What tower crane records are required in British Columbia?

Records of inspection and maintenance under Part 4 and section 14.14 of the OHS Regulation, including the annual inspection, operational test, rope inspections, the engineered foundation certificate, erection and dismantle records and the crane logs kept with the machine.

Who has to keep tower crane records?

The equipment operator and anyone inspecting or maintaining the crane. In practice the owner keeps them and must be able to produce them on request.

What happens if a tower crane certificate has expired?

It does not stop the machine physically working, but it stops it being acceptable to any contractor or officer who checks — which in practice stops the job.

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Tower crane records you have to keep

Records are not the paperwork around the job. In BC they are part of the requirement, and "we did it, I just cannot show you" is the same as not having done it.

What the Regulation asks for

Part 4 of the OHS Regulation sets the general rule for records of inspection and maintenance, and section 14.14 applies it to cranes. The short version: if a qualified person inspected or maintained the machine, there has to be a record of it, and it has to be available.

What to keep, per machine

The inspection and maintenance record — what was done, when, by whom.
The annual inspection, and the operational test that goes with it.
Rope inspections, and any rope change with the details of what went on.
The engineered foundation certificate for the site it is standing on.
Erection, climbing and dismantling records, including the two checks that fall due after the crew has left.
The crane logs, which stay with the machine rather than in the office.
Certificates with dates on them — engineering inspection, structural NDT, major component inspection, insurance.

The ones measured in years are the ones that lapse. A five-year item never turns up on anything you look at monthly, which is exactly why it is the one that is out of date when somebody asks.

What a general contractor will actually ask for

Rarely all of it. In practice: the current annual inspection, the operational test, the foundation certificate, proof of insurance, and — increasingly — evidence that the maintenance programme exists at all rather than a promise that it does.

An out-of-date certificate does not stop the crane working. It stops it working for anybody who checks, which is every contractor worth working for.

How long

Long enough to cover the life of the machine and any question that comes after it. Records tied to a specific inspection interval need to survive at least until the next one is done and accepted, and anything connected to an incident should be kept indefinitely. If you are deciding whether to throw something away, do not.

Related guides

Tower crane inspection requirements in BC — which sections of the Regulation apply, and who is allowed to do the work.
Notice of Project for a tower crane in BC — what has to exist before the first section leaves the yard.

We run 265 of these requirements on our own cranes

Every machine comes with its inspection and service record kept against it, and we send the certificates the day you ask. If you need a crane, or a hand with the paperwork on one you already have, get in touch.

Talk to us