Welcome Services Depots News Cranes For Sale Contract Lifting FAQs Contact Us   Registered Office: Quinto Crane & Plant Ltd Anson Road Norwich Airport Norwich NR6 6EH Tel. +44(0)1603 410881 Fax. +44(0)1603 404565 Registered in England and Wales Company No. 875008 VAT No. GB 304 7514 80	FAQs Q: "Can't find my question in the FAQs" A: If your question is not listed, please click on Contact Us and complete the Website Enquiry form.   Q: "What are my legal duties when I hire a crane with operator, according to current legislation and codes of practice? (including B.S. 7121, Part 1, 2006)" A: USER’S LEGAL DUTIES WHEN HIRING CRANES (A BRIEF SUMMARY OF RELEVANT LEGISLATION):: USER = ‘person or organization that has control of both the lifting operation and the crane operator and has a responsibility to ensure that cranes and other equipment are properly maintained and are thoroughly examined by a competent person’ (BS 7121, Part 1, 2006 clause 3.24) The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the ‘master’ legislation and sets out in Part 1 the General Duties of an employer to his employees (section 2), and to persons other than his employees (section 3). Section 7 spells out the duty on the employee to ‘take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work’ and to co-operate with his employer so far as is necessary for any duty or requirement imposed on the employer to be performed or complied with. PUWER, regulation 4, requires the user (i.e. the Hirer) to provide suitable work equipment and LOLER, regulation 8, imposes the legal obligation to plan the lift, select the crane and supervise the work. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, (MHSWR) regulation 3, requires every employer to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of (a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b) to persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking and, if he has 5 or more employees, to record the significant findings of that assessment. The ACOP (Approved Code of Practice) in the MHSWR handbook sets out the General principles and purpose of risk assessment. The main factors to take into account are the severity of any injury or ill health likely to result from any hazard present, the likelihood of that happening and the number of people exposed. The Foreword to BS 7121, Part 1,2006, though not itself having the force of law, contains the following:- “The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commends the use of this British Standard to those who have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This standard was drawn up with the participation of HSE representatives and will be referred to in relevant HSE publications.” Clause 5.3 User’s duties when using hired cranes, states “When a crane is hired out together with an operator to the user organisation, the crane owner should provide a competent operator and a crane that is properly maintained, inspected and tested in accordance with BS 7121-2, and has a current report of thorough examination. The user organisation retains the responsibility for nominating the appointed person in accordance with 4.3 and for following the recommendations given in the BS 7121 series. Notwithstanding any advice the crane owner might have offered concerning the selection of a particular crane or any other relevant matter, for example clearances, ground conditions, the responsibility for ensuring that the crane is of a suitable type, size and capacity for the task being undertaken and for planning the operation remains with the user organisation. Therefore if an individual or an organisation does not have expertise in lifting operations they should not hire cranes but should opt for a contract lift”.   Q: "Can an experienced crane driver carry out the risk assessment and compile a safe method of working for me on a CPA hire?" A: He can give you advice, but the Law says it is your responsibility to plan and supervise the lifting operation. In any case the operator is the one person in the lifting team who must not perform any task except driving his crane safely. Under no circumstances is he allowed to supervise the work at the same time.   Q: "Surely, if I sublet the work as a Contract Lift that fulfils my legal responsibilities?" A: Not so. First you have a duty to ensure you sublet only to an organisation that is competent to carry out the work on your behalf safely. Second, you retain overall responsibility for checking the sub-contractor's plan and ensuring the safety of people not in your employ. Note - Two companies were each fined £10K plus costs under Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the HSAW Act - the one for not having revised a method statement following a change of plan and the other, as principal contractor for not ensuring the work had been properly planned.