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Please could you briefly explain your role, involvement and experience with regards to Crane Safety.
Gavin Kerr (GK): As Director of the Mammoet fleet of global cranes, I am responsible for our flagship assets; some of the largest land-based cranes in the world with capacities up to 10,000 tons. Every potential incident no matter how small is important and requires equal attention, but the scale of that potential in this category is beyond the ‘every day’ of our industry. As the global leader in our industry we are mindful of the role we play in setting the benchmark for the entire supply chain. The actions we take set the standard for everyone else and with that comes a great responsibility. One of the actions we take to ensure that the risks at field level reach management as quickly as possible is through our leadership visibility program. Having senior leaders, right up to the C-Suite, visiting our project sites on a regular basis creates a safety culture where field level personnel feel comfortable to express their concerns and give forthright feedback to senior staff members they would otherwise not see.
What are the main challenges facing the industry at the moment?
GK: One challenge we all must address is the perception in some quarters – not all – that our industry is more of an equipment supplier than a service supplier. Regardless of the colour of our cranes, be they green or yellow or blue or red, the quality of our service levels are leading indicators for our safety performance. The systems which encompass our delivery of service – be that equipment maintenance, project management, logistics or engineering – all contribute but can differ greatly. Legislation really helps in this respect. For example, the role of the Appointed Person in the UK, or in Canada where all engineered lift studies must be stamped with the seal of a registered Professional Engineer, signal to the end-user that competency levels in the service delivery are of the minimum required standard. Similar legislation in other regions where best practices within the private sector have not yet been adopted by government run health and safety bodies would certainly benefit.
How have you been affected by Brexit in your operations?
GK: I think affected is not the right word, but it has certainly created new challenges which needed to be proactively managed. As a global company who send vast quantities of equipment and personnel across boarders on a daily basis, we are well positioned with our global logistics department, ably supported by our tax and customs experts and our visa and travel teams teams, to manage the new border conditions that come with Brexit.
What are your top tips when tackling a new lifting challenge?
GK: I have one simple rule and that is to listen. Listen actively to all the stakeholders and try to understand the root of the challenges. The problems behind the problems, so to say. As an industry we tend to be very action oriented which is not a bad thing per se, but we need to ensure we that we actually understand the full scope of the challenge before we jump into solution mode.
What are your top tips for everyday lifts?
GK: It’s a cliché and there is no big secret here; you simply have to give 100% attention to the task at hand. If we are distracted by schedule or by pressure from parties on site, incidents will occur. We need to create an environment of psychological safety where all workers – from rigger to supervisor – feel completely confident to call a stop to the work the moment they feel any hesitation or experience the slightest inkling that something isn’t right. That is the moment where everyone needs to reset, analyse the tasks and ensure all actions are taken beforehand to mitigate the risks. The Mammoet Minute is a 60 second tool we use every day to stay fully focused on task.
What developments in the crane industry, either technology or techniques, are you most interested in for the future and why?
GK: The industries we serve as heavy lift companies are changing and we see that tackling climate change is becoming more and more of strategic importance to our customers. As an industry and as part of the supply chain which contributes to the carbon footprint of the worlds projects – big and small – we need to play our part in lowering carbon emissions in our operations. That can come in the form of technology such as renewable energy sources, or in techniques such as planning efficiency tools, then we can help reach and exceed our climate targets in future.
Why is it important for engineers to join this year’s Crane Safety seminar?
GK: Engineers are educated with more of a design focus than with a construction focus. We see many times that engineers can design something which works wonderfully on paper but is either impractical or in the worst case not even feasible on site. I say this as a chartered engineer who has made exactly these errors in the past. Engineers need to consider constructibility as part of their design. Or put simply, how are we going the build this? As more on more projects today are modular, where large and heavy components are built off site, engineers need to have a broad understanding of the possibilities which can be realised with heavy lift and transportation companies. As Mammoet, we see our role as the linking pin between design and construction and that is where the impossible becomes possible.
Crane Safety 2021 returns as a live, online seminar on 8 September 2021.
Bringing together industry regulators (Health and Safety Executive, Office for Nuclear Regulation), government bodies (BEIS), member organisations (LEEA), manufacturers (Liebherr) plus crane operators and hire companies, don't miss your chance to hear all the latest updates affecting safe and efficient crane operation in one day.
for full details and to book your place please visit the event website.