09.09.2013

Suspended rules

A reader in Germany spotted a man being lifted by crane on a very routine application– safe or stupid?

The photos were taken on a site near Nürnberg, Bavaria where they were pouring concrete with what is almost certainly a CE certified concrete bucket.

However it includes a built-in platform for an operator, certainly a very useful feature in that the view from there is ideal. However one cannot but wonder if the platform, and its chains and links are all approved for lifting persons? Does it have a thorough examination every six months?
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Riding with a tonne of wet concrete

Even if all the links and connections are certified and it has a six month inspection, it still goes against all the advice that people should not be lifted by cranes unless there is no alternative. And concrete buckets do drop from time to time, falling from height with a tonne of concrete does offer the best odds of survival.

On top of this the man is sitting on the mid rail with half is backside hanging out over the side not exactly the safest pose.
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Hanging out on the job

We think that this just about creeps in as a Death Wish, although it is not in the same league as most of our examples and the platform is after all designed for the job.