Crane inspection going paperless
Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau (CICB) has partnered with N4 Systems to bring electronic, paperless inspections to the crane industry. CICB will work with N4 Systems to tailor Field ID, N4 System's flagship inspection and safety compliance system, for the crane industry.

“Crane inspections are typically performed using paper checklist inspection forms,” said Craig Epperson, president and CEO of CICB. “We have been looking for a way to significantly improve the crane inspection process and eliminate any reliance on paper. Field ID will allow us to introduce a revolutionary new way to conduct inspections. We are very excited to be working with N4 Systems in this venture.”

“CICB is the expert when it comes to crane inspections,” said Somen Mondal, president and CEO of N4 Systems. ”Their history and proven track record in the crane industry is a testament to their expertise. Working jointly with CICB to introduce Field ID to the crane industry will allow us to gain the experience and knowledge that CICB has built over the decades to cater Field ID for crane inspections. We are truly excited to be working with CICB.”

NTSB board finds I-35W bridge plates too thin
National Transportation Safety Board investigators probing the Aug. 1 collapse of an Interstate highway bridge in Minneapolis have found that some of the gusset plates in the bridge's main trusses were about half as thick as required and too thin to provide the expected “margin of safety,” said NTSB chairman Mark Rosenker. In response to these “interim findings,” NTSB recommended that the Federal Highway Administration require states and other bridge owners to conduct load-capacity calculations of non-load-path-redundant steel truss bridges. Rosenker said the board has not finished its investigation and hasn’t determined a probable cause for the collapse that killed 13 and injured 145. He added investigations found fractured gusset plates at eight of the 112 joint locations in the bridge's main trusses. A review of the bridge design, with a focus on the gusset plates' design, “discovered that the original design process of the I-35W bridge led to a serious error in sizing some of the gusset plates in the main truss.”

NTSB also found 16 plates–two at each node–were about half the required thickness, “and too thin to provide the margin of safety expected in a properly designed bridge.” The board said it has found no evidence suggesting the design deficiencies are widespread. The NTSB added a probable cause for the accident would be in its final report, expected to be sent to the board by years-end.

OSHA announces partnership with the Scaffold Industry Association
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has formed a new alliance this spring with the Scaffold Industry Association (SIA) to provide its members and others in the construction industry with information and proper guidance on the safe use of mast climbing scaffolding and aerial lift equipment.

“The collective expertise of OSHA and SIA can create a significant impact on the safety and health of men and women working in construction,” said Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA. “Through our alliance, we intend to develop products, programs and resources for employers and employees to help reduce fatalities and increase awareness of preventable injuries.”

The alliance will also address reducing and avoiding exposure to falls and hazards. Through the alliance, representatives will participate in OSHA and SIA conferences and events such as SIA's 36th Annual Convention & Exposition. In addition, the alliance will disseminate information through OSHA's and SIA's websites, as well as print and electronic assistance and media tools.
“The Scaffold Industry Association is both excited and energized to work with OSHA again on issues directly related to scaffold and access safety,” said John R. Miller, SIA president.

Palfinger appoints new sales manager, offers two-year extended warranty on products
Palfinger North America announced that Michael Johnson will become the new western sales manager for Palfinger knuckle boom cranes in the western United States and Canada.

Johnson will be responsible for the United States west of the Mississippi River, and the four western Canadian provinces. Johnson joins Palfinger with 20 years of experience in truck-mounted equipment. The company believes Johnson will provide the western markets with the support and service needed to continue to grow.

Palfinger North America also announced it will extend its warranty program to 2 years on all Palfinger products. The 2-year warranty will provide customers with the same coverage as provided under the standard warranty for a total of 2 years from the original in-service date.

“The extended warranty program will be a significant value added service for our customers,” said Mark Woody, president of Palfinger North America. “It is in times like these we want to show our commitment and dedication to our customers and so we are pleased that we are able to help them reduce their overall operating costs by offering this new warranty program.”

The optional warranty program is offered on Palfinger knuckle-boom cranes, Crayler truck-mounted forklifts and Palift hooklift systems.

WAGO Corp. expands headquarters, increases service
WAGO Corp. announced the completion of the expansion of its North American headquarters. The expansion, which began in August 2007, has increased WAGO’s product manufacturing and storage capacity from 60,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet, complete with 36,000 product locations.

“The increased size of our organization validates to our customers that we are committed to them for the long haul; they can always rely upon us to provide the support that they deserve,” said Tom Artmann, WAGO president. “This expansion allows us to provide the same strong levels of quality and accuracy. Now, we have the added benefit of delivering thousands of additional items from stock.”

WAGO is a manufacturer in spring pressure connection technology designed to eliminate loose wires as a result of vibration and temperature cycling.

Eagle West Equipment announces new regional manager, marketing coordinator
Eagle West Equipment Inc. appointed Larry Armstrong as regional manager for the U.S. Southwest. Armstrong will be based in Phoenix, AZ. His focus will be on growing the equipment dealer network, providing a full range of support to Eagle West dealers in his region and growing sales. Armstrong has over 24 years of experience in the equipment rental and sales business. For the past 16 years he has been a manager holding several key positions with the Blanchard Machinery Company, who is the exclusive CAT distributor for South Carolina.

“With our growth exceeding 100 percent per year, and the addition of five new product lines in 2007, it is critical that we have top caliber staff on board to support our growing dealer network and professionally promote our products and their applications in key markets,” said Gerry L. Wiebe, vice president of sales and business development.

In another announcement, Eagle West appointed Wendy McClelland as the new marketing and communications coordinator. McClelland will coordinate all aspects of the Eagle West marketing programs; including crane sales and rentals, generator and crane accessories.

McClelland has a diverse background, and has been a self-employed marketing consultant for the past dozen years. As a certified “guerrilla marketing” coach, she has assisted a wide range of businesses and industries to gain market share and increase profitability.

“Eagle West is pleased to have the benefit of McClelland’s creative range of marketing experiences, and we warmly welcome her to the Eagle West team,” said Wiebe.

Manitowoc Crane CARE, hires general manager
Manitowoc Crane CARE, the customer service operation of Manitowoc, has hired Peter Boyes-Korkis as general manager. Boyes-Korkis will be responsible for all aspects of customer support for Manitowoc brand cranes in the United Kingdom, including Grove, Potain and Manitowoc. Functions of Manitowoc Crane CARE include parts, service, training and technical documentation.

Prior to joining Manitowoc, Boyes-Korkis spent 23 years with Case. He began in the service area before becoming business manager for the company’s northern Europe distributors. In 1998, he joined a Somerset-based Case distributor before moving to Komatsu in 2002 to take a job as area manager. In 2005, Komatsu promoted him to general manger of customer support. Boyes-Korkis joined Manitowoc at the end of November and will take over for the retiring Bill Newman.

Boscaro Reliability? Versatility? Innovation? The answer = Boscaro material handling solutions and under hook accessories. Boscaro's aim is to provide the safest, most reliable crane solutions available. Boscaro's wide range of products includes: — self dumping material handling bins — automatic leveling pallet forks — concrete buckets — pre-cast concrete handling equipment To find out more, visit our website at www.boscarousa.com.

Southern Crane named ‘Business Champion’ for employee development efforts
Southern Industrial Constructors and its wholly owned subsidiary, Southern Crane, were honored with a “Business Champion” award from Business Leader magazine and Wake Technical Community College. For the second year, the two teamed up to recognize companies that enhance the Triangle’s workforce by creating jobs and providing essential employee education and training.

“At Southern Industrial and Southern Crane, we recognize that our employees perform critically important and potentially dangerous work that requires knowledge, skills and experience–so yes, we willingly invest in efforts that ensure their success,” said Earl Johnson III, president of Southern Crane.

Hirschmann appoints new CEO
Hirschmann Automation and Control and Lumberg Automation named Dr. Wolfgang Babel as their new chief executive officer. Babel, who has been a member of the Hirschmann executive team since October 2007, succeeds Reinhard Sitzmann. Sitzmann took over as CEO of the Hirschmann Group at the end of 2000 and reorganized the company. Babel studied electrical engineering at the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and later did doctorates at Columbia Pacific University in San Francisco and Friedrich Alexander University. His career began at Diehl GmbH where he held leading posts in various divisions. After 10 years he moved to Endress+Hauser Conducta GmbH & Co., Gerlingen, where was responsible initially for development and eventually became CEO. In addition, he also played a role in developing the worldwide solution business within the Endress+Hauser group.

Gehl earnings beat forecasts
Gehl Corp. (GEHL) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, overcoming a weak residential construction market. The West Bend maker of compact construction and farm equipment said net income fell 3.7 percent to 4.34 million, or 35 cents a share, from $4.51 million, or 36 cents a year ago. Before losses on discontinued operations in both years, Gehl had profit from continuing operations of $4.67 million, or 38 cents a share, down 5.4 percent from $4.94 million, or 40 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell 1.4 percent to $102.2 million from $103.6 million.

According to the company, sales remained solid in the quarter despite continued weakness in North American residential construction activity. Gehl added it expects 2008 sales in the range of $405 million to $425 million and income from continuing operations of 95 cents to $1.20 a share in 2008.

JLG announces new branding for comprehensive support services
JLG Industries, Inc. announced it has rebranded its comprehensive offering of services under a single name, Ground Support. Ground Support will become the new umbrella brand for JLG’s parts, training, used equipment sales, reconditioning, repair and maintenance services, and financing and technical support services.

“JLG has invested significant time and resources during the past several years developing services and product offerings that our customers need to keep them productive every day,” said Craig Paylor, JLG president. “Those efforts have resulted in the most comprehensive, global aftermarket and financial services package in the industry, so the time was right for this new brand to reflect the full scope of what we bring to our customers—everything on the ground to keep you in the air. We believe that Ground Support is more than a new brand, it’s a unifying concept for all JLG team members in how we treat our customers.”

Ground Support also includes JLG’s call centers, which assist customers with technical assistance. JLG will expand its technical call center support by over 50 percent by the end of 2008.

In fiscal year 2007, OSHA conducted a total of 39,324 inspections, 4.3 percent more than its stated goal.
 – www.osha.gov

OSHA inspections cited 67,176 serious violations, and repeat violation citations rose from 2,551 in fiscal year 2006, to 2,714 in 2007. Fatality, injury and illness rates continued to decline to record lows—injury and illness incidence rates were 4.4 per 100 employees in calendar year 2006, and workplace fatality rates were at an all-time low of 3.9 fatalities per 100,000 employees.
 – www.osha.gov

Based on preliminary figures, new orders in the continuing operations compact engines and DEUTZ customized solutions rose by 22 percent to $2.43 billion U.S. dollars in 2007. The positive effect from the production ramp-up of the new commercial vehicle engines made a particular contribution to this.
 – www.deutz.com

In view of the good visibility for the first half of 2008, but taking into account the possibility of an economic slowdown in Europe, the Group (Manitou), is looking for growth of around 10 percent in consolidated sales.
 – www.manitou.com

Privately owned housing completions, for residential construction in January, were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,351,000. This is 1.8 percent (±8.9 percent) above the revised December estimate of 1,327,000, but is 26.2 percent (±9.6 percent) below the revised January 2007 rate of 1,830,000.
 – The U.S. Census Bureau and Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

The state Public Utilities Commission's staff in South Dakota is recommending that the three-member commission approve a construction permit for the $5.2 billion TransCanada Keystone Pipeline that would slice through eastern South Dakota on its way to refineries in Oklahoma and Illinois.
 – www.businessweek.com

Plans in Las Vegas have been submitted to city officials for a $1 billion construction, multi-phase project that would remake the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino.
 – www.globest.com

Out of 51 major cities in the United States, New York is at the top of the list at 132.6 percent of the “30-city national average” (or 32.6 percent above the average) for construction costs. San Francisco (23.2 percent above), San José (17.3 percent), Oakland (16.5 percent), and Honolulu (20.2 percent) are also in the top five.
 – www.reedconstructiondata.com

Prices for finished construction materials were essentially unchanged in the three months through January and were 2.2% below the peak level last August.
 – www.buildingteamforecast.com

Restoring urban infrastructure around the world and improving access to clean water and other construction-related challenges, including developing carbon sequestration methods and making solar energy affordable, were among the top 14 challenges identified by an international panel of leading scientists and engineers, working under the auspices of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
 – www.enr.com

After two decades of planning and debating, the Missouri and Illinois transportation departments have agreed on a funding plan for a new $640-million Mississippi River bridge on Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Illinois suburbs.
 – www.enr.com

For all of 2007, the key price drivers will again be tight supplies of oil and metals in the world market and cement and aggregates in the U.S. market.
 – www.buildingteamforecast.com