The European association of abnormal road transport and mobile cranes – ESTA – is planning on launching an English language version of the CO2 calculator developed by Dutch crane association VVT.
The tool will be available to ESTA members via the association’s website. It will allow members to calculate the CO2 production of a specified crane when executing a project including the work involved in mobilisation and demobilisation.
ESTA director Ton Klijn said: “It is already a requirement to compare the CO2 output of the various operational options of executing of a project when asking for quotes from contractors as a government organisation or when working on government-instigated projects. Hence, crane operating companies need to have a method of calculating their CO2 production when quoting for a project.”
Meanwhile, the working group overseeing a new edition of ESTA’s SPMT best practice guide hopes to finish its work by the second half of next year.
Concern has been growing in the industry at the lack of recognised training qualifications and the need to improve safety standards as the SPMT market grows, said ESTA. 11 leading European companies have said they will join ESTA’s discussions from eight different countries, reflecting the widespread concern across Europe. The companies include Collett, Cometto, DNV, Fagioli, Mammoet, Sarens, Siemens Gamesa, Technip Energies, Terra Navtica, TII Group and Wagenborg.
Klijn said: “It has been increasingly clear that SPMT training and operational standards need to be improved, both for reasons of project management efficiency as well as safety.”
ESTA’s best practice guide for the use of SPMTs was first published in 2016 and was translated into six languages to meet demand. The guide was originally intended to help address the problem of trailers occasionally tipping over, even though the existing operating rules and stability calculations had been followed.
The first edition of the guide is still available for free download from the library section on ESTA’s website in English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
