Maintenance, Inspection and Thorough Examination of Mobile Cranes

This means that those planning work at height on mobile cranes should:-
� Avoid work at height wherever possible and actively seek solutions to
facilitate this;
� If this is not possible, use “collective” means of protection such as guardrails;
� If this is not possible, use “personal” means of prevention such as work
restraint;
� If this is not possible, use a personal fall protection system such as a work
positioning system or fall arrest system;
� Additionally provide training and instruction or take other measures to prevent
any person falling a distance liable to cause personal injury.
Where a risk assessment indicates that a personal fall protection system is required
a work positioning system should always be used in preference to a fall arrest
system. Where the use of fall arrest personal fall protection systems are unavoidable
there will be a risk of the wearer being left suspended following a fall and
arrangements must be made to ensure that they can be rescued in a safe and timely
manner (See Annex 1).
Where work is being carried out on mobile tower cranes suitable and sufficient
arrangements must be put in place for the rescue of personnel from height. This
matter is dealt with in the CPA Technical Information Note TIN 013 - Rescue of
Personnel from height on Tower Cranes which may be downloaded from the CPA
web site.
11.9 Isolation of Systems During Maintenance
To avoid the risk of trapping, crushing and shearing during the maintenance of
mechanisms on mobile cranes, all systems should be isolated before work starts.
Where this is not possible due to the need to have power to a system for fault
diagnosis etc., a safe system of work should be put in place to mitigate the risks of
trapping. Such a safe system of work may well involve a “permit to work” and
adequate communication between the crane operator and other members of the
maintenance team. If safety systems have to be bridged or over-ridden during the
fault finding, checks must be made to ensure that all safety systems are functioning
correctly before the crane is returned to service.
11.10 Exclusion Zones
Where maintenance is being carried out on site and there is a risk of falling objects, a
suitable exclusion zone should be established and enforced around the crane to
provide protection from falling objects.
11.11 Communication Equipment
Maintenance personnel should be provided with an adequate means of
communication, often hand portable radios, to ensure that all members of the
maintenance team can communicate effectively with each other, the mobile crane
operator and personnel on the ground.
NOTE: Additional advice on radio communications is given in the CPA Technical Information
Note TIN 017 - Radio Communication for Lifting Operations
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