NEWS

PEOPLE

INDUSTRY REQUESTS REVISION OF STANDARDS TO ENSURE

SAFE OPERATION OF CRANES AND REDUCE CASUALTIES

SI has announced the revision of

BS 7121-2:2003 Code of practice for
safe use of cranes Inspection, testing and
examination in response to industrys call
for a safer working environment, particularly
within the construction sector.
The law says that all lifting operations
involving lifting equipment must be
properly planned by a competent person;
appropriately supervised; and carried out in
a safe manner. Cranes and lifting accessories
such as slings must be of adequate
strength, tested and subject to the required
examinations and inspections.
Despite this legislation, since 2001,
according to the HSE, there have been 61
accidents involving tower cranes, nine
people have died and 25 have been seriously
injured, with poor maintenance being
highlighted as the root cause of many of
these accidents.
A comprehensive review of the British
Standard BS 7121-2:2003 is the industrys
solution to help address these concerns.
Working with experts, BSI has split this code
of practice for safe use of cranes into six
sub-parts, to bring more focus on specific

types of cranes. This will ensure BS 7121-2:2003 will continue to provide current best practice
for the inspection, maintenance and thorough examination of the principal types of cranes
used within the UK and overseas. These updates will offer critical guidance for all users and
operators of cranes throughout the UK but will also have worldwide applicability.
The standard is currently being developed by influential experts in this field, including
the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and
Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA). Also participating on the committee are
representatives from the Safety Assessment Federation Ltd (SAFed), Association of Lorry
Loaders Manufacturers and Importers (ALLMI) and Institution of Mechanical Engineers
(IMechE). BSI is also eager to get feedback, comment and input on these Drafts for Public
Comment from wider industry sources.
All comments received during public consultation on the drafts will be reviewed by the BSI
Technical Committee MHE/3/11 Crane safety and testing and may be incorporated into the
published British Standard.
The current schedule for release of the drafts is as follows:
BS 7121-2-1 General
http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/46090
BS 7121-2-3 Mobile Cranes
http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/46112
BS 7121-2-4 Loader Cranes
DPC expected October 2012
BS 7121-2-5 Tower Cranes
DPC expected October 2012
BS 7121-2-7 Overhead travelling

cranes
http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/456115
BS 7121-2-9 Cargo handling &

container cranes
DPC expected October 2012
Each draft will be available for a period of two months from the date of issue.
To get involved and comment on these, or any other British Standard drafts, please visit:
http://drafts.bsigroup.com/

GTC contracted for first Get

Britain Building homes

TC today announces a substantial new

contract with Crest Nicholson to install
gas and electricity infrastructure at the first
site to be awarded under the Homes and
Communities Agencys (HCAs) Get Britain
Building programme.
GTC will provide the utility infrastructure
for over 1,100 new-build homes and 70,000
square metres of business floorspace, as
well as for shops, a community/sports
centre, library, church, health centre and
primary school, at the Cheesemans Green
development, near Ashford, in Kent. The
HCA has granted 2.3m of funding to release
100 new homes as part of the first stage of
this phased scheme, which will be known as
Stour Meadows
Clive Linsdell, Managing Director at GTC,
says: The funding will provide a great kickstart to the development and the economic
benefits will be felt by the much wider
community. The timings of the connections
and energisation are crucial as they must
coincide precisely with the house builders
needs and the programme aims to deliver
the much needed new homes. We have,
therefore, been working closely with Crest
Nicholson and they aim to benefit from our
independent status, which allows full control
of timescales and costs.
6

GTC works extensively with Crest Nicholson

and this significant housing development
further cements the strong and well
established working relationship. Mark
Osborn, Development Executive, at Crest
Nicholson comments: We were pleased
to award GTC this contract following
their previous performances on existing
developments. Their ability to provide
project assurance and delivery within our
programme is essential, particularly under
the HCAs scheme.
Cheesmans Green has presented numerous
challenges as the development has culverts
under the main access roads, this means
that the mains can not be sited under the
road surface. GTC has resolved this issue,
proposing to lay mains in bridle paths, which
are at a suitable elevation. With further
development still being finalised, GTC
has designed a network that will allow for
possible future expansion.
Further information from Trudy Mudd,
GTC, Energy House,
Woolpit Business Park,
Woolpit, Bury St Edmunds IP30 9UP.
Tel: 01359 240154.
E-mail: trudy.mudd@gtc-uk.co.uk
Web: www.gtc-uk.co.uk

PASSIVE HOUSE
REGIONS WITH
RENEWABLE
ENERGIES

aking frontrunners visible

supporting potential frontrunners.
This is the motto of the PassREg project,
funded within the European Commissions
Intelligent Energy Europe programme and
headed by the Passive House Institute. As
reflected in its name, the project supports
the growth of Passive House Regions in which
energy efficiency first through Passive
House is promoted, enabling remaining
energy needs to be feasibly covered with
on-site or nearby Renewable Energy sources.
To do this, the project looks to regions such
as Hanover, Brussels and Tyrol frontrunner
regions already actively and successfully
supporting this approach. By investigating
what makes the varied models these regions
employ so successful as well as by making
their successes more visible, the project aims
to help other aspiring regions to become
frontrunners themselves taking, adapting
and implementing best practice examples
as well as the lessons learned throughout
the project to facilitate the implementation
of the EUs 2010 Energy Performance of
Buildings Directive on the basis of Passive
House with renewable energy sources.

BUILDING ENGINEER July 2012

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