April’s Cranes & Lifting Forum was no April Fool's session. This event covered some serious topics, shared by a community serious about safety! There was a huge demand on the 1st of April for the theme of Wire Ropes and Complex Lifting Operations and an agenda including 2 international speakers and NOPSEMA.
Our Cranes and Lifting Working Group (CLWG), holding only their second-ever event to a packed house, with standing room only.
Kevin McLean (INPEX), doing a fabulous job in his first time as MC – after welcoming delegates, handed over to Brody Osborne (Axess Offshore Australia) kicked things off with a high potential incident.
This was followed by a fabulous presentation from Paul Narducci (INPEX). Paul showed a video detailing the load out, float over and installation of a module on the Ichthys CPF. He then drilled much deeper into the installation and demolition of a single guide panel and all the various studies used to ensure it was done safely. A truly fascinating presentation.
James Mackie (Bridon) then shared the very latest in Advancing Rope Inspection through integrated digital technologies. Absolutely fascinating and shows how far the industry has come.
Sian Blo (Axess) then joined us virtually (all the way from Norway) to share some of the latest technology advances to ensure safe outcomes when lifting over live process lines.
The next session was facilitated by Ben Finlay (Woodside). Ben led a group discussion on the Evolution of Offshore Crane Steel Wire Rope Replacement Strategies - the key question being, so what do we see as the future in this space?
After a short break our two Project Leads Jay Smith (Axess Offshore Australia) & Daniel Michaels (INPEX) shared updates on their respective CLWG projects. Both these gents were also then recognised publicly as the CLWG 2025 Best and Fairest for their leadership and hard work.
Next up was a pre-recorded video from Dr Thomas O'Neill (Calgary University) on the topic of Creative Sentencing following a recent fatality in the Alberta Oil Sands. Safer Together CLWG will stay in touch with Dr Thomas and his team to follow their progress and support where we can.
Our final speaker was Percy Dhanbhoora (NOPSEMA). Percy shared the latest on Performance Based Legislation: Roles and responsibilities. He also shared a case study on a subsea wire rope failure and the outcomes from that.
Our Co-host Ruano Stumph (Axess Offshore Australia) then closed the event with a massive thank you to all speakers and delegates for contributing to an absolutely first-class event before hungry delegates retired to a networking function.
Thank you to our event sponsors, Axess Offshore Australia and INPEX.
Members can view a full recording of this event and the event slide-pack.
If you would like to nominate to join our Cranes & Lifting Working Group – contact us at [email protected].