FOLLOW US @LEEA_INT ● VISIT LEEAINT.COM ● VOLUME 2 ● ISSUE NUMBER 6 ● JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016

IN THIS ISSUE:CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S MESSAGE

DUBAI CONFERENCE REVIEW

2016 GOLF DAY

AND MORE!

LEEA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Dubai International Academic City on Sunday 10 January to declare open its first regional office. Members and organisations across the region

marked the occasion with refreshments and networking at the new address—Office 310, 3rd Floor, Block 10, Dubai International Academic City.

Kevin Crilly, regional manager—east and senior technical officer, who has relocated to Dubai to manage the new office, said: “We look forward to serving one of our largest groups of members from their own office. With the expanding construction sector and the increase in inspection companies, LEEA takes on extra significance in the region.”

Geoff Holden, chief executive, said: “I was delighted by the response from members and organisations across the region. We were particularly pleased to welcome representatives from the Bahrain Ministry of Labour and the Abu Dhabi QCC department.”

See inside for photos from the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Middle East lifting equipment industry joined the association to celebrate the opening of the new LEEA office in Dubai.

LEEA Opens Dubai Office

The LEEA Dubai office is on the third floor behind the flags

I write this having just returned from Dubai following the official

opening of the LEEA office and training centre in the Dubai International Academic City. We held an open day on Sunday 10th January and were

delighted by the response from members and organisations across the region.

We were particularly pleased to welcome Hussain Al Husseini from the Bahrain Ministry of Labour in addition to Osama Melhem and Hamed Al Shekki from the Abu Dhabi QCC department as our guests. I thank them personally for their support for this new venture.

I am pleased to welcome two new members of staff to the LEEA team. First, a graduate trainee, Ricardo German, who will be working closely with Ben Dobbs on technical and project work; and Paul Wynne, who joins us as a member of the training team replacing Scott Barnes who has taken over the training accreditation scheme as part of his new role.

As the membership has grown we have steadily increased the LEEA staff to ensure we provide the highest level of service to members. We have now reached the stage where our current building is too small for us. We have been fortunate to find another office building just a few hundred metres from our current location and the board has approved its purchase.

This will allow us to move the management, admin and finance staff together with key members of the project and technical teams into the new facility and to further develop the training centre

to provide enhanced facilities for the students attending courses at Huntingdon.

Linking our IT systems means that all contact numbers and emails will remain the same and we are hoping for a fairly seamless move when renovation work is completed mid-February.

Our first UK roadshow of 2016 will be held in the Ramside Hall Hotel, Carrville, Durham on Tuesday 15th March. With a couple of interesting presentations and a small scale exhibition it’s well worth a visit; full details can be found on the LEEA website. There are nine exhibitors so far but there is room for more so if you wish to exhibit contact Emma. We are also making preparations for events in Barcelona, New Orleans and the mid-year members meetings. These events are still some time off but as the activity grows early preparation is vital.

The training and project teams are working away on the course materials for the remaining courses for the online learning package ahead of our 1st April deadline. Courses will be released as they are completed and we’ll keep everyone aware so they can book students onto courses at the earliest opportunity.

On-site training remains busy and we already have trainers in Abu Dhabi and Glasgow, while trainers will be heading out to Saudi Arabia, Canada and a variety of UK locations in the next few weeks. Bookings at Huntingdon remain strong and a great deal of work is going on to continually increase the amount of practical work in the training process.

FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

THE LIFTING ENGINEER VOLUME 2 ● ISSUE NUMBER 6 ● JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016

In his first message of 2016, Geoff Holden talks about opening a new office in Dubai, expanding in the UK, looks forward to Durham Roadshow and more.

BUSY START TO THE YEAR

PENDING LEEA MEMBER APPLICATIONS Members please remember to check the list of new LEEA member applications. Follow this link and login to see pending applications: www.leeaint.com/uk/login

ELECTION OF LEEA DIRECTORS

Austin Joseph—JC InternationalKat Moss—Catena Inspection & Engineering ServicesKevin Smith—Certex UK

David Ayling—StraightpointJames Bolger—Certs AssuredTony Longmire—FLG Services

The process for electing new LEEA directors has been completed. There were seven candidates for six vacancies; the candidates elected and their companies were as follows:

From p1

LEEA OPENS DUBAI OFFICELEEA held a ribbon-cutting ceremony

earlier this month (January) to de-clare open its first regional office. Here are some photos from the third floor of the Dubai International Academic City.

Industry joined LEEA to mark the occasion.

LEEA’s Geoff Holden (left) and Kevin Crilly (right)

represented the association.

Kevin Crilly settles into his new office.

Kevin Crilly and his wife, Rose, have relocated to Dubai.

LEEA demonstrated to Middle East members its new training software.

The new address is Office 310, 3rd Floor, Block 10, Dubai

International Academic City.

These candidates are elected to serve for a nominal period of three years after which they will be required to stand down and stand for re-election. Congratulations and many thanks to them for agreeing to take on this important position and also to their employers for allowing them time to do it.

As Lift & Hoist International (LHI) magazine, who were in attendance, reported, the inaugural LEEA Lifting & Rigging

Conference Middle East in Dubai last month (December) was attended by an “engaged audience”.

The two-day event followed the same format as the earlier conference in Singapore last June and welcomed lifting industry professionals working with cranes, hoists and rigging equipment in the Middle East. They participated in educational, technical presentations punctuated by refreshments and networking amongst tabletop exhibits showing the wares of lifting and rigging equipment suppliers.

LEEA chief executive Geoff Holden opened the conference with a presentation on the role the association plays worldwide in raising awareness of safety and good practice. He said that for many years LEEA had developed training courses and methodologies and now it was working to disseminate that information worldwide.

On the second day, Kevin Crilly, regional manager—east and senior technical officer at LEEA, spoke about the new office the association has now opened in Dubai. He also applied the benefits of membership to local end users.

At the time of the conference there were 220 members in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, which

has experienced a rapid growth, as has membership as a whole, increasing from 265 companies in 2009 to 1,000 in 2015.

Crilly, who is now based in Dubai, said: “With the current state of the oil and gas sector, one of the first things to suffer is often safety. Thus, the timing of the conference and subsequent opening of our office is very important and we look forward to serving one of our largest groups of members from their own office.

With the expanding construction sector and the increase in inspection companies, LEEA takes on extra significance.”

“The Lifting Engineer is designed to give members an update on industry activities, LEEA activities and areas that would be of technical interest to the membership. Whilst we are happy to identify new innovations and technical advances within the industry, we do not see it as a platform for sales promotion or marketing of product launches. Send stories for consideration to john.williams@leeaint.com.” — LEEA

THE LIFTING ENGINEER VOLUME 2 ● ISSUE NUMBER 6 ● JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016

FIRST MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE A SUCCESS

NEW LEEA GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FOR MEMBERS The following new LEEA guidance documents are now available for download in the members' area of the LEEA website:

• LEEA-062-14 - Guidance to the manufacturer of chain slings to the development of Instructions for Use• LEEA-065 - Guidance on Lifting Equipment Examination Schemes for Hire Companies

WITHDRAWAL OF LEEA GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS

At the request of the LEEA Technical Committee the following guidance documents have been withdrawn

from the LEEA Reference Library. They have been archived and can be made available for research purposes only upon request.

• LEEA-025 - General Guidance on Grade 8 Chain Slings• LEEA-026 - Manufacturer Guidance on Grade 8 Chain Slings• LEEA-027 - Purchaser Guidance on Grade 8 Chain Slings• LEEA-031 - Guidance on Repair of Grade 8 Chain Slings

These documents have been superseded by:LEEA-063 - Guidance to the Manufacturer and Repairer of Grade 8 Chain Slings - version 1, July 2015

To request a copy of the original documents, please contact John Williams, operations manager, LEEA, at john.williams@leeaint.com.

LiftEx will take place in Scotland for the first time this year at the Aberdeen

Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) on 23-24 November. The 12th edition of the event will be centre stage in the Energy Capital of Europe. Boasting over 40 years of experience in oil and gas operations, Aberdeen is established as one of the most influential, innovative and proactive energy cities in the world.

LiftEx will once againcomprise of the exhibition, industry conference and innovation fast pitch over two days.

Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities are available. Requests are dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis by Leah Phelps at leah@liftex.org.

THE LIFTING ENGINEER VOLUME 2 ● ISSUE NUMBER 6 ● JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016

TECHNICAL COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS

LiftEx EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 2016

Interest in our technical committee and its working groups remained high

throughout 2015, with regular attendance from all 20 technical committee members. Our committee was also well attended by forum members, giving us an average attendance of around 50 delegates at each meeting from an increasingly diverse industry. We want to increase participation further this year. Currently our working groups cover:- Chain slings- Webbing slings- Cranes- Entertainment technology- Written schemes of examination for the water industry

Through these working groups, which are made up of experts from member companies, LEEA has developed and published the following guidance documents

in 2015, free to download from the LEEA reference library:- LEEA 059 (6-part series) Guidance to Documentation and Marking- LEEA 060 Pictorial Guide to Standards- LEEA 061 Guide to the verification of davits- LEEA 062 General guidance to the manufacturer to the development of instructions for use- LEEA 063 Guide to the Manufacturer and Repairer of grade 8 chain slings- LEEA 064 Guide to CE marking of products for which there is no harmonised standard- LEEA 065 Guide to Hire Companies and Written Schemes of Examination

Sub-committeesWe have noted that our members in

Scotland have a keen interest in these

meetings, but do not attend the technical committee regularly due to travel distances. We have therefore set up a sub-committee closer to them, and the first meeting in Aberdeen last September was well attended. A second Aberdeen sub-committee meeting takes place on 27 January. Reasons to attend future sub-committees include:- Updates on new or revised standards, legislation and LEEA guidance documents- Active participation in the development of standards, legislation and LEEA guidance- Technical advice from industry experts through our technical forum- Networking opportunities- Presentations and updates on new developments and technologies

If you are interested in attending the technical committee, Aberdeen sub-committee or working groups, email ben.dobbs@leeaint.com.

URGENT NOTIFICATION: LEEA MEMBERSHIP CRITERIAWe have been advised that a company

in the UK are cold calling members of LEEA advising them that to maintain their membership going forward, they will be required to hold ISO 9001, 14001 and/or 18001 accreditation. They have stipulated that this should be in place now but will be mandatory

for LEEA membership at the end of 2016.

This is not the case and if you are approached by individuals representing this organisation making such statements, please pass this back to your technical officer or LEEA Head Office.

If you are able to obtain the

representative’s name and contact details that would be of benefit when we contact the company to address this.

LEEA do ask about any accreditations during the audit process but an ISO accreditation is not a mandatory requirement for membership and there are no plans to make it so.

There are a myriad of reasons to attend LEEA technical committees and working groups, says Ben Dobbs, technical manager.

15 & 16 June 2016 Vertikal Days Haydock Park, UK

15 March 2016LEEA RoadshowRamside Hall Hotel, Carrville, Durham, UK

23 & 24 November 2016LiftEx 2016Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, UK

SELECTED DATES FROM LEEAEVENTS.COM

17 May 2016 EIC Connect Middle East 2016

LiftEx 2015 took place in Liverpool last November.

Event Programme

10:00 - Doors open 11:00 - Presentations 12:30 - Buffet lunch & networking

KEY EVENT FEATURES: Presentations on topical subjects Professional networking Exhibition space available for LEEA members FREE to attend Complementary buffet lunch

20 spaces are available for members to bring pop up stands or similar, these will be charged at £200.00 + VAT. Please email emma.foreman@leeaint.com to book your stand

Please confirm your attendance and lunch to Emma Foreman, email emma.foreman@leeaint.com

PRESENTATIONS

There will be two topical presentations at the event, delivered by LEEA Technical Staff

Each presentation will also include a question and answer session to enable attendees to interact with the presenter and get more details on the subject matter.

Bishop’s Suite Ramside Hall Carrville, Durham DH1 1TD

Tuesday 15th March 2016 – 10am to 3pm

LEEA Roadshow

• Proficiency Testing - presented by CRAIG MORELLI, Senior Training Officer

A presentation on the proficiency testing carried out in 2014 and 2015 for the Quality and Conformity Council of Abu Dhabi. Craig will demonstrate how the proficiency testing was organised, the equipment included, the outcomes achieved and highlights the benefits this program has for LEEA members.

• Crane Accidents - presented by GEOFF HOLDEN, Chief Executive

A presentation based on real life crane accidents. Exploring accidents by crane type, including overhead travelling cranes, material handling cranes and lifting gantries, before outlining common accidents and sharing a series of case studies. See how poor slinging, load stability, poor choice or availability of lifting accessories, space issues, long loads, and offset centres of gravity have all had a devastating impact on lifting applications in recent years.