1. Introduction
The Australian crane industry has initiated a voluntary crane assessment program throughout Australia.
The program aims to augment existing safety standards and will be administered within the industry through annual assessments of cranes by CraneSafe (a division of The Crane Industry Council of Australia). A steering committee consisting of the national CraneSafe General Manager and two experienced crane experts, all of whom shall be appointed by the CICA board of directors, will oversee the program in most states.
The program has been developed after wide consultation with interested parties in the crane industry in Victoria and other states.
The program provides crane owners, suppliers and users in Australia with a common industry wide system for third party visual assessment of the condition of material components of their cranes, that contribute to the safety of their cranes.
The CraneSafe assessment program is voluntary and while it does not form part of any legislative or regulatory scheme, it will assist crane owners and users in Australia to meet their obligation under the OH&S (plant) regulations to ensure that their cranes are in a safe condition. The program provides crane owners and operators with a process for third party assessment of the safety aspects of their cranes that complies with the requirements of Parts 1, 3, 4, 5, 11, 19 and 20 of AS2550 for annual inspection.
2. The Process
2.1 Selection of Assessors
Assessors shall be selected against the criteria set by the assessment panel, whose role it is to endorse suitable assessors.
2.2 Endorsement of Assessors
Assessors may be endorsed for one or more of the following categories:
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CraneSafe will provide each endorsed assessor with a certificate indicating the categories for which they are endorsed.
Assessors will not be agents of CraneSafe and will operate independently in their own right.
2.3 Choices of Qualified Assessors
Crane owners or users can choose an assessor from a list of CraneSafe endorsed assessors. CraneSafe will not recommend a particular assessor at any time. It is the intent of this agreement that no company should engage an assessor, for the purposes of conducting crane assessments, who has a contract of employment with the principal company, a subsidiary company or another associated company which has common director(s).
2.4 Fees for the Assessment
CraneSafe will not set, recommend or interfere with the pricing of the assessment services. Any fee charged for an assessment under this program will be negotiated between the crane owner or user and the endorsed assessor.
2.5 Assessment of Cranes
2.5.1 At the completion of an assessment and subject to satisfying the assessment check list requirement provided by CraneSafe, the endorsed assessor will provide the original copy of the checklist to the owner or owner’s representative, a duplicate copy to CraneSafe’s central registry and a triplicate copy for the assessor’s records.
2.5.2 On receipt of a successful assessment checklist, the owner or user of the crane will forward to CraneSafe the original of the approved checklist and payment for the administration fee. The fee for members of the state associations and CICA shall be $150 plus GST and $300 plus GST for non-members for mobile cranes and $40 plus GST for members and $60 plus GST for non-members for tower cranes. Upon clear payment the owner or user will receive a CraneSafe certificate to be affixed to the crane in a visible location.
2.5.3 WorkCover authorities in each state shall have access to the assessment checklists.
2.5.4 All endorsed assessors will agree to have a random audit conducted on any of their completed assessment.
2.6 Revocation of Endorsement
CraneSafe or the assessment panel has the right to revoke an endorsement at any time if the assessor conducts false or fraudulent assessments or brings the CraneSafe program into disrepute.
2.7 Owners Responsibilities
The owner or user of the crane is responsible for arranging any assessments.
The owner or user remains responsible for performing pre-operational and routine inspections, maintenance and repairs necessary to ensure the ongoing safety of their cranes.
3. Manufacturer's Requirements
The CraneSafe assessment program does not replace manufacturers requirements as far as assessments, standards, maintenance or any other needs are concerned.
4. Statutory Requirements
The CraneSafe assessment program does not replace or over-ride any legislative requirements imposed on any of the parties mentioned in this agreement.
Owners or users remain responsible for pre-operational and routine inspections, maintenance and repairs necessary to comply with work, health and safety laws and requirements.
5. Australian Standards Inspection Requirements
Crane owners or users have an obligation under Australian Standards AS2550 to conduct an annual inspection of their cranes. The CraneSafe assessment program substantially meets this inspection requirement and can be used as part of the Australian Standards’ requirement.