Clear summaries of lifting-industry, HSE and regulatory developments—with the practical actions, guidance and management controls behind each update.
E H Hassell & Sons was fined £300,000 after a one-tonne hopper slipped from an improvised forklift unloading arrangement and seriously injured a worker. HSE found the non-routine lift had not been properly planned by a competent person.
A new UK proposal to amend designated machinery standards includes references relevant to tower cranes, non-fixed lifting attachments, crane hooks and industrial trucks. The scheduled notice date is 26 November 2026.
City Electrical Factors was fined £4m after a 231kg switchboard fell from an unsecured forklift load, causing catastrophic injuries. HSE found no risk assessment or lift plan and said the operation was not properly planned by a competent person.
Wedge Group Galvanizing was fined £566,666 after damaged lifting chains failed while carrying a near-three-tonne beam. HSE also found the sling arrangement was incorrect and exceeded the chains’ safe limit.
CPA’s Crane Interest Group and Tower Crane Interest Group have supported new guidance covering selection, site preparation, training, installation, operation, inspection and de-rigging of cantilevered crane-loaded platforms.
Hugh Simpson Contractors has taken delivery of Scotland’s first Liebherr LTM 1400-6.1, a 450-tonne six-axle all-terrain crane with a 70m boom, Y-Guying and VarioBase variable outrigger system.
Leggett & Platt Components Europe was fined £80,000 after a ride-on pallet truck collided with a forklift. HSE found temporary changes to workplace transport routes had not been properly risk assessed.
CPA and CLOCS have opened consultation on good-practice guidance covering competence, plant suitability, route planning, management authorisation and operator road-travel checks.
Fitzpatrick Fabrications was fined £48,000 after a 133kg hopper component crushed a worker’s hand, days after a near-identical incident. The case concerned manual handling, not a LOLER mechanical lift.
A painter and decorator received a suspended prison sentence after his stepson died when a ladder contacted or arced to overhead power lines. The planning lessons extend to cranes, telehandlers and excavators.
The Trawsfynydd reactor-height-reduction project has moved into delivery, with crawler cranes expected later in 2026 and two large tower cranes planned inside reactor buildings in early 2027.
B&T Plant Hire has taken delivery of four Sany STH625E electric telehandlers, underlining the difference between a headline 2.5-tonne rating and the capacity available at the actual reach and height.
More than 30 alternative-powered machines are working on the Lower Thames Crossing, with around 150 expected at peak construction. Electric and hydrogen plant bring a fresh reminder to use machine-specific lifting data.
Mechanical Movements has taken delivery of two compact Jekko spider cranes, the SPX328 Evo and SPX532.2, highlighting restricted-access lifting and machine-specific setup requirements.
ORR has recorded the Lillie Bridge Depot lifting-plan Improvement Notice as complied with on 30 September 2026. The case remains a reminder that historic or incomplete lift plans do not demonstrate competent planning.
Gill Aggregates Limited has been fined £24,000 after a worker was fatally drawn into a conveyor through an opening in fixed guarding. HSE found the entrapment risk had been identified two months earlier but the required guarding control had not been implemented.
Select Plant Hire is fitting Xwatch safety systems to around 30 new JCB machines, bringing rated-capacity indication, height limitation and slew limitation to more of its excavator fleet.
Wire Cranes has now taken delivery of the UK’s first 90-tonne Liebherr LTM 1090-4.3, equipped with a 60m main boom and LICCON3 control system — reinforcing why lift plans must match the actual crane configuration and radius.
Flannery Plant Hire has deployed the UK debut of the electric Cat 320 medium excavator, highlighting an important planning point as electric plant enters mainstream construction fleets.
Balfour Beatty Vinci has completed major M42 engineering works involving two 1,000-tonne viaduct spans and a separate crawler-crane operation lifting beams weighing up to 92 tonnes.
A worker suffered life-changing injuries when a 1.2-tonne crate fell from a forklift during a non-standard unloading operation. HSE found the work was poorly planned, not properly assessed and unsupervised.
Two companies were fined a combined £1.15 million and a self-employed contracts manager received a suspended prison sentence after a worker was killed in an unsupported trench collapse.
The post-show review from Vertikal Days highlights new telescopic crawler, pick-and-carry, tracked carrier and telehandler equipment alongside remote-control and safety technology with direct implications for machine-specific lift planning.
The CAA has opened consultation on revisions to CAP1096, proposing a more risk-based and digitally enabled approach to crane and tall-equipment safeguarding around aerodromes.
CITB’s new Appointed Person Training standard now applies to achievements from 27 October 2026. The standard sits in Plant Grant Tier 1 and forms part of CITB’s programme to standardise plant training.
A manufacturer has been fined after a 500kg pillar drill became unstable during a forklift lifting operation, seriously injuring a worker. HSE found the operation had not been properly risk assessed or planned.
A self-employed telehandler operator received a suspended custodial sentence after reversing over and fatally injuring a lift supervisor on a Cheshire construction site.
The CPA Tower Crane Interest Group has published guidance setting out minimum expectations for tendering, managing and operating tower cranes. We translate the update into practical actions for project teams.
HSE construction lifting guidance continues to centre on three controls: proper planning by a competent person, appropriate supervision and safe execution. Here is what that means operationally.
Updated CPA guidance introduces clearer control expectations for oversailing, collapse radius and working-range limitation near Network Rail infrastructure.
HSE’s review has concluded without legislative reform to LOLER at this stage, with improved guidance identified as the preferred route. Existing lifting duties therefore remain central.