I work at a builders merchants, and today we received a complaint from a Resident that one of our drivers was lifting materials over their property whilst unloading materials from one of our Hiab-equipped lorries whilst making a delivery at another property. I’ve not had chance to sit down with the driver yet to hear his account, but from reading between the lines of the Resident’s story it was basically being done through laziness and not being able to park the lorry properly to take into account the boom swing, and speed of unloading when the Hiab didn’t need to be used, and the drop off point blocks a communal entry and so the materials are in the way until the Builder moves them. Our Man is a good bloke in general and we’ve never had a serious problem with him before, although he can get a bit shouty when provoked.
So can anyone confirm the regulations when using a Hiab crane over private property, I come from more of a construction background and the bottom line is on large sites you’re not allowed to swing loads over other properties without their written permission and proof of multi-million pound liability insurance, and sometimes even have to pay to access the air space over other buildings when using cranes. Thanks in advance.
I’m no expert in this but the property owner has a protection in common law covering their property and the airspace above it as well as below.
A boom intrusion into this airspace could leave one liable especially if permission was not sort or granted.
Without going into to much waffle basically the lower stratum (about 80- 500feet up) is a realistic intrusion height.
Then there’s the higher stratum but this is very grey area.
So although the property owner is being a bit pretentious permission should have been sought. Laziness is no excuse in law and if they where particularly litigious they may be able to pursue.
If he’s a good bloke like you say he is why not back him up when the moaner/resident complained just apologise on his behalf and let him crack on if it happens again then have a word
I didn’t know there were any legal issues, just common sense and h and s rules. I drive a Hiab (grab tipper) and wouldn’t lift anything over property, unless it was at the customers’ instructions ie dropping topsoil over a customers’ garden wall.
Why “didn’t the Hiab need to be used”? Was the driver expected to handball the load?
Disappointed that u didnt get any innuendo in there tho, otherwise top wrk
Cheers, I did have a paragraph pre edit about a violation by an unwanted erection but as ive been happily worried for 20 years this was a bit too close to home.
Merchant1:
I work at a builders merchants, and today we received a complaint from a Resident that one of our drivers was lifting materials over their property whilst unloading materials from one of our Hiab-equipped lorries whilst making a delivery at another property. I’ve not had chance to sit down with the driver yet to hear his account, but from reading between the lines of the Resident’s story it was basically being done through laziness and not being able to park the lorry properly to take into account the boom swing, and speed of unloading when the Hiab didn’t need to be used, and the drop off point blocks a communal entry and so the materials are in the way until the Builder moves them. Our Man is a good bloke in general and we’ve never had a serious problem with him before, although he can get a bit shouty when provoked.
So can anyone confirm the regulations when using a Hiab crane over private property, I come from more of a construction background and the bottom line is on large sites you’re not allowed to swing loads over other properties without their written permission and proof of multi-million pound liability insurance, and sometimes even have to pay to access the air space over other buildings when using cranes. Thanks in advance.
Have you seen the property where your driver was supposedly trespassing? I’m guessing he could only have been lifting your goods over a short stretch of the neighbour’s property, maybe a corner, because builders’ merchants’ cranes aren’t long enough to lift over the whole width of almost any garden, and if they were that long, they might not be able to lift, say, a tonne bag of sand their full length as it would be overloaded. Only the big plant and cabin transport companies (e.g. Elliot) have cranes that can lift heavy items over that distance. Go check out the site because it sounds like this complainer is making a mountain out of a molehill, especially if no damage is caused. I’ve driven HIAB equipped trucks and sometimes you can’t park right in front of where you need to tip, because of trees, low telephone wires and the like, not because of laziness.
Uncleskid:
If he’s a good bloke like you say he is why not back him up when the moaner/resident complained just apologise on his behalf and let him crack on if it happens again then have a word
+1.
Although as a fellow lorry crane operator myself, if I had arrived at a site, and the load would have caused a problem until the builder had moved it, then a swift call to the office to explain and then wait for a solution.
Although I have never come across asking for written permission to swing a load over a property, or pay for access to air space. Insurance in the case of damage, would cover any mishap anyhow.
If your Driver had anything about him,he should have explained to the Customer what he needed to do to offload,and let him/her speak to the neighbour before proceeding,if the neighbour objected as in this case then an alternative arrangement needed to be made.
Sure I would not want somebody offloading stuff over my property especially if it was not for me and without my permission.
Common sense is the norm in most cases,but ultimately its your Company who is at fault by not having a procedure for a Driver to follow in dealing with potential difficult deliveries
Thanks for all of the replies, to say that this has caused a bit of a problem is an understatement as speaking to him and other drivers has indicated that a lot of “common sense” actions as mentioned above would probably be ignored in favour of a quick drop and away, which our company certainly doesn’t motivate drivers to do. But I can’t say too much, as if it went further or the Boss found out then it wouldn’t look good for him.
The vehicle is a 3-axle flatbed with the Hiab on the back, it was parked partly on the pavement to perform a 90 degree swing to the drop area with the boom extended to about 15 feet and the load swinging from straps beneath the pallet grabber. Our man realised he had embaressed himself when he said he risk assessed the move as “it was only over an old car, which was probably worth less than our insurance excess”, until I scared him by asking how much a H&SE prosecution would cost…? He hadn’t even thought of knocking on the door and explaining the situation or at least asking if they could move the car.
Another issue I’m hearing more about is cash-strapped councils seeking damages for repairs if paving slabs are damaged by skip lorries, JCBs, or builders merchants crane outriggers. Proving liability has always been difficult, but some are resorting to using covert CCTV if they know work is going on at a property, which they usually do directly because building control are making regular inspections.
Like I said I can’t talk about it too much but here’s a cornundrum to try to get out of: What do you do if the Hiab arm is swung out and the only way to secure it is to move it over property, but the resident/owner won’t give you permission to do so (assuming you need it). But you’re also blocking their driveway access, and have reported the lorry as causing an obstruction. Either they back down, or you’re wondering how quickly a Hiab arm can be detatched…
3.5 years doing that job and I never had the problem you describe, and with a rear mounted crane its even less forgivable. Sounds like your man needs to spend a bit more time at each drop getting the job done right.
I find people are more helpful when I’m on our grab. Maybe it’s a bit of a novelty? Very common for neighbours to be out with small kids watching the loading.
We go out and have a look at many jobs beforehand, so we tell the customer the best/easiest place for us to load and point out wires etc. We never emphasise the reach or how close/far forward to the cab we can reach.
Your conundrum - retract the boom fully and either fold it straight back and then swivel, or go straight up in the air if overhead cables allow and then swivel. If the attachment prevented it for some reason then leave the attachment on the drive and do the manoeuvre I described previously.
But in all seriousness nothing like the situations you’ve described should be happening with good communication and planning from the driver.
