CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2025 45 NEWS FROM CPA MEMBERS: 4 Conquip Engineering Group is able to help the construction industry address the last lifting operation where personnel are positioned below a suspended load. The company has worked with large Tier 1 contractors, Balfour Beatty, and Select Plant Hire, part of Laing O’Rourke, to design, manufacture, test and trial a new set of accessories to improve the safety standards of concrete skips, in order to remove the last lifting operation in the industry where a person needs to stand below a suspended load to operate the equipment, and to aid the more accurate directional pour of concrete, removing all personnel from underneath the skip. Conquip’s new attachments for the concrete skip can be used individually or in conjunction with each other, accommodating any site-specific application. The company first released a concrete skip without bale arm in 2017. This version featured lifting chains providing an alternative, two-point lifting option, as well as the concrete skip with bale arm. In the last 18 months to 2 years, many Tier 1 contractors have specified the without bale arm variant further. Conquip knows the market is moving increasingly in the direction of skips without bale arms as the best practice safety method, however both are still in use in the industry. Daniel Critchley, COO at Conquip Engineering Group, said: “We work closely with main contractors to continually improve our equipment, ensuring every item is best-in- class. As well as designing and manufacturing our products and solutions in-house to make sure that the range solves customer challenges, we create and provide resources and technical support to ensure equipment is used for the right purpose, by competent, trained operatives. “Our development partnership with Balfour Beatty, and Select Plant Hire, part of Laing O’Rourke, has led the best outcome to improve the safe use of concrete pouring equipment and we welcome any comments from our customers as they start to use these new attachments.” The attachments are for sale on new Conquip skips and for sale to retro-fit onto existing Conquip skips on a company’s fleet. Conquip Launches New Innovations to improve Safety of Concrete Pours