GLAD2024 review
#GLAD2024 on 18th July marked Global Lifting Awareness Day’s fifth year. To celebrate, LEEA programmed a day-long schedule of unaired videos created to stimulate interest and inform during the annual event where LEEA members, manufacturers and suppliers lead others in sharing material that promotes safe and high-quality load lifting across the world.
LEEA’s very own GLAD film festival kicked off with a short video showcasing the Lifting Industry as the doers, the creators and the heroes that form an irresistible force against the immovable object. Lifting, load management and working at height is constantly evolving growing higher, further safer. “It’s us versus gravity.”
In the second video, Victoria Bandello from MGF talked about how the company’s core business involves lifting in construction. The company supported GLAD with social media posts expressing its passion of the Lifting Industry.
Following Victoria, Roberto Rinaldesi, a Mechanical Engineer at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, provided a perspective from the unique facility where lifting is part of everyday life. CERN is one of the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research and while it may essentially be a big physics lab, it is also an industrial site with lifting operations going on all the time.
Next, celebrating 20 years in the oil and gas sector, Elizabeth Corner at World Pipelines magazine explained what #GLAD2024 means to them.
LEEA CEO Ross Moloney then conducted a behind the scenes tour of the Association’s headquarters in Huntingdon, UK, introducing team members as he took viewers on a walk-around, which included dropping in on a face-to-face training course as well as showing the ‘Zoom-room’ for online training to students worldwide. “We speak to 1100 members globally,” he pointed out. “The point of LEEA is that our members tell us what they need from us and we are here to support. By understanding our members we can develop solutions for what they need.”
This was followed by Leanne Whitehurst-Maiden at RiConnect speaking about what #GLAD2024 means to them and she explained how the event will raise the profile of a safety-critical, life-saving industry.
After a video montage of LEEA’s GLAD poster campaign , which encourages joining the movement, the series of videos continued with Richard Phillips at Casper, Phillips & Associates talking about working as a Crane Design Engineer, to give a behind the scenes view of the Lifting Industry.
Next up, Durham Lifting's Amanda Gardiner, Ir. Wan Djawad and Emma Stonehouse discussed why they're GLAD to work in the Lifting Industry.
After an introduction from Kito Crosby's Troy Baumgartner, a number of his colleagues at the global lifting and rigging equipment operation explain why health and safety and lifting is important to them.
The videos continued with Katie Kelleher Construction Plant-hire Association telling how joining the Construction Industry was a pathway to lifting and then over 30,000 social media followers. “I love that I became a crane operator,” said Katie during a fun interview with the social media influencer, also known as @Katie_Cranes on Instagram.
David Borley, Lead AP, Lifting at Skanska, then spoke about the Industry Lifting Lead AP Group, a below the hook safety programme, and more.
The series was concluded by an insightful discussion of topics including human error and improper use of lifting equipment with Franklin Law Associates’ Managing Director, Courtney Franklin CMIOSH CQP MCQI MIIRSM RSP. Health and safety, quality and environmental best practice were raised in a wide-ranging interview.
You can catch up on all of #GLAD2024's videos at: https://globalliftingawarenessday.com/videos/general, and continue to follow #LEEA live on social media and our dedicated news page — https://globalliftingawarenessday.com/news.
The industry speaks
The Lifting Industry itself was also out in force during #GLAD2024. Rope and Sling Specialists (RSS) tweeted: “It’s great to see lots of #GLAD2024 content being posted in celebration of the Lifting Industry today.”
William Hackett Group posted: “In celebrating #GLAD2024, we reaffirm our dedication to addressing the challenges of prioritising safety and quality within the lifting industry. This year's focus is on the risks associated with Grade 8 chain and non-compliance.”
Prolift Handling said: “We’re proud to support #GLAD2024. As a member of @LEEA_INT, we join in celebrating five years of promoting safety, skills, and employment in the lifting industry. Let’s continue to champion professional development and safety excellence.”
Electrolift Hoist proclaimed: “Today is Global Lifting Awareness Day celebrating safe & high-quality load lifting across the globe. Electrolift is proud to support this initiative.”
Dynamic Load Monitoring (DLM) Managing Director Martin Halford discussed LEEA’s impact from focusing efforts on reaching both, people inside the industry and those outside it.
Tiger Lifting was GLAD to support Global Lifting Awareness Day 2024. It said: “Our current apprentices are learning the tools of the trade and being equipped with the skills and qualifications to thrive in the lifting industry.”
Fairchild Equipment was “proud to support Global Lifting Awareness Day. Join us in raising awareness about safe lifting practices and advanced equipment”.
Modulift pronounced that it stands “united with LEEA and the entire industry in celebrating Global Lifting Awareness Day.”
Caldwell Renfroe tweeted: “At this point of #GLAD2024, it feels like taking the baton from our friends in Europe”, as North America joined in with GLAD. Reminding everyone that this was the fifth staging of Global #Lifting Awareness Day, the company has been supporting the concept since its launch in 2020.
Green Pin (Royal Van Beest) tweeted: “Today, we proudly celebrate Global Lifting Awareness Day. At Green Pin, we are committed to advancing safety and innovation in lifting solutions. Join us in promoting awareness and excellence in our industry!”
E-Rigging said: “Join us in celebrating Global Lifting Awareness Day today. Let's promote safe and high-quality load lifting practices across the industry. If you're in construction, manufacturing, or logistics, share your lifting stories and tips with #GLAD2024.“
Wire Rope Exchange magazine tweeted: “To celebrate Global Lifting Awareness Day, we are revisiting several of our most popular features detailing lifting-intensive projects that have changed the world.”
Bidding everybody a happy Global Lifting Awareness Day, Crane & Hoist Canada talked to Canada's own Justin Brown, president of Unirope Limited, about the importance of this day of visibility and his plans for celebrating heavy lifting across the country and the world.
Among other companies joining in were Liebherr Maritime Cranes, Columbus McKinnon, Holloway, Gorbel, Sangwin Plant Hire, while Hoist magazine and Lift & Hoist International magazine provided running commentary.
Trade Associations also added their voice, including ICHCA International, the not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving the safety, security, sustainability and efficiency of cargo handling and goods movement. It declared: “powered by ICHCA member the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) and supporting organisations, #GLAD2024 is now a widely celebrated day.”
IPAF, not-for-profit members’ organisation that promotes the safe and effective use of powered access equipment worldwide posted: “IPAF proudly supports Global Lifting Awareness Day, raising awareness about the vital role of lifting equipment in ensuring safety and efficiency across industries worldwide. Join us in celebrating advancements and promoting good practices in lifting technology!”
Associated Wire Rope Fabricators (AWRF) said: “Our work can be inherently dangerous! That's why it is our responsibility to take steps to reduce risk wherever possible on the worksite. When you’re on the job site tomorrow, take a moment to look around. It’s up to all of us to identify potential hazards and rigging failures before they occur. Your vigilance and attention to detail could help save a life!. Let's all take a moment to celebrate the progress we've made in the lifting and load securement industry. Each year, our worksites get a little safer, and the projects we complete get a little larger!.”
Also from the US, MHI (Material Handling Industry) wished everybody a happy Global Lifting Awareness Day. “Today, we celebrate the incredible skills and employment opportunities in the lifting industry,” it said.
The Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau (CICB), which provides top-quality inspections and lifting education in the United States and abroad was “thrilled to support #GLAD2024. Follow #GLAD2024 to see how our industry is raising safety standards worldwide.”
And finally, of course, the Association’s many tweets included: “LEEA is always GLAD to use high-quality products, conduct high-quality training, and ensure high-quality inspection.”
Poster campaign
During the build-up to GLAD, LEEA ran a campaign of eye catching posters highlighting the contributions lifting has made and continues to make to our everyday lives. The first is dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, widely accepted as one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history, one of the 19thcentury engineering giants, and one of the greatest figures of the industrial revolution. Placing second in a BBC poll to determine the 100 Greatest Britons, Brunel changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and construction. All against a background of some seriously impressive chain.
The next poster features charismatic union organiser, Mary Macarthur, who led the 1910 women chain makers’ strike in Cradley Heath, UK. Lasting two months, the dispute ended in women receiving the country’s first minimum wage.
A third poster features the Samson and Goliath cranes that have been standing tall over the Belfast Skyline in the dockyard of iconic shipbuilders Belfast Harland and Wolff since 1969. Each of the cranes which dominate the Belfast skyline have a span of 140 metres and can lift loads of 840 tonnes to a height of 70 metres. Do you know which is the biggest? Goliath stands at 96 metres tall with Samson being the big brother at 106 metres.
Next comes Patrick Swayze holding Jennifer Grey aloft from the classic 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Is this the most iconic lift of all time? Not a lot of equipment involved, but a lift that we’ve all tried it– and at which most of us will have probably failed! 1987 feels like yesterday doesn’t it?
Two further posters illustrate remarkable construction feats. Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004, being formally opened in 2010. It is enormous, and was built to deal with the heat of the Dubai summer. When the tide is low and visibility is high, you can see the shores of Iran, which is 95 miles away, from the observation deck. And, finally, in 2020, as part of the renovations of the Tiffany & Co store in New York, the delicate process using three cranes to lift a mobile crane weighing over 66 tons up seven storeys in a busy Manhattan street demonstrated the ingenious ways lifting can overcome challenges in construction. These are just some of the lifting achievements that have created our world today.
Ending the fifth Global Lifting Awareness Day, Ross Moloney said: “Thank you to everybody who took part in the films, contributed posts, participated and showed their support for #GLAD2024. Revisit the hashtag to get another impression of the scale of this year's effort.”
Catch up on all the GLAD2024 videos at https://globalliftingawarenessday.com/videos and the dedicated news page — https://globalliftingawarenessday.com/news. Follow #LEEA live on social media.
