On Oct. 13, the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association’s Tower Crane Committee will meet in Washington, D.C., with representatives of the New York City Department of Buildings to discuss the industry's concerns about plans to develop a national crane database. This database would track all tower crane components in an effort to eliminate crane accidents. SC&RA issued the invitation to New York Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri on July 20, two weeks after submitting a three-page letter about the issue to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
After expressing appreciation for the city's response to that letter, SC&RA Executive Vice President Joel Dandrea noted in his invitation: "The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA), our members and the industry are clearly frustrated with regulating bodies promulgating rules without sufficient industry output. SC&RA is not opposed to data and information sharing, provided it is viable, effective and beneficial to industry and regulators alike."
The New York City Department of Buildings will be represented by Stephen Kramer, Esq., senior counsel to the commissioner; Michael Rybicki, senior executive analyst, Commissioner's Office; and Charles Shelhamer, code analyst, technical affairs.
Rybicki wrote that the New York City representatives "have experience in legislative affairs and code development and policy and have been intimately involved in all of the crane regulations that have been put forth by the Department in the past two years."
Invitations were also extended to the Chicago Department of Buildings and the Philadelphia Department of Licensing and Inspections. Regulators from both cities have been involved in the tower crane database project.
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