Crane Safety 2016

Jamie Davies: H M Principal Specialist Inspector (Mechanical Engineering), Health and Safety Executive

Jamie Davies was awarded his degree in Engineering with Environmental Studies at Sheffield Hallam University in 1995. Jamie is a Chartered Engineer and a Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.

He previously worked as a research engineer in the steel making industry, a field engineer in the machine tool industry, specifically hydraulic press brakes and shearing machines and an applications engineer and project manager for a hydraulic installations and nuclear handling equipment company, which undertook design, manufacture, commissioning and installation.

Jamie currently works as a Principal Specialist Inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, providing technical advice on the safety aspects of a wide range of plant and machinery as well as undertaking investigations to establish the causes of accidents and dangerous occurrences. He also holds the Portfolio for lifts, lifting equipment, cranes, hoists and pilling and drilling equipment. 

Vaughan Cole: Former H M Principal Specialist Inspector of Health and Safety (Mechanical Engineering), Health and Safety Executive

Vaughan Cole held responsibility with the Health and Safety Executive for the assessment and regulatory acceptance of safety cases for offshore, process and rail applications. As a HSE field inspector he was involved in many hundreds of investigations, taking regulatory action relating to mechanical engineering.

Prior to this, Vaughan’s responsibilities in the rail industry related to 25 kV AC overhead and 600 Volts DC 3rd rail electrification design, projects, construction supervision and commissioning. With BOC he worked on the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of equipment used for cryogenic industrial processes.

The power industry brought him responsibility for design, supply, inspection, installation of conventional and nuclear power station plant and the writing and assessment of safety cases. 

Simon Quinn: Director, Research Institute for Industry (RIfI), Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, Director, Research Institute for Industry (RIfI), Faculty of Engineering and the Environment

Professor Simon Quinn has 20 years’ experience in structural integrity, since graduating from the University of Liverpool (BEng, PhD). Simon worked for Amec Foster Wheeler as a structural analyst (1998-2003), until he joined the University of Southampton. There he currently leads a consultancy team (Research Institute for Industry (RIfI)) that specialises in solving problems involving materials and structures. The majority of work is funded directly from industry, although Simon has also attracted funding from UK Government and EU sources. Simon’s technical focus is on the industrial application of full-field imaging techniques for experimental stress analysis and non-destructive testing.

Adrian Thomson: Associate Director, Mace Group

Adrian Thomson is an Associate Director for Mace. He was awarded an honours degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from Bradford University in 1981. After working in the Middle East and in London he became a Chartered Civil Engineer in 1992 and awarded a Master’s degree in Construction Management from Bath University in 1998.

With a background in construction management and temporary works engineering his tower crane experience includes both design and installation, climbing and dismantling.  The crane portfolio in London includes the role of Temporary Works Coordinator on the Royal Opera House, Guildhall Museum, The Shard and more recently Nova, Victoria.

Tim Watson: Technical Consultant, Construction Plant-hire Association

Tim Watson is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer currently working as an Independent Engineering Consultant, including acting as Technical Consultant to the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA). He has over forty years’ experience in the construction plant industry. Much of this time was spent working with the Laing Construction Group where he was Engineering Director of the Plant Division.

Tim serves on a number of British Standards technical committees dealing with cranes and other lifting equipment. He is a major contributor to many industry guidance documents and has acted as an Expert Witness in a number of lifting related Court cases.

Brendan Forbes: Global Head of Engineering, Sparrows Group

Brendan Forbes is the Global Head of Engineering at Sparrows Group based in Aberdeen, UK. He has a BSc in Engineering and Management from Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University and holds Chartered professional accreditation with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Operations Engineers.

Brendan has responsibility for all aspects of engineering and design within the Sparrows Group, the Oil and Gas Industry leader in provision of lifting and handling, cable and pipe lay and fluid power services. Brendan has worked for Sparrows for over 10 years having joined as a mechanical engineer and has extensive experience in equipment integrity and operational safety with a particular focus on offshore cranes.

The Sparrows group employs over 200 engineers covering Structural, Mechanical, Integrity, Hydraulic, Electrical and Automation and Control disciplines.

Mike Ponsonby: Managing Director, Michael J Ponsonby Ltd

Mike Ponsonby is a legal consultant specialising in Crane Safety, Special Types General Order (STGO) and Transport Law. Mike has extensive experience and strong technical knowledge of all types of Cranes and Construction Plant equipment through his successful first career as Crane Maintenance Engineer, following which he studied BA English Law. 

Mark Blundy: Group Health and Safety Director, Bowmer and Kirkland Ltd

Mark Blundy is the Group Director of Health and Safety for Bowmer and Kirkland, a privately owned construction group.

Mark graduated in 1986 and worked as a site engineer/surveyor. He joined the HSE in 1989 and worked for over 15 years as H M Inspector, mainly in construction. In 2004 Mark joined R G Wilbrey Consultants supporting George Wimpey through the Tarmac / Wimpey / Laing merger in housebuilding.

At this time he was also involved in tower crane schemes and was part of the Ciria c654 tower crane stability working group. Mark joined Bowmer and Kirkland in 2007, shortly after which they had one of a number of high profile tower crane failures for which the company was prosecuted along with a structural engineer.

Stuart Marchand: Managing Director, Wentworth House Partnership

Stuart Marchand graduated from Cambridge in 1973 and spent the majority of his first eight years of experience in heavy civil engineering on road and bridge construction and on the Thames Barrier. He then transferred to the temporary works design sector of the industry and joined Costain Construction’s temporary works department as Senior Design Engineer.  

Stuart progressed to take over as Chief Engineer in 1991 and was involved in many major developments with deep basements, such as the 7 Storey underground car park in Aldersgate on which he published 2 papers, and 12-15 Finsbury Circus, a 16m deep open cut basement. In 1999 Stuart left to set up Wentworth House Partnership which he has developed as a specialist Temporary Works and Geotechnical Consultancy now comprising a staff of 28.

Steve Leyton: Group Lifting Operations Manager, Keltbray Group

Steve Leyton is a highly skilled and experienced Crane, Logistics and Construction Manager with Keltbray Group. Through his many years of experience, he has built up an enormous range of experience within the industry, dealing in a variety of complex and challenging projects specifically in the area of lifting operations.

His six years spent in the armed forces has resulted in him developing a highly skilled manor in management skills and teamed situations. Since joining Keltbray in 2013 he has fulfilled every expectation to the highest degree, completing projects such as Heathrow T5c, where Steve was the Appointed Person and Logistics Manager, and well as major projects dealing with heavy lifting, and lifting in tight/compact spaces.

Stíofán O'Brien: Project Appointed Person (Lifting Operations), Ferrovial Agroman Laing O’Rourke

Stíofán O'Brien was born in 1968 and raised in a family construction business, starting out as a labourer until he decided to change paths at 23 and went back to college to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering.  After qualifying, Steve spent 10 years as a communications engineer before returning to construction in 2002.  

Starting out this time as Traffic Management Operative he soon progressed to a slinger signaller role, then HIAB operator.  During this time he took his test for Appointed Person for Lifting Operations and has held this position ever since.  His previous projects include Belvedere Waste Power Station and Heathrow Terminal 2A.  

He took up the role of Appointed Person for Lifting operations for the Northern Line Extension project for London Underground back in 2015, where he currently manages a team of 12, across 5 sites, in control of multiple crawler cranes, piling rigs, gantry cranes and static cranes in some of the most built-up areas of South West London.

Ed Hudson: General Manager, After-Sales, Liebherr