The European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes (ESTA) has re-elected Fabio Belli as president for a second three-year term and has released the lifting operation risk management (LORM) best practice guide.
Currently vice president and chief operating officer of Milan-based Kerry Project Logistics, Belli boasts more than 20 years of experience in the heavy lifting and abnormal transport sector – including 23 years as ceo of Fagioli, which is also headquartered in Italy.
“I am proud to be representing an organisation whose core values are built around mutual respect and cooperation,” said Belli. “We face an increasingly unpredictable global trade landscape with all its resulting impacts on supply chains, market volatility and business confidence. That big picture is not something we can do much about. What we can do is ensure that our own cooperative, innovative and forward-thinking culture is cherished, protected and developed.”
Along with Belli, ESTA’s general assembly also re-elected Rainer Sasse, ceo of Luxtrailers, as its treasurer, as well as two board members – Łukasz Chwalczuk from Ogólnopolskie Stowarzyszenie Pracodawców Transportu Nienormatywnego (OSPTN) in Poland, and David Collett, managing director of UK-based Collett & Sons.
ESTA has also released its lifting operation risk management (LORM) best practice guide at the association’s spring meeting in Munich, Germany this month. Subjects within the guide include lines of communication; safe systems of work; equipment regulations; equipment inspection and maintenance; engineering a lift; lifting regulations; professional competence; onsite preparation; plus, execution of a lift.
According to the guide’s preface, “the aim of this best practice guide is not to reissue a set of rules and regulations for the industry, but rather an attempt, by outlining different forms of contracts and listing existing regulations and incident prevention measures, to make users of lifting equipment aware of the risks of lifting operations and protection against their consequences.”
The guide was produced by an ESTA working group made up of Blanca Claeyssens, managing director of ASA France; Marcel Schets, former SHEQ manager at Mammoet; Joe Collins, heavy lift manager with Becht Engineering; Norbert van Schaik, senior lifting specialist with Siemens Gamesa; and Ton Klijn, ESTA director.
“The background for this initiative was the fact that crane companies are increasingly dependent on information or auxiliary materials supplied by the customer, the reliability or integrity of which cannot always be adequately established,” said Klijn. “ESTA was therefore looking for an opportunity to ensure members are aware of the risks, aided by publishing a best practice guide with operational recommendations and suggestions for adapting conditions.”
ESTA emphasises that the publication is only for guidance, is based on the consensus of its member organisations, and should not be treated as a regulation or standard, nor should it replace laws and regulations which are currently adhered to.
