October 22, 2008 • Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich, a property and casualty insurance provider, is working with a wide range of customers with crane operations around the United States to provide them with additional knowledge and tools to enable them to implement a more effective crane management system.
As part of Zurich's industrywide outreach to customers, risk engineering consultants with significant experience in craning operations are hosting seven regional interactive workshops for its customers beginning in New York, with subsequent workshops in Chicago, Ill.; Dallas, Texas; Oakland, Calif.; Atlanta, Ga., Las Vegas, Nev., and Philadelphia, Pa.
Zurich will provide training for its customers' project managers, estimators, site supervisors, crane owners and anyone involved in the planning, setup, operation and maintenance of the mobile and/or tower cranes and associated rigging. Approximately 100 managers from the top crane-using or crane-owning construction companies are expected to attend each workshop.
Zurich will provide workshop attendees tools such as planning materials, additional resource information and templates they can use to help develop a management system that not only meets, but exceeds the standards required by law. According to Marko Kaar, senior risk engineer consultant for Zurich, the company wants customers to understand that operator training is only one step in helping prevent crane failure incidents. The workshops will include discussions of the steps needed to help further reduce the risk of future incidents.
“Recent crane accidents have increased attention on the training of crane operators and the management of crane operations across the country,” said Bill Davis, senior risk engineering consultant for Zurich Services Corporation. “The industry is changing for crane managers and owners, and Zurich believes that a fresh approach is needed to help educate the management of these companies.”
The workshop will focus on recognizing the critical role cranes play in the construction industry; preparing a list of the recommended elements needed in a successful crane management system; and using the tools provided by Zurich to implement a more effective crane management system that can help increase productivity while helping to maintain a lower incident rate.
After the workshops, Zurich's risk engineer consultants will work with customers to help facilitate the changes needed to assist in effectively implementing a crane management system. Zurich continues to provide timely information to its customers, and the workshops are one more step in delivering new information when it matters.
For more information, visit www.zurichna.com.
