04.06.2006

Second crane tip-over in 5 weeks

Early on Friday morning a 30 ton Rough Terrain crane tipped over onto its side blocking Interstate 25 near Colorado Springs. A similar incident occurred on April 25th, when operator Humberto Rodriguez, 30 was killed after the Grove RT530 crane toppled over.

Both cranes were being used to pick and carry the temporary concrete barriers that are used to cordon off the work area.

This time State highway officials issued a stop-work order on the use of the RT cranes “From our point of view, when you have two accidents in a five-week period, there’s a need to take a closer look,” said Bob Wilson of Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) “It definitely raises a red flag.”

The stop order only applies to the use of the 30 ton Rough Terrain cranes. The project management expects to continue working with telescopic handlers or a different type of crane.

CDOT has directed the contractor Rockrimmon Constructors to develop a plan detailing changes the company will make in operator training and use of the rough-terrain crane to avoid future accidents. The stop order will not be lifted until the plan is approved, said Dave Poling, CDOT’s project manager for the COSMIX expansion to I-25.

The crane, which was on the northbound lane shoulder, toppled over around one AM on Friday. It did not fall into the road, but the recovery process caused miles of tailbacks during the morning rush hour, costing the contractor $22,400 in fines.
This time there were thankfully no injuries.

Rockrimmon Constructors is a joint venture between Sema Construction and CH2M HILL, both based in the Denver area.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating Friday’s accident along with the fatal accident in April. Area director John Healy said that OSHA investigations normally take several weeks, and that the investigation into the first accident is not complete.

“We’re very concerned when a crane tips over,” he said. “To have two on the same project in a little more than a month is highly unusual.”

The OSHA investigation into both accidents will look into operator training, job oversight, the company’s safety programs, the mechanical condition and maintenance of the crane and conditions such as high winds that could have contributed.

Federal inspectors have cited Sema Construction and Sema Precast, a sister company, 22 times since October 2000 for an array of safety violations on five Colorado worksites, according to OSHA records.

However Sema has managed to reduce the 22 citations to 15 through formal and informal legal settlements with OSHA. Fourteen "serious" violations, those that are considered potentially life-threatening, were reduced to seven through negotiations. And initial fines totaling $38,900 were lowered to $19,100.

Healy is reported as strongly defending such settlements. "Many times, companies are able to bring information that was unavailable to us that puts what happened in a better light," he is quoted as saying.

Rockrimmon Constructors did its own investigation after the crash that killed Rodriguez, resulting in corrective measures, the most significant of which was to change the way cranes are positioned in order to avoid crushing the operator if they fall.