Crane safety in the spotlight at World Crane and Transport Summit

World Crane and Transport SummitThe fourth World Crane and Transport Summit conference is in Miami on 12 and 13 November at the Biltmore Hotel. More than 19 top industry figures will speak at the Florida, USA, event.
An analysis of more than 750 crane and rigging related accidents in the USA since 1987, and the lessons that can be learned from them, will be among the topics at the World Crane and Transport Summit (WCTS) in Miami, Florida, USA, on November 12 and 13.
World Crane and Transport Summit
Jim Wiethorn, principal engineer at Haag Engineering and a life-long veteran of the US crane and rigging industry, will use his presentation at the Biltmore Hotel to outline the findings of Haag’s study, Crane Accidents: A Study of Causes and Trends to Create a Safer Work Environment, 1983-2013. “Every lift and accident is unique, and our goal was to evaluate a broad cross-section of accidents throughout the United States in order to provide constructive information to the crane industry on factors causative of crane accidents,” said Wiethorn, the author of the study. Wiethorn is just one of more than 19 lifting and specialized transport professionals who will be participating in the fourth WCTS, which is the first to be held in the USA.
World Crane and Transport Summit
The two-day conference, organised by KHL Group and its magazines American Cranes & Transport and International Cranes and Specialized Transport, has become an important gathering place for the world’s crane and heavy transport industries, but this year will have a definite North American flavor, with speakers focussing on crane rental trends, training, crane regulations, and the impact of investment in energy and oil and gas on the crane and transport sectors.
The program includes a roundtable on lifting and transport in the oil and gas sector – co-organized by KHL and Engineering News-Record (ENR) magazine – with participants that include Keith Anderson (Bechtel), Joseph Collins (Becht Engineering) and Frank Bardonaro (Maxim Crane).
World Crane and Transport Summit
Senior figures from the North American crane rental industry also feature in the program, including keynote speaker Alan Barnhart (CEO, Barnhart Crane & Rigging, USA), Scott Bragg (VP, Bragg Companies, USA) and Ted Redmond (CEO, NCSG, Canada).
Other speakers include Bill Smith, executive vice president, claims and risk management at NBIS, and Captain Brent Wise, a co-founder of Tech Safety Lines (TSL).
The conference, which includes a networking dinner on the evening of November 12, starts at lunchtime on November 12 and runs until 5.30pm on November 13. See the full program at www.khl.com/wcts
Event sponsors are:

  • Gold sponsor: Terex
  • Silver sponsor: Manitowoc
  • Supporting sponsors: A1A Software, Goldhofer, LSI Robway Modulift, TII Sales (Scheuerle/Nicolas/Kamag), YSL (Tech Safety Lines), ITI (Industrial Training International).

The two-day conference is an international event, with the support of major crane and transport organisations around the world, including SC&RA (USA, official programme partner), ESTA (Europe), Sobratema (Brazil), CICA (Australia), Sindipesa (Brazil) and Associpesa (Brazil).