Part 1: General

1.1 Preface

This code has been prepared by representatives of the crane and inspection industries and the Department of Labour. The purpose of the code is to support the requirements of the Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes, and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999 and the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995. References in this code to "regulations" mean the Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes, and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999.

Adoption of this code will provide for an increased level of safety for all types of cranes covered by this document.

Proposals for changes to this code may be submitted to the Department of Labour for consideration by the industry group concerned.

Note: Operational matters such as site conditions, minimum distances from electrical conductors, operation of tower cranes and load-lifting gear are in the Crane Safety Manual for Operators/Users, obtainable from the Crane Association of New Zealand (Inc).

1.2 Scope

This code covers, but is not limited to, the following types of crane:

• Dockside/container
• Overhead travelling/gantry/monorail
• Pillar/column
• Truck (vehicle) loader type
• Derrick/post/jib
• Mobile (including crawler and rail)
• Tower (including self-erecting)

It also covers the following equipment when being used as a crane:

• Forklift trucks
• Material handlers
• Telehandlers
• Earthmoving and forestry equipment.

It does not cover cranes, derricks or spreader beams on board ships. Such equipment (other than equipment on "fishing ships" used for lifting the catch) is covered by the Maritime Rule Part 49 - Ships' Lifting Appliances. Controllers of cranes on fishing ships are still required to meet their obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and accordingly, compliance with this Approved Code of Practice is recommended.

1.3 Interpretation

"Should" and "may" indicate that the recommendation be adopted where practicable to comply with the requirement to "take all practicable steps" as required by the Act and Regulations.

"Shall" is used in places where there are legal obligations required by the Act and/or its Regulations that must be followed. It is used to alert the reader to the need for that recommendation to be implemented.

1.4 Definitions

For the purpose of this code, the following definitions apply:

Act: means the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.

Activity: in relation to any equipment, means any of the following:

1. adjustment
2. alteration
3. commissioning
4. construction
5. disposal
6. design
7. design verification
8. equipment inspection
9. installation
10. investigation
11. maintenance
12. manufacture
13. operation
14. repair
15. testing.

Alteration: means changing the design of, adding to, or taking elements away from the crane and includes the relocation of non-mobile equipment, but does not include repairs, replacements, or routine maintenance.

Anchorage: means the method of securing of a crane in position, or the fixed end of a rope, or a dead-end of a rope.

Anti two-block warning device: means a device that warns the operator that the hook block is about to hit the boom head.

Anti two-block cutout: means a device that is activated as the crane hook block is about to hit the boom head and prevents any further upward movement of the hook block.

Automatic safe load indicator: means a device fitted to a crane to provide the operator with automatic warning of approach to an overload situation.

Boom: means a cantilevered structure from which a load is suspended.

Boom angle indicator: means a device that shows the angle of inclination of a luffing (derricking) boom.

Boom arrestors (also referred to as safety ropes): means ties fitted between the underside of the boom to a fixed part of the crane to prevent whip back. Safety ropes may also be fitted between the underside of a fly jib and boom.

Boom back-stops: means a device fitted to the crane to prevent whip back.

Certificate of competence: (in relation to the Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999):

(1) is a certificate issued by a qualification issuing agency or by the Secretary stating that the holder is suitably qualified to carry out a specified activity in relation to specified equipment.

(2) A certificate of competence remains in force for the period specified in it any may be renewed from time to time.

(3) The Secretary may cancel a certificate of competence, or suspend a certificate of competence for such period as he or she thinks fit, if, after giving the holder an opportunity to be heard, he or she is satisfied on reasonable grounds -

(a) That the holder has been so negligent in carrying out any task that the holder of the certificate could reasonably be expected to perform to a reasonable standard that the safety of any person has been or could have been endangered; or

(b) That the holder has shown himself or herself unfit to be the holder of the certificate by the improper manner in which he or she has carried out any task that the holder of the certificate could reasonably be expected to perform in a proper manner.

Certificate of inspection: means a certificate issued or renewed under regulation 32 of the PECPR Regulations that complies with regulation 33 of the PECPR Regulations. In the case of an in-house inspection body, the certificate may take the form of a computer record created by that body on the recommendation of the equipment inspector.

Chartered professional engineer (CPEng.): means a person who is registered and holds a current registration certificate under the Chartered Professional Engineers of New Zealand Act 2002.

Competent person: means a person who has acquired, through a combination of training and qualification or experience, the knowledge and skills to perform the task required.

Controller: under the PECPR Regulations, means a person who is the owner, lessee, sub lessee, or bailee of any equipment in a place of work.

Crane:

(1) means a powered device-

(a) that is equipped with mechanical means for raising or lowering loads suspended by means of a hook or other load-handling device; and

(b) that can, by the movement of the whole device or of its boom, jib, trolley or other such part, re-position or move suspended loads both vertically and horizontally; and

(2) includes all parts of the crane down to and including the hook or load-handling device, and all chains, rails, ropes, wires, or other devices used to move the hook or load-handling device;

(3) includes the attachments, fittings, foundations, mountings and supports; but

(4) does not include lifting gear that is not an integral part of the crane.

Crane rating chart/sheet: means a notice fitted on or attached to a crane stating the maximum safe working load for the crane in specified operating conditions. Crane rating charts or sheets may also be produced in a book format.

Crane operator: means a person who has acquired, through a combination of training, qualification or experience, the knowledge and skills to operate a particular type of crane.

Current: means for the time being in force and "currently" has a corresponding meaning.

Derricking: refer to "luffing".

Designer: means a designer of equipment that could reasonably be expected to be operated in a place of work.

Design verification: means verification that the following comply, in every respect related to safety, with the requirements of the appropriate design standards and contain every safety feature that is relevant, whether or not referred to in those standards:

(1) designs of equipment, and

(2) alterations to designs, affecting the structural strength or safety of equipment, made in the course of manufacture, and

(3) designs of a repair or alteration affecting the operational safety of the equipment repaired or altered or any other equipment, and

(4) the fabrication inspection requirements specified by the designer.

Design verifier: means a person who:

(1) is employed or engaged by an inspection body to carry out the functions referred to in the PECPR Regulations, and

(2) is the holder of a relevant certificate of competence.

Dogman: means a person qualified to sling loads and direct the lifting and placing operations of a crane.

Electrical Inspector: has the same meaning as that defined in the Electricity Act 1992.

Equipment: means cranes, including the attachments, fittings, foundations, mountings and supports of cranes, and plant used in connection with cranes.

Equipment inspection: means an inspection carried out by an equipment inspector that:

(1) is carried out to determine whether equipment is safe and is likely to remain safe, and

(2) takes place in one or more of the following periods:

(a) the period in which the equipment, or its component parts, is manufactured,

(b) the period after the manufacture and before the commissioning of equipment,

(c) the period after the commissioning of equipment,

(d) the period after a repair or alteration to which regulation 11 of the PECPR Regulations apply,

(e) the period after maintenance, or an adjustment, alteration, or repair to which the regulation 13 of the PECPR Regulations apply.

Equipment inspector: means a person who:

(1) is employed or engaged by an inspection body to carry out the functions referred to in regulation 27 of the PECPR Regulations, and

(2) is the holder of a relevant certificate of competence.

Erection: means, in relation to any type of equipment, the assembly and construction, and includes installation.

Factor of safety: means the ratio obtained by dividing the minimum specified breaking load by the safe working load.

Hoist unit: means a standard mass-produced lifting unit providing powered vertical lifting capacity by either chain or wire, via a hook and block. Power may also be provided to a beam runner, if fitted, for horizontal travel.

HSE Act: means the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, as amended in 2003.

HSE Regulations: means the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995.

Inspection body: means:

(1) an organisation currently recognised under regulation 25 of the PECPR Regulations, and

(2) in relation to a design verifier or equipment inspector, the inspection body by which the design verifier or equipment inspector is employed or engaged.

ITP: means Inspection and Test Plan.

Lifting gear: in relation to a crane:

(1) means a device used:

(a) to attach the load to the hook or load-handling device, or

(b) to control the load independently of the hook or load-handling device, or

(c) as a container for the load, and

(2) includes lifting beams, lifting frames, spreaders or similar devices that are not an integral part of the crane.

Limit switch: means an automatically activated switch to warn an operator or to stop a particular crane motion prior to reaching the extremity of operations.

Load-handling device: in relation to a crane:

(1) means a device:

(a) that is an integral part of the crane, and

(b) that may substitute for the hook, and

(2) includes lifting beams, lifting frames and spreaders or similar devices, and associated chains, pins, pulley blocks, pulley frames, ropes, shackles, twist locks and wires.

Note: Load-handling devices include shipping container-lifting spreaders, telescopic spreaders, magnets, vacuum lifters, tongs, bulk material grabs, log and timber grapples, lifting forks etc.

Load indicating device: means a device that measures and displays the weight being lifted or the force being applied.

Load moment: means the load multiplied by the horizontal distance (radius) from the centre of rotation to the hook.

Load moment indicator: means a device that indicates the load moment.

Load moment limiter: means a device, which is preset prior to operation, that limits the lifting capacity at any given crane configuration.

Load radius indicator: means a device fitted on a crane that shows the distance to the hook measured from the centre of the slew.

Lock out: means to use a piece of equipment that renders another item inoperable.

Luffing: means changing the elevation angle of the crane boom/jib.

Maintenance: includes servicing.

Maintenance records: consist of:

(1) maintenance requirements provided by the manufacturer

(2) in-house inspections/checks carried out by the controller or their staff.

Where the manufacturer's requirements are not available, advice must be obtained from within the industry.

Mobile crane: means mobile mechanical plant which is able to be configured to lift or carry a suspended load. This definition includes "Fully", "Semi", "Portable" and "Truck" mobile cranes. For the purposes of this Approved Code of Practice, this definition also includes:

(1) forklifts and reach stackers configured to lift shipping containers

(2) telehandlers or forklifts lifting and carrying a suspended load

(3) construction equipment, such as excavators configured with hooks or other lifting devices and used for purposes other than duties associated with the primary function of the machine (e.g. other than placing of pipes in a trench).

Multi-lifting: means the use of more than one crane to raise a single load.

Must: where the word "must" is used, the particulars that are referred to are mandatory in relation to compliance with this Approved Code of Practice.

NDT: means Non-Destructive Testing.

New Zealand Gazette, The: means the official newspaper of the New Zealand government.

Operate: in relation to equipment:

(1) means to use the equipment; and

(2) includes making the equipment available for use, whether by hiring or otherwise

and "operation" has a corresponding meaning.

Operating manual: means documentation published by the manufacturer(s) that includes operating instructions, maintenance procedures, general specifications and other relevant data.

Outriggers: means structural members used to provide stability during crane operations.

Overload protection: means a device that prevents the crane from moving into an overload situation by stopping all load moment increasing functions.

PECPR Regulations: means the Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes, and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999.

Principal: (as defined under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992) means a person who or that engages any other person (otherwise than as an employee) to do any work for gain or reward.

Radius: means the horizontal distance from the reference line (e.g. centre of rotation of a slewing crane) to the load line (typically through the crane hook).

Rated-capacity indicator: see safe-load indicator.

Regulations (or PECPR Regulations): means the Health and Safety in Employment (Pressure Equipment, Cranes and Passenger Ropeways) Regulations 1999.

Repair: means restoring equipment to a safe operating condition but does not include alterations, replacements or routine maintenance.

Safe-load indicator: means a device that, when fitted to a crane, within certain specified tolerance levels, gives a warning of the approach to the safe working load of the crane, and further warning when the safe working load has been exceeded.

Note:

(1) In addition, a safe-load indicator may have to supply certain defined information associated with the safe use of the crane.

(2) Rated-capacity indicator is an equivalent term.

Safety device: means any kind of device, item, or system that is used in or on equipment and that controls or monitors any aspect of the safety of the equipment and includes a safety relief device.

Safe working load (SWL): means the maximum load the crane can safely lift, as defined by the crane rating sheet.

Secretary: means the Secretary of Labour.

Self-climbing tower crane: means a tower crane using its own motive power to extend its height. Self-climbing cranes are not to be confused with self-erecting cranes.

Self-erecting tower crane: means a tower crane with the capability of self-erection. Self-erecting cranes are not to be confused with self-climbing cranes.

Slewing: means the rotary motion of a crane, boom or load in a horizontal plane.

Stability: means the ability of a crane to resist tipping.

Supplier:

(1) means a person who supplies or imports equipment that could reasonably be expected to be operated in a place of work, and

(2) includes a person who sells or hires, or offers for sale or hire, equipment that could reasonably be expected to be operated in a place of work.

Suspended load: means any load hanging below the hook or integral lifting gear.

Telescopic boom: means a boom that incorporates telescopically extendable elements in the boom structure.

Truck (vehicle) loader crane: (also known "lorry loader" and "vehicle loader" cranes): means a combination of a load carrying vehicle (or truck) and an articulated or luffing/slewing/telescoping jib crane used for the handling of goods on or off the vehicle.

Truck loader-type crane: means a crane of the type that would normally be described as a truck loader crane but is used in an application other than fitted to a vehicle (or truck).

Type fault: means a fault inherent in a particular type of equipment, resulting from deficiencies in the design or manufacturing process, which may cause the equipment to cause serious harm to any person.

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