NOVEMBER 2022 Ӏ INDUSTRY FUTURE


j few computers. The world is different today. And finally, there is the skills crisis. The pace of technological change is transforming how we work, a trend accelerated by the rapid moves towards net zero and the rise of offsite and prefabricated construction. For ESTA, ensuring that our


industry has the skills it needs in future will be critical. That means we will have to attract more women into the industry and more youngsters from different communities. We will have to train them to a higher level and to offer secure and attractive career paths. ESTA has responded with the


creation of its European Crane Operators Licence move originally spurred on by complaints that many operators did not have the skills required for the increasingly sophisticated machinery. Work started on the scheme


nine years' ago. There was then and remains today a huge variation in standards of operator training across Europe. These different standards make the industry less safe and reduce efficiency by making it difficult for operators to move from country to country. Several major clients have been calling for high-quality, common Europe-wide operator training for many years There is no doubt in the minds


of ESTA's members and the crane manufacturers that ECOL will make our European industry safer and more efficient in future. Today, with ECOL officially


approved by the European Qualifications Framework, it is slowly but surely putting down roots across Europe. Four ECOL training centres


are up and running with more to follow. Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and British Columbia in Canada have agreed to recognise ECOL and talks are underway


76 CRANES TODAY


with Germany, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland Once ECOL is recognised by a


national authority, ECOL-qualified operators will be able to work in all those territories without further training or testing But to accelerate ECOL's future


acceptance, it needs our industry's major clients and contractors to give it public backing. We could move much more quickly with stronger support from the wider industry, especially from major international companies who wield great influence over their suppliers. An enhanced skills base able


to respond to the huge changes underway in our markets will help to improve safety, efficiency and productivity - qualities that are critical for our future success.


SUSTAINABILITY PUSH The need is underlined by the push to make the industry more sustainable. The challenges will be huge. The drive to cut emissions is already producing some eye-catching developments from a number of manufacturers, although the speed with which they take root might be limited by supply chain issues - for example in rare earths and other materials needed for an exponentially growing battery market. Crane manufacturers are already showing what might be possible. The pace of innovation will only accelerate, but despite such notable developments, I believe industry will for the moment adopt short-term options, while the longer-term solutions and their implications are worked out. For mobile cranes - in the 120- 300 tonne range - the short-term option will probably be to use diesel to get the cranes to site and then battery power for the crane movements on site itself. Another interim solution might be to raise the use of LPG, if that


proves possible in current political circumstances; it is not completely clean, but it is a lot cleaner than diesel and moves us in the right direction until electric/battery driven or hydrogen options are more readily available. As for hydrogen power, it is


realistic but it is a long way off. The development of hydrogen combustion engines in particular is very exciting. But if industry is to develop


the new supply chains that will be required, we will need our politicians to show clear thinking and leadership – and that means agreeing the necessary standards as a matter of urgency. Hydrogen's energy density is


relatively low so for it to work it has to be kept at a high pressure and this raises a lot of questions about standards, regulation and safety - all issues that will need sorting out. We know from bitter experience


– and our long campaign for harmonised European standards in abnormal transport – that such aims are far easier to debate than deliver. We can only hope that the climate emergency will induce a much greater sense of urgency. In fairness, there are signs that


the authorities in Brussels are beginning to take the heavy lift and abnormal transport sector much more seriously and are starting to take seriously our long-standing calls for harmonised European standards and permitting regulations for abnormal transport (see box). Wind power is one of the drivers of change along with increasing modularisation both of which are accelerating demand for bigger cranes and transports, a trend that shows no sign of slowing down. Yet this trend is bringing another


problem in its wake that will have to be dealt with as a matter of urgency. Years of underinvestment in


infrastructure in even the richest economies has resulted in a f


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