04.07.2008

Vigil for crane victim

The Battersea crane action group is planning to hold a vigil outside the Liverpool coroners court next Tuesday prior to and during the inquest into Zbigniew Swirzynski’s death, caused by a tower crane collapse.

The Battersea Crane Disaster Action Group will use the demonstration to push their demands for a central crane register and “to end crane deaths”.

It claims that as the January 07 Liverpool accident, involved the same company – Falcon Crane- as the Battersea accident it has a moral right to be there demonstrating.

It is supported by FACK – (Families Against Corporate Killers) and the Liverpool Trades Council. The group feel that a register will save lives and claim that the HSE can take days to discover who owns the crane and its history and that a register will stop that.

Vertikal Comment

We are a strong advocate for adopting any idea that will help improve crane safety, however we also feel that this group, which started out with the all th e best intentions, is misguided on this point.

A register will simply add bureaucracy and do little, if nothing, to improve crane safety. It is also patently untrue that it can take days to discover who owns a crane, the contractor on site will know this for certain. If this was an issue the obligatory posting of the crane age, last inspection date, ownership, operating company, and model number etc on the inside and outside perimeter of the job site for all to see would be the solution.

The Battersea Group also needs to be aware that it is in danger of being high jacked by individuals and cranks who are constantly on the lookout for causes to campaign for, in order to stir things up and for the kicks they get out of it rather than for the cause itself.

One wonders if the founders of the group have met with or considered meeting face to face on a one to one basis with the CPA or Doug Genge MD of Falcon cranes, or considered addressing the CPA tower crane interest group to give their view and pass on their feelings?

The residents and particularly the mother and partner of Michael Alexa, the pedestrian who died at Battersea, have a powerful personal message that all crane owners, erectors and operators would benefit from hearing first hand. If they really want to make a difference this would be the best route, rather than getting mixed up with professional campaigning types, that rarely have the common good as their true number one objective.

On a final note it seems a little crazy that it has taken over 18 months to hold an inquest, one wonders why this could not have been held a year ago?