Effective from 7 December 2015, Safe Work Australia has published 10 guides and information sheets on managing the risks associated with inspecting, maintaining and operating cranes, and plant that can be used as a crane and quick hitches for earthmoving machinery. This move is part of an agreement by SWA members in 2014 to replace the draft model WHS Code of Practice for cranes with guidance material.
You can access the SWA “cranes guidance material” page HERE.
This approach does create some interesting jurisdictional issues. For example, New South Wales which operates under the WHS legislation has an approved code of practice for managing the risks of falls at a workplace – which means it has a specific legislative standing, different from guidance material. This code of practice includes a section on “work boxes“, but it has different information from the material set out in the SWA guide on “crane lifted work boxes“.
For example, the SWA guide states that work boxes should:
- have sides not less than 1 metre high;
- have fall-arrest anchorage points;
- be correctly tagged;
- have lifting slings supplied to be attached to the lifting points by hammerlocks or moused shackles;
- have a safety factor for each suspension sling of at least eight for chains and 10 for wire rope; and
- where provided, a door is to be inward opening only and self-closing with a latch to prevent unintentional opening.
However, none of these points are mentioned in the approved code of practice.
A common failing of safety management systems is the level of internal inconsistency that develops as layers of safety management processor built up over time. It seems that the regulator is not immune from this problem.
My Safety Thoughts 