Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010

One such set of regulations that it is important to highlight is the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations 2010. These regulations came into force on 6 April 2010 and required certain information about conventional tower cranes used on construction sites to be notified to the HSE. They were introduced following campaigning by the families of workers and others killed in incidents involving tower cranes on construction sites.

To the anger of unions and safety campaigning groups such as the Construction Safety Campaign, the Löfstedt review Reclaiming health and safety for all (see Chapter 12) recommended the repeal of the Notification of Conventional Tower Cranes Regulations, suggesting that an impact assessment has demonstrated “no quantifiable benefits” and the regulations were scrapped in April 2013.

Other changes arising from the HSE’s review of its ACOPs, as recommended by Löfstedt, include the following:

• the HSE is currently consulting on proposals for an ACOP on Safety in Ports to replace the existing Code of Practice on Safety in Docks (COP25). Details of the consultation can be found on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd250.htm

• the HSE recommended withdrawing the ACOP Preventing accidents to children in agriculture (L116) and reviewing other HSE publications providing guidance on child safety within agriculture prior to its withdrawal. Guidance is also available on the HSE website at: www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/topics/children.htm and

• ACOPs on hazardous substances in pottery production (L60) and on health and safety at quarries (L118) are to undergo only minor revisions by the end of 2014.