Opinion Pieces

Our challenge is an eternal one.  The wrestle with gravity. It was here before us, and it will outlive all of us.   I feel a burden of responsibility heading up our 75 year old association. As well as to the current and future membership, the initial aspirations of LEEA’s Founding Fathers weighs heavily on […]

Testing must become second nature in a manufacturing or industrial environment, says Joel Cox, president at Pintsch Bubenzer USA.   Google (yes, it is a verb now) ‘test’ or ‘testing’ and many COVID-19 references will appear in the search results. These words are commonplace in the medical world; we hear of doctors testing for a […]

Lift truck operators could be at risk of accidents if vehicles are not inspected properly says CFTS (Consolidated Fork Truck Services) – the UK body behind the national standard for Thorough Examinations. “Many within the materials handling, construction and agriculture industries will be familiar with LOLER [Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations], which legally requires […]

Recently I have been asked how The Crosby Group has handled the ongoing pandemic at our factories across the globe. I understand why people enquire as we’ve got approximately 30 global sites with a heavy footprint in Europe and North America – both COVID-19 hotspots. The non-discriminatory nature of the virus means global companies have […]

The nature of the lifting industry is that it is actually a collection of a wide range of specialist industries which coalesce around the single act of fighting gravity. Designers, manufacturers, inspectors, fitters, engineers; the list of front line occupations in our industry goes on and on. Before you even think of the numerous support […]

The world will never be the same again, says David Ayling, managing director at Wheatstone Projects, which might not be a bad thing. I was embarrassed to check my LinkedIn account the other week to find a number of messages from friends and business associates in China, asking about my welfare as the coronavirus started […]

Ross Moloney CEO of the Lifting Equipment Engineeris Association (LEEA) recommends being light on your feet and adapting plans quickly when circumstances change. What a surprise to be asked to write something about leadership.  This either means that I’m doing something right, or instead something very wrong, and there’s a hint of irony in the […]

Peter Ward, the CEO of the UK Warehousing Association has made some observations following the result of the UK General Election result “The Conservative Party’s overwhelming victory in last week’s General Election will finally break the Parliamentary gridlock that has frustrated the business community for over three years and the return of a high degree […]

In the first of a two-part series, Jon Backes, vice president customer experience at The Crosby Group, explains why end users should appeal for greater transparency of manufacturing supply chains. I recently found myself in need of a mini fridge. As most people in an e-commerce dominated world do, I began my search on Amazon. […]

A general lack of understanding over ‘one trip’ and low quality slings is threatening safety in the construction, timber and steel sectors as well as in ports and docks, warns Dave Cormack, board member of The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA). The term ‘One Trip Sling’ is given to a sling that has been designed […]