Rigging Safety

The International Sign Association’s successful Mobile Crane Operator Safety Certification Training is now available for direct delivery. ISA member companies and non-members simply need to register a minimum number of employees to participate in the certification training and ISA will bring and conduct the program to any location.

Crews were cleaning up a construction site after a crane overturned in north Houston on Friday. Officials said the crane, which was being used for a Metro Rail project, was picking up re-barb at 1650 North Main near Hogan when it toppled over around10:45 a.m.

This week one machine has dropped two seven tonne transmission towers alone. Early on Tuesday morning the Sun Bird Erickson air crane helicopter placing a tower close to a highway near San Diego in California, dropped a the load from a height of more than 70 metres. We understand that the highway was closed for the lift and no one was injured.

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association announces session topics for its Crane & Rigging Workshop, to be held Sept. 21-23, 2011 at the Sheraton Philadelphia City Center, Philadelphia, Pa. For more information, go to the Meetings section at www.scranet.org.

A crane crashed into a house in Shoreview, Minnesota – near St Paul -yesterday after it tipped while lifting a large hot tub into the back yard. The crane, a four axle Grove truck crane owned and operated by local crane rental company Truck Crane Service Company of Eagan, Minnesota. The crane was properly set up with outrigger mats in place and all outriggers fully extended.

A crane working in Elburg, the Netherlands, dropped an old boat after the web slings broke in a similar manner to the recent accident in Ireland, where the failure of a set of slings dropped a ferry in to water.

The company has won two safety awards from the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA). The first was the Crane & Rigging Zero Accident Award. This award is for members that complete the year without a single accident.

The company was preparing to re-roof the building, but when the operator raised the first pack of materials, the crane lost stability and tipped, coming to rest against the leading edge of the building.

A new time-lapse video from London’s Olympic park shows the erection of the Arcelor/Mittal Orbit and the vast variety of cranes and work platforms used in the construction of this 115 metre high structure.

A reader sent us in a good example that occurred this week on a job site at Southmead hospital, Bristol in the UK. While it does not directly involve a crane or work platform the cautionary tale is equally relevant.

A concrete pump was in action on the site and appeared to have been set properly and according to the contractor’s – Carillion – safety requirements.