CPA Bulletin

14 CPA Bulletin > May 2021 www.cpa.uk.net TECHNICAL Technical A joint publication on the Safe Lifting of Hot Tubs has now been launched and follows an approach made by the British and Irish Spa and Hot Tub Association (BISHTA) to co-develop guidance for the safe lifting of hot tubs, exercise/swim spas and one- piece pools following a number of high profile incidents. BISHTA, CPA, the Association of Lorry Loader and Manufacturer’s (ALLMI) and the Swimming Pool and Allied Trades Association (SPATA) have participated in the project and developed a set of safe lifting standards for these load types. The joint guidance has now been converted into a Crane Interest Group-issued Technical Information Notice (TIN) 019. To promote the forthcoming guidance, the associations held a joint presentation event on Monday 29th March 2021, with presentations undertaken by Chris Hayes of BISHTA, who outlined the issues of hot tub lifting from their sector’s perspective; Ian Simpson of CPA, who covered the lift planning requirements and followed by Keith Silvester of ALLMI, who covered the requirements for the slinging and safe handling of hot tubs. At the start of the event, it was explained that there were two types of audience members attending - those from the hot CIG TIN 019 Safe Lifting of Hot Tubs TIN 019 CPACIG Safe Lifting ofHotTubs ©CPATINCIG-019 4of8 IssueDate:15.04.2021 IssueA Technical Information Notice The publications also provide information on: • selection of a suitable crane; • selection, training, and competency assessment of lifting teammembers; • allocation and combination of roles within the lifting team,where appropriate; • lifting froma public highway. 5.0 TypesofHire Contract The responsibility forplanning and carrying out lifting operations will depend on the typeof contractual arrangements between the craneowner (company)and the person requiring ahot tub to be lifted into place. Ingeneral, where any person ororganisation requires a lifting operation to be carried out using acrane but does not have their own, they have two basic options: 1. Hiring a crane froma crane owner andmanaging (e.g. planning and supervising) the lifting operation themselves. • This is known as a ‘ CraneHire ’. In this case, the person hiring the crane is responsible forensuring there is a liftplan inplace, detailing a safesystem ofwork,and ensuring that all lifting operations are carried out safely. 2. Employing a contractor, such as the crane owner, to carryout the lifting operation. • This is known as a ‘ Contract Lift ’, inwhich the planning, supervision and execution of the lifting operation(s) will be carried out by the craneowner. Ifa customer e.g. acontractor/installer orhot tub supplier, does not havesufficient expertise the planning and execution of lifting operations, they should NOT hire acrane but opt for the contract liftoption. CraneHireagreements should not beoffered to domestic customers as they would not have the necessary crucial expertise in planning and organising lifting operations. Where a customer (apart fromdomestic customers) opts fora contract lift, they have aduty to provide information to the crane owner toassist themwith their planning, such as ground bearing capacity e.g.whatweight the ground will support, and the totalweight of the load tobe lifted.One common factor in crane overturns is ground collapse, where the ground has been unable to support theweight of the crane and the load. Thecustomer should be reminded thatwhichever contract option they adopt, they retain certain contractual liabilities and responsibilities, and should ensure they have adequate insurance(s) in place before the liftcommences. 5.1Selecting aCraneHirer CPAprovides aset ofModel andContract LiftConditions for their Members,whichare hire agreements fair to both the hire company and their customerand clarifieseach party’s responsibilities for the hire and health and safety requirements and arewell respected in industry. ALLMIalso provides itsmemberswitha set of ‘Industry Standard Terms andConditions forLifting Operations using a Lorry Loader’, setting out the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved and ensuring conformityand professionalism. Furthermore, allALLMImemberssign up to the requirements of theALLMICode ofPractice, confirming theywillwork in accordancewith applicable standards and legislation, manufacturerguidelines, and good practice etc. CaseExample 2 A lifthad to be abandoned when itwas found that the plinth that had been prepared for the hot tub by the customer was incorrectly sized. The customer had to pay the crane company for their wasted visitand when they returned forasecond timeafter the plinth had been modified. TIN 019 CPACIG Safe Lifting of Hot Tubs ©CPATINCIG-019 3of8 IssueDate:15.04.2021 IssueA Technical Information Notice 3.0 Costs of a Lifting Operation The execution of a lifting operation to place ahot tub, spa pool etc. fromdelivery into the final position canadd a considerable amount to the overall purchase costs that will be ultimately borne by the purchaser of the hot tub. Typical orestimated costings should bemade clear to them or their contractor/installer during the purchasing period and prior to, or early within, the sale and the planning of the lifting operation to avoid disputes or cost-cutting measures whichcan severely affectsafety. 4.0 Planning It is a requirement of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (usually abbreviated to LOLER98) that: Everyemployer shall ensure that every lifting operation involving lifting equipment is: (a)properly planned by a competent person; (b)appropriately supervised; and (c) carried out ina safemanner. It requires that one person should be appointed to haveoverall control ofeach lifting operation to ensure it is carried out safely. This person, the lift planner, is normally called the ‘appointed person’ and they should be competent tocarry out the planning for the task in hand. Their first step in planning is tocarry out asite survey to identify site specific hazards and constraints. A risk assessment should then be completed, followed by preparation of amethod statement, which willset out the saf esystem ofwork to be followed and form the basis of a ‘Lift Plan’. This provides information to the person supervising the lift toenable them to complete the operation safely. The planning will look at both the hot tub to be lifted, the typeand size of craneand other equipment required, and the location in which the lift is tobe carried out. This will indicate the extent of planning required and the liftwill be categorised as one of the following: Basic lift -a lifting operation where the load characteristics are considered straightforward there are no significant hazards within the working area or on the access route for the crane to the working area; or Intermediate lift – a lifting operation where significant hazards have been identified with the load or within the working area or on the access route of the crane; or Complex lift – a lifting operation wheresignificant hazards havebeen identified with the load or within the working area or on the access route of the crane; or thecrane is used to lift complex loads orpersons; or where two ormore cranes are used to lift the load; orwhere the lifting operation is carried outat a location with exceptional hazards. Where a hot tub is tobe lifted froma public road, overa house and into a rear garden or vice versa, the lift should be categorised as Complex . A Basic lift will require a generic risk assessment and method statement to form the basis ofa Lift Plan, which canbe used in similar situations. An Intermediate and a Complex Lift will require job specific planning foreach lift. All successful lifting operations require a team ofpeople towork together. The number of people involved will vary depending on the nature of the liftand will be determined by the appointed person. Guidance on the selection and role ofan appointed person, planning and the preparation of aLift Plan is provided in the publications listed at theend of this TIN. TIN 019 CPA CIG Safe Lifting of Hot Tubs ©CPATINCIG-019 2of8 IssueDate:15.04.2021 IssueA Technical Information Notice TheSwimming Pooland Allied TradesAssociation (SPATA) SPATAwas established in 1961 and works withcompanies involved in building swimmingpools and spa pools so that they are working toBritish and European Standards. SPATAMembers conform to SPATAStandards and aCode of Ethics. SPATA further provides consumers with a range of sources of information onswimming pool ownership including links to its membership and freeconsumer guidance resources such asplanning and designing, servicing and maintenance etc. TheAssociation ofLorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers (ALLMI) ALLMIwas founded in1978 at the request of the Health &SafetyExecutive. It is the UK’s only Trade Association devoted exclusively to the lorry loader industry and its members include manufacturers / importers, service companies, ancillary equipment suppliers, fleetowners and site operators. ALLMI serves, represents, and promotes the interests of its membersand the industry at large, and it is the leading authority on all issues involving the design, manufacture, application and use of lorry loaders. ALLMIpromotes the safeuse of lorry loaders, produces good practice guidance, assists in the formulation of relevant legislation and Standards, and provides a training accreditation service. TheConstruction Plant-hire Association (CPA) The CPAwas founded in 1942 and is the leading trade association for this sector in the UK and CPAMembers supply over85% ofhired plant to the construction industry. CPA is the UK’s principal point of contact forall issues relating to use of construction plant and worksclosely with government departments and agencies, local authorities, construction clients, contractors and manufacturers. CPApublishes a wide range of safe-use and technical guidance documents and other publications, including through their special interest groups such as the Crane Interest Group (CIG)and all publications are distributed freeof charge widely throughout the construction industry to support and promote safety. Case Example 1. A60-tonne mobile cranewas attempting to liftahot tub into the backgarden of ahouse when the pavement gaveway.This caused the crane to overturn, and the boom of the crane crashed through the roof of the house, throwing the tub into the garden. Severe damage was caused to the house, as well as aneighbouring property and a six- inch gas main in the street was thought to be ruptured, meaning 20 homes in the area were evacuated as aprecaution and because of the risk of falling debris. Trains on anearby line were also suspended during the recovery operation. The crane had been provided on a ‘Crane Hire’ arrangement, but the householder did not have sufficientexpertise in lifting operations toplan, supervise and safely execute the lift. The crane should have been provided ona ‘Contract Lift’arrangement whereby the planning, supervision and execution of the lifting operation would be planned and carried out by the crane owner. The incident could havebeen avoided if the lifthad been properly planned. This should have included asite visitby the appointed person to assess the position of the crane and nearby hazards. The plan would have further included suitable measures to spread the load applied by each of the outriggers. Construction Plant-hire Association Crane Interest Group CIG TIN 019 Safe Lifting of Hot Tubs © CPA TIN CIG-019 1 of 8 Issue Date: 15.04.2021 Issue A Technical Information Notice Jointly produced by: 1.0 Scope This Technical Information Note (TIN) provides guidance for the safe use of mobile cranes ( Figure 1 ) and lorry loader cranes ( Figure 2 ) to lift hot tubs for domestic and non-domestic customers. It is also applicable to exercise spas (sometimes referred to as swim spas) and one-piece pools. Figure 1: Mobile Crane Figure 2: Lorry Loader Crane 2.0 Introduction This joint-association TIN has been produced by the British and Irish Spa and Hot Tub Association (BISHTA), Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers (ALLMI), the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and the Swimming Pool and Allied Trades Association (SPATA) following a number of lifting-related incidents and it provides guidance on the issues associated with the lifting of hot tubs and directs readers to existing published guidance where appropriate. According to estimates from BISHTA, there are around 300,000 hot tubs in domestic properties in the UK. These are increasingly being unloaded and lifted into position with either mobile or lorry loader cranes, or in some cases, being removed from a property. Unfortunately, there has been a significant number of accidents whilst hot tubs have been lifted. These accidents could have been prevented if the lifting operations had been correctly planned, supervised, and carried out safely. 2.1 About the Associations As this TIN is expected to be used by a wider audience, this section outlines each of the associations involved in the production. British and Irish Spa and Hot TubAssociation (BISHTA) BISHTA was established in 2001 to both raise standards and ensure that companies engaged in the display and sale of hot tubs are adequately trained in water hygiene management and work to BISHTA standards and their code of practice. BISHTA exists to promote high standards of safety, enjoyment, and value, by registering suppliers of spas, hot tubs, accessories and water purification products. BISHTA further offers a range of informative factsheets on a complimentary basis, designed to make hot tub and swim spa ownership and maintenance safe and understandable.