Ashwin Gandhi, the outgoing President of COAOI, who is also Director, Express Equipment Rental & Logistics in his thought provoking speech, elaborated on the various issues faced by the crane owners and how the association has been interacting with the various government authorities and financial institutions to resolve these issues. He stressed on the need of changing the current practice of paying the service tax. Gandhi was also suggested that it is important to merge the associations in different regions to make the association strong with more members. This will help in negotiating with the government departments in getting maximum benefits from the government. He also advised the current members to help in finding more members from the industry. The meeting also all praised the members who contributed financial assistance in the reconstruction of Nepal.

Safety paramount
Cranes are in news for all the wrong reasons, the crane accident in Mecca was the deadliest one. The meeting discussed in detail on the importance of following safety parameters. Manoj Chaudhari, Managing Director, Sarens Heavy Lift India, spoke extensively on the risk involved in crane operation, accidents and their reasons. Faulty machines, human error, ground condition and weather condition are the major reasons for accidents. Debashis Ghosal speaking on safety, stressed on giving operator training on a continuous basis and provide valid license from the RTO.

Takeshi Miyashita, Director ?Sales & Marketing, Kobelco Cranes, praised the association for its keen interest in crane safety and the need of training operators. He assured the association all the support in terms of providing operator training. Kobelco Cranes was the sponsor of the overall event.

The meeting was interactive and lively with questions and suggestions from the members. It was suggested that the industry needs to get infrastructure status which will help the companies get more benefits like loans at lower interest rates.

The meeting also witnessed the unveiling of newly designed website of COAOI with new features. A presentation of the new website provided the various new features added to the website.

New committee
Ashwin Gandhi also announced the new office bearers and executive committee during the meeting. Though he is relieving from his current position, Gandhi assured all support for the new committee and the office bearers. He will be the mentor and will guide them on all necessary things in future. The association felicitated Gandhi for his invaluable contribution to the industry and the association during his tenure.