Sadly, Pick and Carry crane safety has been the centre of a number of investigations and a coronial inquiry. CICA received a grant from the Federal Government through a NHVR Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative in response to a Coronial recommendation.

Articulated or 'Pick and Carry' cranes are widely used in Australia  and are required for a diverse range of tasks. High utilisation increases the exposure (and risk) of these cranes to personnel on site.

The mobiling of loads also adds another level of risk, as operators need to be aware, both of loads moving overhead but also of cranes and their load moving into and out of an area. The risk is exacerbated as the ground on many sites may be unstable or uneven. Any sudden movement of the ground or pothole can cause a jolt and swing the load.

During the coronial review it was determined that the driver training on offer for heavy vehicles (prime movers and trailers) teaches the opposite to a safe response with an articulated steering crane, i.e. brakes should be applied for an articulated-steering crane, whereas the heavy vehicle licence teaches to accelerate out of trailer oscillation.

FACT: Many seasoned pick and carry crane operators have never been properly trained or assessed.

Because of the high-risk work licence framework, slewing crane licence holders can operate pick-and-carry cranes without any formal training.

In response:

CICA developed a two part training program that can assess the operator’s familiarity with the driving behaviour of articulated cranes. 

The first part is an online component, that uses an Adaptive Learning model. What this means is for experienced operators, the training and assessment will be accelerated.  For inexperienced operators, the training will be more thorough.  This variation in training credits the industry for existing knowledge while providing additional training for those not competent.

The online 'adaptive learning' component also provides flexibility, so operators can complete that aspect of the program individually during down time.

The CrewSafe website can be accessed here.

The online course is the followed by a practical assessment.

This can be done in 2 ways, either in-house using the CrewSafe app. or by an external assessor.

The in-house option is the more cost effective and flexible option. The CrewSafe app. takes the assessor through how they need to be assessing the operator's competency and what they need to be filming. The assessor can be anyone who has successfully completed the online adaptive learning component of the course, provided they also meet the local state requirements for driving an articulated crane on-road. 

For more information on how to do this, please reach out to Patrick (pat@cica.com.au)

If you would prefer to be assessed externally, you can access the assessor look up tool here.

Once successfully completed, you'll receive a certificate to certify that you have obtained the credentials to drive an articulated steering mobile crane.