database would help but that improvements should ?look at how the operators are using the cranes and what licensing processes and procedures are the crane operators going through. What?s the preventive maintenance schedule for the cranes? How regularly are the cranes inspected? How regularly are critical components inspected or replaced??

Comment: This sounds very much like the tower crane register being considered by GB health and safety regulators and the construction industry.