Conventional Tower Crane Regulations

There have been a number of high profile failures of tower cranes recently prompting the HSE to introduce “The Notification of Conventional Tower Crane Regulations 2010” which came into force on 6th April 2010.

Which Tower Cranes need to be notified?

The regulations apply to conventional (or “assisted-erected”) tower cranes. These are the type that are transported in pieces and erected on site. The regulations will not apply to:

• self erecting tower cranes.
• mobile cranes.
• tower cranes on sites other than construction sites.

Whose responsibility is it to notify HSE?

Whoever has the responsibility for ensuring that the crane is thoroughly examined by a competent person, as required by The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER), should also ensure that HSE are notified. In practice this would either be the Principal Contractor or the contractor appointed by the Principal Contractor to provide on-site crane services.

The requirements include:

• To notify the HSE within 14 days of the date of the LOLER examination
  
  *Conditions for re-examination of any crane are as defined in the LOLER regulations. HSE should also be notified in these circumstances within the time frame specified above.
   
• For conventional tower cranes that were in place and had been thoroughly examined before 6th April 2010.
  
  *notification should be within 28 days of that date.

Information to be notified

• Name and address of the crane owner
• Construction site address where the crane is installed
• Crane identification details
• Date of thorough examination
• Details of employer for whom the thorough examination was carried out.
• Details of any defects

Registration

There is a £20 fee for registering a crane with HSE. Notification can be made as follows:

• Online at http://www.cranesregister.org.uk
• By post using a form which can be downloaded or obtained by contacting the HSE Infoline.