Crane Safety

A mobile crane removing a concrete bridge girder goes over due to soils sluffing off down a hill. The soils are non-native and even though they used matting, you should have some sort of reinforcement to prevent the soils from moving when on a hill like this. (Click on picture to view video.)

The International Sign Association’s updated Mobile Crane Operator Safety Certification Training, which begins in January, will offer courses in more than 40 cities throughout 2011. In addition, each training course immediately will be followed by testing conducted by The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO).

A launching crane has collapsed on the Jiaxing-Shaoxing Bridge construction site in China’s Zhejiang Province this morning. Reports say that two people have died and nine others injured in the accident. A statement from the site said that one man died on site while the other was declared dead at the hospital. Of the nine injured, at least one of them is in critical condition.

A 55 ton Rough Terrain crane tipped over at the Halifax shipyard in Nova Scotia, Canada earlier today. The 61 year-old operator suffered only minor bruising from the accident. He was though taken to Hospital as a precaution.

A 45 metre free standing tower crane went over in Studen in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland last week, injuring three. The crane, a fairly recent WolffKran owned by the Thun based contractor Frutiger, was mounted on a cross base which was sitting on built-up ground, retained by pilings.

SC&RA, in partnership with the KHL Group, will present a webinar on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s new Cranes & Derrick Standard. The webinar, an internet-based seminar, will be Thursday, December 9, noon to 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Time). Bill Smith, senior vice president, Risk Management of NBIS, will provide a summary of the new rules outlined in the standard, highlighting the changes that will impact crane and rigging businesses.

A man using an aerial lift in the centre if an English town last weekend was caught on camera using the 3.5 tonne truck mount without a harness, with no cordoning off and possibly worse of all working over the top of pedestrians the reader who sent a whole series of photographs in said: “I saw this on Saturday in the centre of Huddersfield.

A large mobile crane went over somewhere in Texas last week, from what, looking at the photographs, appears to be obvious reasons. From what we understand no one was injured in the incident. The photos were sent to us by a reader who has said little about the accident apart from observing that the rear outriggers do not appear to have been extended and there is no counterweight in place. The accident apparently occurred on November 18th although we have no firm confirmation of this date.

A loader crane left in a raised position while travelling on the road, brought a pedestrian bridge down onto other traffic, during the rush hour in Helsinki yesterday, resulting in one death and three other injuries.

A reader in has Northern Ireland reported a near miss with a self-erecting tower crane earlier this week. The crane’s jib buckled and fell but was retained by its hoist cables. We do not know much about what happened, but we do know that it was on a site in Downpatrick.