21.05.2007

Falcon Cranes issues statement

There have been several recent stories in the press regarding Falcon Cranes and the tower crane collapses in Battersea and Liverpool.

With current investigations by the HSE still continuing and not reaching its conclusion until Autumn at the earliest, the content of these reports has prompted Falcon Cranes to issue a statement which is printed below.
Follow the links to see previous stories:

For more information on the two crane collapses visit:
See HSE suspends Falcon Cranes
See Crane driver released
See crane collapse in Liverpool
See Battersea update

Falcon Cranes wishes to express its concern at a recent press article which made an unsubstantiated claim that at the time of two unrelated crane accidents, 10 percent of their fleet was in a dangerous condition.

Falcon Cranes has refrained from commenting on the causes of the two unrelated incidents as the cause of either accident is not yet known and the investigations are on-going. However in light of statements allegedly made by the HSE and denied by them, to the newspaper, the Company feels it is appropriate to clarify the situation.

Neither the Company nor the HSE have any information to support the statement that in September 2006, the time of the crane accident in Battersea, or in January 2007, the time of the crane accident in Liverpool, 10 percent of the fleet had significant defects and it is untrue for anyone to suggest that was the position.

Following the incident in Battersea the HSE did not require, or even suggest, the Company undertake an inspection of its fleet. Some nine months after the incident the HSE is still carrying out a full and thorough investigation into the cause of the incident.

After the incident in Liverpool the HSE did however, issue a Prohibition Notice requiring inspection of the Company's fleet of 195 cranes by qualified Inspectors.

The Company's preference was to use Inspectors who were employed by the various crane manufacturers, individuals the Company considered to be specialists in the field of crane maintenance.

It was stipulated, however, that Inspectors had to be secured from individual consultancies, who, whilst they might have satisfied the criteria laid down by the HSE, were not all specialists in crane maintenance. Falcon Cranes did however understand the requirement for an independent approach.

In early March 2007 the Company conveyed its concern to the HSE with regard to the quality and accuracy of the reports coming back from the inspections. The Company considered there were good reasons to doubt the accuracy of some of their findings.

The various inspection reports were submitted to the HSE who in turn collated the report and its findings which have not been released to the public.

As the Company’s prime concern is the safety of its employees and members of the public, all reports, including those that the Company considered were worthy of further investigation ( less than five percent), were taken extremely seriously and no crane was put back into service before the Company was entirely satisfied with all aspects of safety.

Falcon Cranes again wishes to convey every condolence and sympathy to the family and friends of those who so tragically lost their lives, or were injured as a result of the two incidents and will continue to cooperate fully with the HSE and all relevant investigations into the root causes of the accidents.