Breaking the Shackles: CRC Canada Returns Sept. 13-14

Presenter Paul Boeckman, vice president of engineering, the Crosby Group, has urged the Canadian crane community “to stay updated with new developments in the industry and meet others in the field” at MCM Events’ Crane & Rigging Conference (CRC) Canada. “Crosby was involved in last year’s conference,” he adds. “There were good topics, and it was well attended.”

Boeckman will look specifically at “Cold Temperature Shackles,” in a paper that will discuss the performance of rigging products and shackles in cold temperatures. He will outline the measurement of steel toughness, and the change in toughness of steels as the temperature gets lower. Users will learn the typical service conditions of shackles, and general operating guidelines when using rigging at low temperatures. !e presentation will also discuss the importance of metallurgy and design for rigging products.

Additionally, Knut Buschmann, president, Unirope Ltd., will deliver a presentation on “Cold Weather Application of Steel Wire Rope.” He says: “With the increasing activity around the natural resources in Canada’s arctic regions, mobile cranes and other lifting equipment are now exposed to ultra deep temperatures. As a safety precaution, operation during extremely cold temperatures is often suspended.”

As fellow presenter Judy Mellott, president and CEO, All Canadian Training Institute (ACTi), says: “There is a real need for this information here due to our sub-zero winters for six months of the year. I have talked to a number of companies, and they are not familiar with this type of cold-weather hardware.” She said the normal process is to just de-rate the gear in extremely cold temperatures.

Mellott will speak to CRC Canada delegates about competency audits, outlining what they are and the purposes they serve. When it comes to how this is related to crane operators and worksite safety in the lifting equipment industries across Canada, she says there is little information available. “As a result, there are significant accidents, injuries, and fatalities that in the majority of cases were preventable.” Mellott asks, “Would your crane operators and supervisors meet compliance requirements of a competency audit?”

CRC Canada 2012 will also feature a much-anticipated update from last year’s panel, which discussed harmonization of regulations relevant to cranes and rigging with Alberta and the other three Western provinces—British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba—and possibly beyond. The North West Territories are addressing major growth in the oil, gas, and mining sectors over the next 10 years.

CRC Canada is a partnership between Maximum Capacity Media (MCM), ACTi, and Kolo Safety Inc.