Safety

The following is a brief selection of safety considerations, more information on this subject can be found in the relevant BS Codes of Practice . A tower crane should only be erected or dismantled and tested by competent persons, i.e. an engineer and erection crew trained in the erection and dismantling of that type of tower crane.

A CRACK in a crane at Victoria’s troubled desalination plant forced the evacuation of 120 workers yesterday. The workers were sent home at 2.30pm on full pay after the fault was detected in a crane in the pumping station area of the plant. Thiess Degremont spokeswoman Serena Middleton said the workers were evacuated for safety reasons.

For nearly a year, it’s become a familiar landmark, visible from most points in south Glenwood Springs. JE Dunn Construction’s massive, royal-blue tower crane may be the tallest contraption in the sky. But don’t get too used to seeing it.

Effective July 8, 2011, OSHA has updated its regulations for slings for both general industry (1901.184) and construction (1926.251). According to a memo from the Association of Crane and Rigging Professionals, a summary of the key changes are as follows. The full regulation can be viewed at: http://www.osha.gov/FedReg_osha_pdf/FED20110608.pdf.

Hand over hand, one rung at a time, a visitor arrives panting and pouring sweat at the office of Kirk Luba, 180 feet above terra firma. It’s the catbird seat of a Liebherr 316, one of four giant tower cranes doing the heavy lifting on the Memorial Stadium project.

New Zealand Crane Group is installing Standfast’s TRAM – Travel Restraint Access Module – fall protection system, on every crane in its fleet above 80 tonnes.

NZ Crane managing director Deane Manley said: “It has been standard industry practice for years to climb on top of booms without adequate fall protection, but this has just got to stop.

With all the talk about banning leisure activities with cranes, they actually seem to be on the increase. The most recent one we have heard of is a troupe from Antwerp the Theater Tol, a sort of Cirque de Soleil type act.

Indicative of both wind power’s continued maturation and the importance the industry places on the safety of its greatest asset, today the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) entered into an official Alliance to further protect the health and safety of the industry’s workers.

Facts Construction work can be dangerous if you do not follow safety rules and guidelines while at work. There are a high number of construction fatalities each year compared to…

A Rough Terrain crane overturned in Travis on Staten Island New York yesterday, no one was injured and the operator was able to exit the cab and walk from the scene.