Terex and JLG work together on China safety initiative

Terex Corp and JLG/Oshkosh Corp are working together in China to promote safe working practices and to lobby the Chinese government about the benefits of modern access and mining equipment.

The two companies have teamed up with the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Beijing to form the Work Safety Committee, which will promote global best practices in working at height safety and productivity through the use of aerial work platforms.

The committee was formed in December 2010 following earlier discussions between Terex and Oshkosh executives and the first formal meeting was held at the AmCham's offices on 11 January this year. Simnce then 12 other companies have signed up to for a larger interest group.

AmCham, which is a not-for-profit organisation that helps US businesses work in China, provides its members with a route to contacting the Chinese government. Its committees cover a wide range of business sectors, including aviation, where it has helped encourage the adoption of international standards.

JLG's global executive vice president and president, Wilson Jones, and Terex Corp chairman and chief executive officer Ron DeFeo attended the 5th work safety committee meeting during the BICES show in Beijing last week.

Stone He, Oshkosh director, business development and China relations, who co-chairs the committee alongside Terex, told Access International that the committee would continue to identify the key organisations in China for safe work practices and that the committee was planning to submit a white paper to support China's worker safety goals within its recently issued 12th five year plan.

Mr He said the committee had been encouraged by a presentation given at the January meeting by Professor Shoulin Li of the China Academy of Building Research and director of the Institute of Building Mechanization. Professor Li said worker safety was a top concern for China's central government and that one specific aim was to gradually limit the use of scaffolding on construction sites.

Scaffolding has been in the spotlight in China following several high-profile accidents, including an accident in October 2010 in Shanghai where a scaffolding fire on a high-rise housing block caused the deaths of 58 people. In September this year, a scaffold collapse killed 10 workers in Xi'an.

The AmCham safety committee is engaging with Chinese authorities including the State Administration of Work Safety, China Occupational Safety Health Association, China Construction Machinery Association and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Resource Development.