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Posted By Owen Tudor
Some time ago a colleague of mine posted on this forum enquiring about the legalities of an Appointed Person delegating his duties to another on night shift, as a safety advisor on the same project I would like to add my thanks for the valuable advice.
The situation has now changed as the AP has been transferred to another project some 120 miles away, this was due to the construction phase coming to an end. Is it possible for this person still to act as the AP for the original project as a crane is due on site soon, my view is that the company no longer has an AP for this project but their view is that because method statements and lifting plans are already in place and it is a repeat lift this person can still act as an AP for this project.
I would prefer that when they hire in the crane, they hire an AP and carry out the task as a contract lift but then again I'm not paying the bill.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Owen
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Posted By Lloyd Cole
From my site knowledge of berthing study and method statement for craneage, if the crane company hasnt been asked for the (competent Person), then the contracting company requiring the lift has to supply and include on the forms an AP, and would therefor have AP on site during the lifting operations, (Organisation of lifting operations) I dont believe that the Appointed Person can be elsewhere off site at the time of lift.
The appointed person is given responsibility by the employer to take charge, which also places responsibility on them to contact emergency services in case of accident, Ive copied this off LOLER for you. I hope this helps, especially where it says "The whole of the operation"
ORGANISATION OF LIFTING OPERATIONS (REG.8)
70 Compliance with this regulation is essential to the safe undertaking of operations involving lifting equipment.
Proper planning (reg.8(1)(a))
71 The person appointed to plan the lift (referred to as the 'competent person' at L113 para 219) will normally be an in-house employee. They should have adequate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience to plan the lifting operation properly. The plan should address issues such as "the lift" remaining safe for the whole of the operation, ie from where the load starts to where it finishes. Major operations, eg a 'tandem' lift using 2 cranes or 2 FLTs, will normally require a written plan. An example of a plan is given in the L113 para 221.
Appropriate supervision (reg.8(1)(b))
72 This regulation extends the duty of HSW Act s.2. The amount and quality of supervision should be proportional to the risk and take account of the people involved, eg an experienced FLT driver doing a routine job would not require much supervision. Supervision does not necessarily mean the direct physical presence of a supervisor at all times
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Posted By Peter MacDonald
The AP does not have to be on site at the time of the lift. However, the lift supervisor does have to be there, as well as a competent slinger and of course a trained crane operator. The AP is required to sign off each lifting plan (inc risk assessments) specific to each lift though. Writing one at the start of a project and assuming that each lift is exactly the same cannot be done unless the crane is in exactly the same set up, lifting the same weight within the safe radius, same location, rigger pad size, ground conditions etc. There should be a sketch in the lifting plan showing crane position, lift point and laydown area (among other information) that is specific for each lift. I would imagine the AP would be be failing in his duty of care not to check each lift plan being performed under his name. But he does not have to be on site during the lift.
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Posted By Lloyd Cole
I see what Peter is saying and probably has good experience, the lift would have to be in the same location with the same equipment and lifting capacity with realy nothing changed from the original lift, from point A to point B, I can see that the supervisor will be more than competent to oversee. If it changes though, as lifts do, having an AP 120 miles away signing off the MS and RA and not seeing the plan or the location , kind of defeats the object. Im not too sure how that would be decided in a court of law after an accident.
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Posted By alex mccreadie
Peter is a 100% right.
Remember some of the larger crane companies have Appointed Persons who may have prepared Method Statements for 10+ Contract lifts happening on any one day.Providing they have ensured a qualified Lift Superviser is in place for these lifts they are acting within the law.They must obviously be contactable during the period these lifts are taking place in case of possible changes to the MS on the day.
Alex
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Posted By Lloyd Cole
Colin,
In answer to your question, I believe Alex Mc is the expert and has answered on previous discussion.
A line of communication is the key.
A good forum debate...
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Posted By alex mccreadie
Lloyd thank you for your comment.
I would never profess to be an expert but Cranes are my main work topic..
What I do is try to educate users of cranes in the need to not just follow regulations but understand why they need to.
Also before I answer I ensure I have perused all relevant Regulations and best practice guides before posting.
This is not only because someone is always trying to score a point against you. But to ensure if someone followed any of my opinions I would be confident with the information I had supplied.
Regards Alex
Always remember when using cranes we are defying Gravity.
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Posted By Owen Tudor
Gents
Thank you for all of your opinions it seems that this is a bit of a grey area (a grey area in health and safety, surely not) but with the combined advise given here I am sure we will be able to come to a practical solution.
Many thanks yet again.
Owen
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