New York City's Bloomberg Seeks to Limit Age of Cranes Operating in the City to 25 Years
Dec. 18, 2013- New legislation proposed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri seeks to shut down the operation of mobile and tower cranes manufacturered more than 25 years ago in the city.
“New York City has some of the toughest crane regulations in the world, and we enforce crane regulations more stringently than anywhere else,” said Mayor Bloomberg, who introduced the legislation to the City Council. “Since 2008, the City has adopted more than 25 new construction safety laws, conducted tougher inspections and raised licensing standards for crane operators. This legislation builds on those efforts by ensuring only state-of-the art, highly reliable equipment is transforming New York City’s skyline.”
Cranes would be removed from service based on the original date of manufacture or on the age of the crane’s oldest component, whichever is greater. Additionally, crane owners would be required to outfit all cranes with load cycle counters to record data regarding every lift that a crane performs, in order to set maintenance schedules and overall operability over a crane’s service life.
Since 2008, New York City has taken steps to reduce the age of the crane fleet within its jurisdiction and discontinue the use of aging cranes.
Among requirements implemented by the City since 2008 are:
- National certification and mandatory re-testing every five years for licensed crane operators
- Detailed plans for the erection/dismantling of a tower crane
- A safety meeting before the erection, jumping, and dismantling of a tower crane
- A 30-hour safety training course for tower crane workers
- An inspection and certification by the engineer of record prior to jump or climbing
- A nylon sling prohibition unless recommended by the manufacturer
- A third-party engineer inspection of a tower crane before an approval for erection
