Alan Barnhart opens World Crane and Transport Summit in Miami

Alan Barnhart, chief executive officer at Barnhart Crane & Rigging, opened the World Crane & Transport Summit (WCTS) in Miami today with a keynote speech to more than 250 delegates.

Barnhart said the crane and transport industry should celebrate its record of innovation and profit generation, and recognise the importance and rewards of work.

"Work is not something you do to afford to do the good stuff in life. Work is part of the good stuff", he told the audience at the Biltmore Hotel.

"We should celebrate the innovation, the pofits, and the value they create - I think we should celebrate work."

The two-day WCTS, taking placed on 12-13 November at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, Florida, is organised by KHL Group and its magazines International Cranes and Specialized Transport and American Cranes & Transport.

Following Barnhart's address, Jim Wiethorn of Hagg Engineering outlined the results of an analysis of more than 500 crane accidents in North America. One finding was that 51 out of 147 fatalities were of persons not directly involved in the crane operation. Wiethorn said this illustrated the important role that site supervisors had in managing lifting operations.