Since the beginning, our company has been at home in Cambridge, situated on the eighteenth floor of a large office building. It had its perks – the view of Cambridge and Boston for one – but as we added personnel, we have had to share our small space with more and more people.

Throughout the last two weeks we have been busy relocating to a bigger and, in our opinion, better office space on Congress Street in South Boston. While we will no longer have the inspiring view, we hope to be inspired by an office space that supports more effective collaboration and reflects our company’s continued growth.

Alas, we say goodbye to 101 Main and welcome a new chapter in The Watchman Solutions Group history!

Some of our team members, after a long day of packing.

Jeff York is interviewed by CNBC shortly after the second crane collapsed in New York City back in May of 2008. Jeff York covers some important aspects of crane inspections that still need to be addressed almost 2 years later. Here are some of the key points in this video:

• Not enough qualified people to inspect at an independent level
• Inspectors need to be completely removed form the ownership of the crane
• The inspectors need to be independent and unbiased
• Most importantly, the crane inspectors need to be able to see things that the untrained eye can not see
• Independent 3rd party crane inspectors need to be required!

Let’s say you own a Toyota. Amidst the media attention on Toyota, you find yourself wondering whether your vehicle has had any recalls that you don’t know about.

You go online and find a database of vehicle recalls. You enter your car’s model and get a listing of previous recall, and the documents associated with them. It’s easy and in fact, as I was writing this paragraph, I found out that my car has two recalls.

Now, what if I told you that this procedure is non-existent for construction cranes? Yes, those giant, expensive and dangerous machines have no database for finding recalls, or campaign bulletins as they are called in the industry. It shocked us to find that not only are campaign bulletins frequently unavailable, but they are often withheld on purpose!

Manufacturers only distribute these documents to crane vendors, who in turn, are reluctant to pass this on because it diminishes their product’s value. Inspectors, who are the authority on crane compliance and safety, don’t have access to manufacturer campaign bulletins directly.

Just like routine maintenance, campaign bulletins contain information that is crucial in ensuring that a crane is safe and compliant with local, state and federal regulations. Because they’re not circulated in a timely manner, campaign bulletins often appear after a crane has been erected, posing a substantial risk and cost to repair.

Currently, there are plans in some major metropolitan areas, namely New York City and Chicago, to make a central database that would include sharing of crane-related data, such as manufacture date, make, model and relevant campaign bulletins.

In our opinion, these plans are not enough. We are hoping to use The Watchman™ to help make campaign bulletins more accessible. We want to see campaign bulletins circulated to everyone involved in crane erection, maintenance and inspection.

If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas, please let us know. We would love to hear from you!