Since then I have been asked more specific questions about second hand lifting equipment, particularly lifting machines. In the current economic climate, it is likely that more equipment will find its way onto the second hand market and more users will be tempted to buy what may look like a low cost solution. In this article I will attempt to cover the various situations which are most likely to occur.
The simplest situation is where a lifting machine, which is still to its original specification and has not been modified, is sold. In Europe, new lifting equipment must comply with the Machinery Directive which came fully into force at the end of 1998. Therefore if it was manufactured or placed on the market for the first time after that date it should comply with the Directive and be marked and documented as such.
There is also the European Use of Work Equipment Directive which, as the title implies, deals with taking equipment into use. This requires the employer to ensure that work equipment first provided for use after December 5 1998 has been designed and constructed in compliance with any essential requirements. For a lifting machine these are the essential requirements contained in the Machinery Directive. This applies whether the equipment is new or second hand. The usual evidence of compliance is the CE marking on the machine and the EC Declaration of conformity for it.
So, in this simple situation, the lifting machine meets both Directives. All that is then required is to ensure that the machine is still in serviceable condition and, if safety depends upon it being correctly installed, that it has been so installed and is safe to operate.
An equally likely situation is where the lifting machine was manufactured before the Machinery Directive came into force. Now it will not be marked or documented as complying with the Machinery Directive but the prospective purchaser still needs to comply with the Use of Work Equipment Directive because the first time it is provided for use in their premises or undertaking is after the specified date of 5th December 1998. In the absence of the CE marking and the EC Declaration of conformity, the purchaser needs other evidence of compliance. For that, they may have to engage the services of a specialist lifting equipment company. However if they are buying direct from the previous owner then they should try to obtain whatever documentation is available.
The most useful documents are likely to be those supplied by the original manufacturer, which hopefully specify the standard to which the lifting machine was made. The standards current prior to the Machinery Directive are likely to be national standards such as BS, DIN, AFNOR or ISO international standards. These did not have the quasi-legal status of the Harmonised European Standards written in support of the Machinery Directive. Nevertheless they generally specified the most safety critical requirements. A comparison of the standard with the current CEN Harmonised Standard will be useful in identifying any upgrading necessary.
Lifting machines made to these older standards were often very robustly designed and provided they are still in serviceable condition, strength is unlikely to be an issue. However the purchaser needs to ensure that the duty rating of the lifting machine is suitable for the application. For example an overhead factory crane frequently lifting the maximum load and working 24 hours a day needs to be a lot more robust than one which rarely lifts the maximum and is used infrequently. In the long term, using a light duty crane beyond its rating will inevitably shorten its economic life and it will require more maintenance and more frequent inspection to ensure it remains safe and reliable. In the short term it can also cause a hoist motor to overheat and burn out within minutes.
The more likely areas where an upgrade may be required are in safety features such as overload protection, limit switches, anti-collision protection, controls, emergency stops, conductor insulation, guarding and access for maintenance or inspection. Access was the subject of last month’s article in which I mentioned that older overhead cranes often had access platforms across the bridge. However the standards for working at height including the height and position of handrails, toe boards etc have recently changed and upgrading may be necessary.
In the absence of information about the standard to which the equipment was made, a design appraisal will be required and in this case, strength may well be an issue. This is particularly so with equipment such as a slewing jib crane where the jib and the hoist were often sourced separately. Many jibs were designed for use with hand chain blocks and later fitted with electric hoists. The design allowances for dynamic loading are significantly different and the self weight of the electric hoist, trolley and power feed system is likely to be more than that of the original hand chain block.
If the second hand lifting machine has come from outside the European Union then, irrespective of its age, because it is being placed on the market in Europe for the first time, it must comply with the requirements of the Machinery Directive. This applies even if it is the purchaser who imports the equipment, as they are also deemed to have supplied it to themselves.
The situation becomes more complex if the lifting machine has been modified. Overhead cranes in particular are often modified to adjust their span or headroom and may be modernised by replacing the control system. Back in the early 1990s when we were anticipating the Machinery Directive, I made enquiries with the relevant UK government department about the regulations applicable to modified equipment. Their answer was rather vague and focussed on the two extremes. If the modification was minor then it only required the person doing it to document the work they were responsible for. The rest of the crane was assumed to remain of an acceptable standard, always provided that it was in serviceable condition. At the other extreme, the modifications could be such that it was effectively a new crane made from second hand components. In that case they expected it to be treated as a new crane and full compliance with the Directive is required.
In reality most modifications lie somewhere between those extremes and in practice there is a responsibility on the person making the modification not just for their work but to ensure that the crane as a whole is satisfactory. That may involve some work to evaluate any consequences of their modification. For example cab controlled cranes often had a faster long travel speed than a pendant controlled crane. Also they had pedal operated brake enabling a skilled driver to minimise load swing. A modification to pendant control and automatic brake without modifying the speed may be dangerous for the operator.
The purchaser of a second hand crane or other lifting machine needs to be on the lookout for modifications and should try to obtain the drawings and documentation related to the modification or modifications. It is not uncommon for equipment to be modified several times during its lifetime and evaluating the cumulative consequences can be onerous.
Someone contemplating purchasing a second hand crane may take the view that if it was of an acceptable standard for the previous owner and it passes a thorough examination, then why should there be any possibility of it requiring any upgrade. The answer is that when the new legislation was introduced in the 1990s, it was accepted that there was a lot of existing equipment manufactured to earlier standards which still had an economic life left. It is one thing to require better standards for new equipment but quite another to apply them retrospectively to existing equipment. In drawing the line between the two, work equipment provided for use in the premises or undertaking for the first time after the cut off date is treated the same as new manufactured equipment however old it is. This therefore catches all second hand equipment.
However it is not quite ‘anything goes’ for equipment first provided before that date and which doesn’t change hands. Within the UK’s Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations are some which do apply to existing equipment which may require it to be upgraded. All employers therefore need to be alert to changes in requirements such as those arising from the new Machinery Directive which will come into force at the end of 2009. Those who are in the market for second hand lifting equipment need to be particularly vigilant.
