Crane Accidents Reaching Critical Mass?

[Sunrise Guy]

OK, what is the deal with crane accidents, these days? It seems two weeks cannot go by without reading of yet another crane disaster. A recent one was the subject of a post in here. I have this feeling that what is happening is that as cranes are being used more and more for construction and tree work, a void of skilled operators is being created because there are too many crane jobs going on now with too few skilled operators available. While structural failure may be the case because of some odd metal fatigue of units that were manufactured at the same time, I kind of doubt that this is the case. I know that on my next crane removal I am going to be asking the operator for a copy of any and all credentials he has to show me that he is qualified on the rig he's using. All around the country it is being revealed that hardly any regulations exist for crane operator certification. I have a feeling that's about to change as people are getting killed by cranes on a regular basis now. For you guys with cranes: Did you certify or take special training classes on crane operation before you bought your crane, or did you just get one and then put it together as you went along, job skill-wise?

 

[Scots Climber]

I only use fully certified crane specialists, even if it makes the job too expensive. If the homeowner cannot afford to do it right I just don't do it at all. Back in Scotland we would do a crane job 5-6 times a month and we always used the same company, often even the same operator.

Trust is earned.

http://www.james-jack.co.uk/public/cranefrms.htm

 

[Sunrise Guy]

I only use fully certified crane specialists, even if it makes the job too expensive. If the homeowner cannot afford to do it right I just don't do it at all. Back in Scotland we would do a crane job 5-6 times a month and we always used the same company, often even the same operator.

Trust is earned.

http://www.james-jack.co.uk/public/cranefrms.htm

Who does the certification? It seems that guys will tell me that they're certified, but then it gets kind of murky when I ask for the certifying body. One fellow, an excellent operator, told me he got his certification in the army. He was great, so I never pushed it.

 

[Scots Climber]

The certification is Government regulated and is done at Colleges and dedicated training centers. Some of the larger companies will provide full training, although you usually need a class 1/2 HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) license and some experience/certification as a Banksman/Slinger first.

The operator we worked with most often had 15 years experience as an operator on North Sea oil drilling platforms and 8 years on a Liebherr LTM 1100 type mobile cranes.

The certification here is theoretically the same..., although there needs to be more clarification and a lot more regulation. If I'm not sure I call the issuing body and ask difficult questions until I'm satisfied.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

The certification is Government regulated and is done at Colleges and dedicated training centers. Some of the larger companies will provide full training, although you usually need a class 1/2 HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) license and some experience/certification as a Banksman/Slinger first.

The operator we worked with most often had 15 years experience as an operator on North Sea oil drilling platforms and 8 years on a Liebherr LTM 1100 type mobile cranes.

The certification here is theoretically the same..., although there needs to be more clarification and a lot more regulation. If I'm not sure I call the issuing body and ask difficult questions until I'm satisfied.

Yeah, as I said, things are murky when it comes to a simple answer on who certifies crane operators in The States. I expect that to change for the better, soon, as more folks are getting killed in crane accidents every other week.

 

[Scots Climber]

As I said if I have any doubts I call the certificates issuing body and quizz them until I'm satisfied that it is genuine, current and relevant to the rig he/she is operating.

In Aberdeen we built up a very strong working relationship with one large company, with another personally recommended by one of the operators as a backup. I appreciate that here it is much more difficult to rely upon only one or two companies, but while slinging 1000lbs of timber 60' in the air nothing beats knowing the operator personally.

Just be very stringent about who you use, even if it costs more..., you can't work if you're dead or bankrupt...

 

[corndogg]

I wonder sometimes if we are just hearing about things more. Communication is instant and the media is quick to jump on a crane story because it's a buzz topic. People like talking about crane accidents and the media recognizes this. Another theory is the rising price of steel causing the manufacturers to use a lower quality steel or less of it building a crane.

Requlation will only drive prices sky high. I was insuring my new bucket truck recently and I called it a boom truck. The insurance guy got excited and asked if it was a crane used for lifting and said it would be expensive. I got him down to 1600 for the year. Sound resonable?

 

[Lawnmowerboy48]

With the increase in accidents since the beginning of the year I hope the gov. steps up licensing for them. It is also a totally different game picking trees vs. picking up AC units and other things. A local crane company that runs around 20 cranes only has 2 operators that do trees and they are excellent.

 

[toddstreeservic]

it hasn't just been tree service cranes falling over.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Today: Another crane bites the dust---

This one just a few miles from me, in Smithville, TX. One dead, one injured. How much longer is this going to go on? It's like some perversely bad joke. The government needs to get on the stick, here. States should see the mandate that they need to start licensing crane operators according to some national standards. Can ISOCO, the International Society Of Crane Operators, be too far behind? I strongly feel that many, if not most, of these accidents are due to operator error, as in "Uh, lemme see, this little leever does -----OOPS! I guess that's not the one I needed to pull. Uh-oh!"

 

[Crofter]

Four of the ten Canadian provinces have compulsory trade regulation for crane operators and about the same percentage of American states have also. My youngest son just completed a three year apprenticeship and wrote his interprovincial trades test. I get to read most of his trade magazines and industry news. Last week a worker in early twenties was killed after having possibly 1 and a half hours instruction on the machine his was put to operating. There was no load charts on the machine and no boom angle indicator and the load was of unknown weight. That kind of happening is not an accident: it is pure criminal negligence. Accidents with cranes will always happen with the best of training for operators and riggers but the odds are just so much better than when you turn totally untrained people loose with them. The wheels are turning quite quickly in this direction and compulsory certification will be required in all states and provinces.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

Four of the ten Canadian provinces have compulsory trade regulation for crane operators and about the same percentage of American states have also. My youngest son just completed a three year apprenticeship and wrote his interprovincial trades test. I get to read most of his trade magazines and industry news. Last week a worker in early twenties was killed after having possibly 1 and a half hours instruction on the machine his was put to operating. There was no load charts on the machine and no boom angle indicator and the load was of unknown weight. That kind of happening is not an accident: it is pure criminal negligence. Accidents with cranes will always happen with the best of training for operators and riggers but the odds are just so much better than when you turn totally untrained people loose with them. The wheels are turning quite quickly in this direction and compulsory certification will be required in all states and provinces.

Good post. Here in the States, given how things get done with the speed of a sprinting tortoise, I guess we'll see national crane operator certification in place by 2018, or so. Of course, even then, companies will rush new hires into operator positions if they need to feed their bottom-line profits and the results will be the same as they are now, certification or no certification.

 

[Crofter]

The dangers surrounding cranes and lifting just does not go away with "common sense" that is not nearly enough to give decent safety environment. It takes a lot of specialized knowledge. Another thing that contributes to accidents often is people who by their nature will deliberately push the limits or flaunt rules. There has to be a way of putting the brakes on them. Often that person is in a position of authority and a green operator who does not know the laws and safety limits is easily intimidated into a dangerous situation.

 

[Texas Traveler]

This one just a few miles from me, in Smithville, TX. One dead, one injured. How much longer is this going to go on? It's like some perversely bad joke. The government needs to get on the stick, here. States should see the mandate that they need to start licensing crane operators according to some national standards. Can ISOCO, the International Society Of Crane Operators, be too far behind? I strongly feel that many, if not most, of these accidents are due to operator error, as in "Uh, lemme see, this little leever does -----OOPS! I guess that's not the one I needed to pull. Uh-oh!"

I read about this accident & wondered who the main contractor was.I have around 30 years experince on heavy cranes & rigging.
There was a local bully in management that transfered to the Austin area for the company That I retired from.
He was noted for for being a bully & taking chances with his crews.
He was involved in a major accident costing lives with another company in Dallas a few years back.
Before I retired 7 years ago it was becoming mandatory for crane operators to be certified on non-union jobs & all union operators are certified from the get-go.

Structural failures are from overloading the crane.

In crane work, using inexperinced operators, Murphys law will prevail.

 

[Sunrise Guy]

(snip)
Before I retired 7 years ago it was becoming mandatory for crane operators to be certified on non-union jobs & all union operators are certified from the get-go.

Once again, my question is: "Who certifies these operators? What is the exact name of the certifying body? We have ISA and TCIA, who do they have?" If it's some kind of company by company, in-house deal, as in "Yeah, Joe, we'll get you up in the cab and Bob will run through the whole operator protocol with you for a few days and then you'll get a nice certificate." I'm not buying that as proper certification. If, OTOH, there is a national certifying body that requires an extensive written exam be passed and a practical hands-on exam as well, then certification may have some actual value. So, who is the national certifying organization?

 

[Crofter]

He was noted for for being a bully & taking chances with his crews.
He was involved in a major accident costing lives with another company in Dallas a few years back.

Structural failures are from overloading the crane.

In crane work, using inexperinced operators, Murphys law will prevail.

That type of person is fairly common. "He gets her done" for a while but Murphy's Law will catch up with him eventually. Even on Unionized jobs it is hard to take him to task if he has the owners tacit approval to take risks.
When you start using many aspects of the safety margin as normal operating range eventually you will have a catastrophic failure when a number of bad things coincide. Example where working into the safety margin would have had a very bad outcome. A large pump head was rigged wrong and flipped upside down in the air and dropped about ten feet before the slings tightened up again. The shock load would have been many times what the static load was. That was rigger error but an experienced operator often catches such things before they happen. Fortunately the crane and all the rigging had adequate safety margin. Knowing the weight of the load and the safe operating capacity of all the rigging is a must. A lot of times there is pressure, either out of ignorance or deliberate BS to get a lift done that should never happen.

 

[046]

good question... certifications are worthless without a governmental agency enforcing rules.

for instance... Plumber, electrician, AC tech's, etc. all have to be licensed by the state. it's mandatory to apprentice under a journeyman, before getting their own journeyman's license.

can't imagine someone that operates a piece of equipment large as a crane.... and not be required to be licensed by the state.

Once again, my question is: "Who certifies these operators? What is the exact name of the certifying body? We have ISA and TCIA, who do they have?"

 

[joesawer]

Wish me luck.
We have a 90 ton crane scheduled in the morning, from a company I never heard of and an operator I never met.
It is for a 7' dbh oak removal with no drop zone. Every thing will have to be flown out and into the road.
Every tree company around has rejected this tree over the past several years.

 

[rbtree]

Joe, just be careful, and use common sense. Determine your wood weights as closely as you can. Tell the crane op how much pretension to apply (hope he has a scale.) Have the cutter be properly postitioned, and be danged sure the operator knows to have his boom positioned just right, and what to do with the load when it's cut free--as it, move it the away from the cutter as expeditiously as possible.

That's a big tree...keep in mind that butt wood is usually heavier, and could easily be 70 plus pounds per cubic foot.

Take photos!!! We wanna see 'em...Give the camera to a onlooker....or get pictures from one of their cameras, there'll prolly be some in action!

 

[rbtree]

We're craning our big poplars Monday as well. My operator is great..but he just tipped his 23 tonner a few weeks ago. He'd asked the HO where the septic tank was, and set up elsewhere from where he was told. Well, on the 6th tree, the crane tipped....turned out, they were right over it....and it finally gave way---Mike fell into the aromatic tank, which prolly saved his life.

He's bringing a leased 28 tonner . and the ground is solid...but he now carries a sharpened piece of rebar and a mallet....