The recent announcements of changes to Weights & Dimensions Regulations for All-Terrain Cranes (ATC) in British Columbia demonstrate the power of association. One member alone could not initiate the province-wide changes; but together, we could.
It started three years ago with a few member company representatives from Sterling Crane, NCGS Crane & Heavy Haul Services Ltd., LaPrairie Crane, RKM Crane Services Ltd, and Eagle West Crane & Rigging having a conversation with the CCRA Executive Director, Claire Belanger-Parker and W&D Committee Co-Chairs, Justin Andrews (Tadano America) and Mike Lavoie (Myshak Crane & Rigging). This conversation led to the identification of the pain points to improve the movement of ATCs in B.C. and support the membership. Once agreed, Committee Co-Chairs and Management went to work and developed a presentation template but quickly realized all manufacturers needed to be involved.
Next step was the creation of the Manufacturers’ Council and the gathering of key axle weights, axle spacings, dimensions, lengths and GVW combinations information from Manitowoc, Link-Belt, XCMG, Tadano, and support from Liebherr. The development of a comprehensive presentation took months in the making and involved dozens of industry experts.
It took another 11 months to secure a meeting with the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure – Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Branch, a meeting that took place on Oct. 26, 2023. This four-hour meeting involved Co-Chairs Justin Andrews and Mike Lavoie; Chair of CCRA Technical Committee Paul Walchuk from Kova Engineering; BC Crane Safety’s Executive Director, Clinton Connell; and five civil servants including the top engineers from the ministry.
Six weeks later, on Dec. 6, 2023, while attending the National Task Force on Weights & Dimensions Policy Meeting in Montreal, the BC Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Branch made an announcement indicating the changes made to distance between axles and vehicle length. A month later, they announced the removal of the 1,000-kg variance between axles.
The CCRA Weights & Dimensions Committee and Management continue to engage with the BC Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Branch experts and works on behalf of the entire membership. It is important to note that every member involved in this great journey is a volunteer and companies have paid for their own expenses to attend meetings, including travel and accommodations. The membership revenues are used to cover the cost of our executive director, who diligently keeps everyone to task, manages government relations, coordinates meetings, creates presentations and supports committee infrastructure and needs.
The Weights & Dimensions Committee has also been working in Alberta and is engaging with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to lead similar initiatives. The overarching Technical Committee is currently conducting a Canada-wide analysis of the CSA-Z150 variances from province to province, industry members also participate internationally on a sub-committee developing a guidance manual for working near power line to name a few other initiatives.
This is the power of belonging to an association. Your membership investment is the fuel that supports this work and allows us to accomplish great things for the industry on your behalf.
