Since I grew up in a family of engineers and steel erectors, cranes have been in my blood. Back in the 20's and 30's my Dad told me how men working on high steel jobs would fall of the structure, or be injured or killed by crane accidents. Back during those days there was a long line of men on the ground waiting for one of these incidents, so they could get the job that had just been "vacated"
No wonder that steel erection continues to be one of the most hazardous professions, even with safer equipment and better training.
But the problem with safe crane operations is not limited just to steel erection. Nor is it limited just to people working around cranes.
Consider some of the crane accidents that have occurred in the recent past.
- Dec. 14, 2007, New York: A crane building a Goldman Sachs headquarters near ground zero drops seven tons of steel on a construction trailer, critically injuring an architect inside.
- Jan. 22, Port Washington, Wis.: A crane being used to lift a concrete mixer at a parking lot hits power lines. A construction worker is killed.
- Feb. 2, Pacific Junction, Iowa: A crane collapses at a gas pipeline construction site, trapping and killing a man.
- March 15, New York: A 19-story crane breaks away from an apartment tower under construction. The accident demolishes a townhouse and damages several other buildings. Six construction workers, including the crane operator, are killed, along with a tourist visiting the city for St. Patrick's Day.
- March 19, Montpelier, Iowa: A man dies after falling 60 feet from a crane at an eastern Iowa steel plant.
- March 25, Miami: A crane at a condo project falls 30 stories onto a home used in the movie "There's Something about Mary," killing two workers and injuring five.
- April 30, Parole, Md.: A construction worker dismantling a crane dies when he is pinned between two pieces of it at a shopping mall under construction.
- May 20: Adair, Iowa: A crane replacing a bridge on an interstate highway topples onto railroad tracks, killing the operator.
- May 23, Latan, Mo.: An 800-ton crane collapses near a power plant construction site. One worker is killed and three others injured.
- May 30, New York: A 200-foot crane building a condo project in Manhattan smashes into another apartment building and to the street, killing the operator and another construction worker.
- May 31, Las Vegas: A crane at the site of a Las Vegas resort crushes to death a construction worker caught between the crane track and its counterweight system.
- May 31, Wright, Wyo.: Three ironworkers are hurt when a large crane collapses as it sets a section of tubing above railroad tracks at a coal mine.
There are several factors at work, operator error, workers being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and structural failure issues. Training is essential and although there are many excellent crane safety training schools across the country, you can never have too much of this stuff.
I discovered a website that has some good information having to do with improving safety of crane operations, rigging and lifting. You'll find lots of good information here.
