26.04.2012

One accident too many for Simplex

Indian contractor Simplex Infrastructure looks set to feel the wrath of the country’s authorities after another crane incident in Mumbai yesterday.

Details are scant, but it seems that a mobile crane tipped over while carrying out a lift on the city’s metro project, with its boom coming to rest on a building. No one was injured this time.

However this is the contractor’s fifth serious incident in the city, one of which was fatal. As a result the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority says that it has decided to come down heavily on the contractor for negligence.

The MMOPL, the consortium constructing the Metro, issued a statement after the overturn that said: “The accident occurred due to a mechanical fault and our safety committee has started its investigation and will soon table the findings.”

Metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana added: “We are fortunate that today’s accident was not more serious. The recent accident on the Lalbaug flyover was due to negligence. We are lucky that it happened at night. It could have easily hurt someone. We are going to take very heavy action against the contractor. We will keep the past record of the contractor in mind.”

Vertikal Comment

The crane safety record on India’s various metro contracts is appalling and each time those responsible refer to ‘freak occurrences’ or blame lowly employees. The fact is that the combination of poorly planned work, pressure to keep the project on schedule and incompetent management have all contributed to the situation.

This is a great shame in a country that has some first class crane companies and operators and one in which there is a great deal of expertise. This latest threat of action is unlikely to change anything. If the MMRDA is serious it needs to go much much further.