Panel preparing regulations to ensure safe operation of cranes

AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is represented in a committee working to prepare a set of regulations to ensure the safety of crane usage in construction in Jordan, a GAM official said on Monday. 

Raed Haddadin, director of the building control department at GAM, said the capital started witnessing high-rise buildings in 2007.

“At the time the process was not organised. Following an incident that took place in Amman, all concerned parties decided to regulate this process to ensure the safety of residents,” Haddadin told the Jordan Times over the phone.

Earlier this month, a 12-metre-long crane collapsed in Amman’s Bayader area near a three-storey under-construction building, damaging four vehicles. No one was physically injured.

Haddadin noted that the regulations will stipulate that cranes should be tested for safety before being used in construction, adding that the committee also includes Civil Defence Department representatives.

“Many people who operate cranes are not properly qualified. Also, when a person wants to set up a crane, he/she must approach GAM to show that the location of the construction site is safe for work.”

He said there are more than 100 cranes in Amman, and one has been removed in east Amman for safety reasons.