The American Society of Safety Engineers Focuses on Crane Safety

The American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) “Solutions in Construction Safety” symposium is being held this week in Scottsdale, Ariz. The symposium will provide occupational safety, health and environmental professionals and other attendees information on effective practices and solutions to address these issues from experts in construction safety. Sessions focus on on crane safety; crisis operations that followed; the positive return on investing in safety; preventing strains/sprains and slips/trips/falls; protecting the public; the issues of control of substance abuse at a construction job site; and lessons learned in fall protection along with a panel presentation titled, “Big Projects, Big Challenges” and “Share the Solutions” roundtables.

T. Shane Bush, CPT, president of BushCo Inc., will provide the keynote presentation, titled “Right Brain Leadership for the Future of Construction Safety.” Jay Greenspan of JMJ Associates, will present “Create a Breakthrough in Your Construction Safety Performance” for the general session.

In addition, ASSE has created the ASSE/ANSI A10 Crane Safety Standards Package to help safety professionals conduct safe crane operations in construction and demolition operations. The package includes A10.8 – Safety Requirements for Scaffolding, A10.28 – Safety Requirements for Work Platforms Suspended from Cranes or Derricks, A10.31 – Safety Requirements, Definitions & Specifications for Digger Derricks, A10.33 – Safety & Health Program Requirements for Multi-Employer Projects and A10.42 – Safety Requirements for Rigging Qualifications & Responsibilities. Together these standards cover many important aspects of crane safety in construction and demolition operations.

The scope of the A10.8 standard, which aims to help workers who use scaffolding to stay safe on the job; deals with the establishment of safety requirements for the construction, operation, maintenance; and use of scaffolds used in the construction, alteration, demolition and maintenance of buildings and structures. Scaffolding refers to a system of scaffolds, which are a temporary arrangement erected around a building for workers. The standard does not cover permanently installed suspended scaffold systems or aerial platforms.

Cranes or derricks are machines used for lifting and moving heavy objects, usually by suspending them from a movable projecting arm. The A10.28 standard covers platforms suspended from the load lines of cranes/derricks in order to perform work at elevations that cannot normally be reached by other kinds of scaffolds or transport personnel to heights where other means of transport are unsafe or impractical because of work conditions or design.

Digger derricks are special multipurpose vehicle-mounted machines. These machines are primarily designed to accommodate components that dig holes, set poles and position materials and apparatus. The A10.31 standard applies to digger derricks but excludes general-purpose cranes designed only for lifting service and machines primarily designed for digging holes. This standard establishes requirements for specifications and dimensions and defines the individual responsibilities of the manufacturer, distributor, installer, owner, user and operator of the digger-derrick.

The A10.33 standard refers to the protection of employees and the public from hazards arising out of, or associated with, construction and demolition operations and addresses project safety and health requirements; disciplinary procedures; senior project supervisor responsibilities; construction process, pre-work and emergency plans; permit systems; notifications; and training.

The final standard included in the package, A10.42, also refers to the protection of employees and the public from hazards arising out of, or associated with, construction and demolition operations. It establishes minimum criteria of knowledge and performance requirements for a qualified rigger in the construction industry. It is designed to assist in achieving reasonable safety of all persons and materials during the process of or as the result of rigging, lifting, or movement of loads.

For more information or to order the A10 standards package visit https://www.asse.org/cartpage.php?link=a10set or contact ASSE customer service at (847) 699-2929 or e-mail customerservice@asse.org.