Amazing Time Lapse Construction Video

On June 12 Tacoma Public Utilities officials dedicated a $19 million, 110,000-square-foot addition to their administration building off South 35th Street; it now houses 325 employees. Construction took about two years. The building, designed by BCRA, is touted as a model of energy efficiency. Click below to watch the amazing time-lapse video showing the demolition and construction.

Crane Safety Bill Sent to the Governor

The Legislature has sent a new construction crane safety bill to Governor Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign the measure into law.

Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2171 requires cranes to be inspected and certified by the Department of Labor & Industries. It also requires crane operators to be certified and have 2,000 documented hours of training prior to operating a crane. The bill has limited exemptions for small cranes, such as those installed in the back of a pickup truck, for manufacturing purposes.

The bill, setting some of the most stringent requirements in the nation, is targeted at cranes use in building construction.

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UPDATE: Governor Gregoire signed the bill into law on April 10.

Crane Safety Hearing

The House Commerce & Labor Committee and the Senate Labor Commerce, Research and Development Committee held a joint hearing on crane safety. The hearing comes after a high profile collapse of a crane in Bellevue and several other cranes had problems as well.

Legislators are investigating the need for crane operator licensing, increasing crane inspections before and after assembly, more frequents inspections during operations, and other steps to increase crane safety. AIA/WA is working with our coalition partners in the engineering and construction organizations to monitor this bill’s progress.

Legislation has not been introduced on this topic, but stakeholders testifying at the hearing pledged to work cooperatively toward ideas to improve crane safety.

Go to www.tvw.org and enter "crane safety" in the search engine to listen to the hearing.