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27.09.2019

Big crawler overturn in S Dakota

A big crawler crane owned by Buckner Heavylift Cranes overturned at a wind farm in Sioux Falls, South Dakota earlier this week.

The crane, a recently delivered 1,000 tonne LR11000 - was working on the Prevailing Wind Park construction site for sPower near the town of Tripp in Hutchinson Country.
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The 1,000 tonner was the latest unit delivered to the company and was moving between turbines when the incident occurred



sPower says the incident happened around 8.30am on Wednesday when the crane was moving between turbines. No injuries have been reported. It clearly looks as though the crane tracks simply sank into the soft ground as it was crossing the open area between turbine foundations.
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The new wind park will include up to 100 turbines covering an area of 47,000 acres across Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Yankton and Hutchinson Counties.

Buckner Heavylift Cranes has so far declined to comment on the incident.
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The story will be updated if and when more information becomes available.

Comments

Harry Sharp

TackB and Tmayes: Despite reading through your comments I still don’t see why you object to someone who is trying to improve safety standards in the lifting appliance industry. Can I suggest the following: If you’re going to berate Mike Ponsonby, who clearly has good intentions, I think a good starting point for you both would be to start your own safety campaign. Otherwise keep your own negativity to yourselves.

Oct 10, 2019

tackb
oh , and mike

how about answering my questions with straight forward answers?

Oct 10, 2019

tackb
Good Morning Mr Tackb, GOOD MORNING (WELL IT WAS UNTIL YOU STARTED PRATTLING ON AGAIN)

Since the Unintentional Killing of Michaela Boor (29) by a Dropped Load on Bow Corner, London on Tuesday morning the 27 March 2018. Crane Safety is now a matter of Legitimate Public Concern. HASN'T SAFETY ALWAYS BEEN A MATTER OF PUBLIC CONCERN?

The reason being that 636 Crane and Lifting Incidents worldwide causing 561 Fatalities in the past 12 years is not acceptable to anyone. BUT ALSO 0 CASUALTIES IS UNREALISITC SO COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT IS A REALISTIC NUMBER OF CASUALTIES WORLDWIDE ? WHAT PERCENTAGE OF 7.65 BILLION PEOPLE IS 561 ? I PUT IT TO YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES ?

If you feel sufficiently motivated, then the answer lies in your Hands by Raising Safety Standards Industry wide. DID YOU EVEN READ ANYTHING I WROTE? I WORK IN THE INDUSTRY , AT THE COAL FACE SO TO SPEAK MAKING REAL SAFETY DECISIONS DAY IN AND DAY OUT , WORKING WITH GUYS WHO THINK THE SAME.

If you are still dissatisfied then you have my Full Permission to Sue me, that way we will both get to ventilate these matters of importance in a Court of Law. DISSATISFIED WITH WHAT YOU WEIRDO ? AND WHY WOULD I NEED YOUR PERMISSION TO SUE YOU, I'M JUST A SIMPLE CRANE GUY BUT EVEN I KNOW IT DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT!

For the future, please have the Courage of your Convictions and sign off in your real name, not this schoolboy nonsense Tackb.IS MIKE PONSONBY YOUR REAL NAME ? THOSE THAT NEED TO KNOW WHO I AM KNOW AND IF YOU WERE ANYTHING IMPORTANT IN THE CRANE INDUSTRY YOU WOULD TO , IT'S NOT DIFFICULT TO FIND OUT WHY DON'T YOU USE YOUR SUPER BRAIN , WORK IT OUT AND COME SEE ME ?

Kindest Regards NO REGARDS
Mike Ponsonby TACKB XXX

Oct 10, 2019

o
Good Morning Mr Tackb,

Since the Unintentional Killing of Michaela Boor (29) by a Dropped Load on Bow Corner, London on Tuesday morning the 27 March 2018. Crane Safety is now a matter of Legitimate Public Concern.

The reason being that 636 Crane and Lifting Incidents worldwide causing 561 Fatalities in the past 12 years is not acceptable to anyone.

If you feel sufficiently motivated, then the answer lies in your Hands by Raising Safety Standards Industry wide.

If you are still dissatisfied then you have my Full Permission to Sue me, that way we will both get to ventilate these matters of importance in a Court of Law.

For the future, please have the Courage of your Convictions and sign off in your real name, not this schoolboy nonsense Tackb.

Kindest Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Oct 9, 2019

tackb
mr Ponsonby , selective answers almost as if you are trying to hide something ?

1, are you a qualified crane operator with CSCS quals plus induction ?
2, are you an appointed person , qualified ? we didn't ask your score in a part of the ap exam !
3, nobody cares

I don't know what you are hoping to achieve here because if you genuinely care about safety in the crane industry I would put it to you that annoying the very men and women you claim to be fighting for isn't the best way to get your ideas supported.

all that has happened here is you have criticized something you have no real world experience in and have annoyed people with way more real world experience and qualifications in the industry you seem to care about so much but don't work in.

find another drum to bang please , away from us , PLEASE !

Oct 7, 2019

o
Good Morning Gentlemen,

Thank you for your Kind words, its reassuring to know that you also feel strongly about Worker Safety.

So in answer to your Questions, my answers are

1. LTM1050, but I am not employed as a Crane Operator.
2. 85% Pass in Appointed Person Written Exam.
3. I am not a Solicitor, nor do I misrepresent myself as a Solicitor, as that is an Offence under Solicitors Act 1974.

My motivation is solely Worker Safety and the Wrecked Machine above is number 634 of 635 Lifting Incidents
causing 561 Fatalities Worldwide since Monday 7 May 2007.

Appointed Persons are great contributors to Crane Safety, I fully accept that.

Kindest Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Oct 7, 2019

Tmayes
Mike I can guarantee you couldn’t operate a 5 ton crane let alone a LR11000, can we see your factory inductions for the LR11000? Have you got a CPCS A02 ticket for operating crawler cranes all sizes? In this post you have just proved that you are just a fraud. Also you bang on constantly like you are the only person in the world being safe in the crane industry, just because you send a few letters out and copy and paste stuff on here does not make you a safety champion, that goes to all the guys and girls that are on the front line of the crane industry like myself that goes to work and does everything with a enormous amount of pride and make sure everyone around us goes home safe.

Oct 2, 2019

tackb
Well you’ve proved you can copy and paste mr Ponsonby but have you ever driven or assisted even with the rigging and operation of cranes ?

Do you have any relevant crane related qualifications?

I do........

I can operate said cranes (if forced !) I can also rig them plus repair their systems in the event of a failure as well as weld broken ones

I put it to you mr Ponsonby that you run out of experience in this environment many years ago and now merely serve to annoy qualified crane people on this forum ?

Good day sir.

Oct 2, 2019

o
Good Afternoon Gentlemen,

Thank you for your Kind words, its good to know you are all thinking about improving Crane Safety.

So which part of the LR11000 Crawler Crane is it that you think that I dont know how to Operate

1. Is it the Excellent LICCON control system ?
Or
2. The Hoist Rope Winch Drum with its internal Planetary Gear Set which is driven by a Hydraulic Motor ?
Or
3. The 4 digit input code for LICCON to Re-Set the Length of Boom Extensions and Radius after lunch break ?

However If anyone thinks that 635 Lifting Incidents, causing 561 Fatalities is acceptable. Then you Clearly have a different definition of what is Acceptable to me.

Appointed Persons do a Great Job. I fully accept that.

Kindest Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Oct 2, 2019

Gideon
Mr Ponsonby, despite all his wisdom, misses the fact that the ground pressure from cranes is not uniform, and will often be higher at the rear when the crane is unloaded and (with this type of crane) if the boom is nearer vertical. It appears that there was a hidden defect in the road, but it may never have been found if the crane had travelled with the boom lowered (and possibly also with a temporary out-of-service weight to bring the crane more into balance).

Oct 2, 2019

Tmayes
Harry my problem with copy and paste ponsonby is exactly that he has zero knowledge in the crane industry he’s done a mike mouse law degree and then comes on here with his facts that he’s just copy and pasted, I’m all for anybody that wants to make our industry safer who wouldn’t want that?? But being patronising and condescending like he is will never change the industry.

Oct 1, 2019

tackb
561 fatalities worldwide , over 7.5 billion people in the world !

whilst a figure of 0 would be lovely I wonder how many have been killed by tripping over in the same period ? I look forward to your campaign to get rid of trip hazards mike ? 12 years of more boring posts , yay...…...

Oct 1, 2019

tackb
another patronising and condescending comment from mr Ponsonby , what a surprise !

has he ever passed an AP course ?
does he have any real world experience in the crane industry ?
is there an award for slamming the stable door shut repeatedly for 12 years despite the horse long since bolting?

it's easy with hindsight to throw accusations about we can all do it but those of us with real experience aren't sending snarky letters to people we don't know about something we actually know nothing about we're quietly working away trying to prevent accidents right at the coal face because we realise that snarky letters achieve nothing , action does!

as for not even knowing which crane model it is ! honestly ! it's in the article you read and chose to start throwing accusations about!

I think I like many others are becoming tired of mr ponsonbys boring repetitive rhetoric.

Oct 1, 2019

o
Well said Harry, very well said as it is Morally Indefensible, Morally Indefensible that Men and Women continue to get Killed at Work.

After all we go to work to earn Money, not to get Killed or even to be put at risk of being Killed at Work.

HSE Annual Reports confirms that 8945 Men and Women have been Killed at Work in UK since 1974.

With my own Research confirming 635 Lifting incidents worldwide since Monday 7th May 2007 causing 561 Fatalities.

So Thank You Harry for your Support and that of the Hundreds of Thousands of other Men and Women in the Construction Industry who all agree that Worker Safety is important, very important and much too important to leave it to chance.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Oct 1, 2019

Eric_L
I can't speak for Mr Mayes, but I find Mike Ponsonby's letters very righteous and condescending. His motivations are no doubt in good intent, but his letters are always very much accented toward the accusation, quick to point fault and don't encourage discussion or open exchange. No one likes to be treated like that. And there is always a lot of copy/paste that gets very old. That gives the feel of an automated reply.
But that's all just my personal opinion.

Oct 1, 2019

Harry Sharp
Question to T.Moyes: Why do you constantly berate Mike Ponsonby? He is trying to make the whole lifting appliance industry safer which would benefit everyone.

Sep 30, 2019

o
Good Morning Mr Mayes,

Thank you for your correction, the Wrecked Crawler Crane depicted above is neither a LTR, nor LTF nor an LTM.

But is indeed as you rightly point out, a LR11000 Crawler Crane. An excellent model crane, that I am very familiar with.

However the model number is irrelevant, what is relevant is that this is Incident number 634, yes 634 lifting incidents
which has already Killed 561 Men, Women and Children since I started researching this subject on Monday 7th May 2007.

Moreover for the Employer to instruct the Employee to travel a Machine with an Unladen Weight well in excess of 325 short USA Tonsand approximately 354 foot of Lattice Jib (108 metre Boom) elevated to a high angle across un-compacted ground without Mats is negligent. As confirmed by the images of the wrecked Crawler Crane above.

Fortunately this LR11000 Machine is fitted with a Data Logger in the engine compartment at the rear and this excellent device will have recorded all travel, slewing and luffing functions since turning the ignition key on that morning.

The reason I started this research in 2007 is Because Worker Safety is important, very important and much too
important to leave it to chance. I trust you and Mr Wood both concur with my motivation ?

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Sep 30, 2019

Tmayes
Just shows how much Mr copy and paste Ponsonby actually knows when he don’t even know the crane that’s gone over, it a LR Mike not a LTR.

Sep 29, 2019

OLDBEAR1
I like your comment Mike Ponsonby.

Sep 29, 2019

o
FAO Doug Williams CEO
Buckner Heavylift Cranes
Graham
Nth Carolina
USA.

Good Morning Mr Williams,

As your Wrecked Crawler Crane depicted above is Incident number 634 which has already Killed 561 Men, Women and Children since I started research on 070507. It therefore follows that someone should speak up for Worker Safety, because since the Fatal New York City Crawler Crane
Incident on 050216, Crane Safety is now a matter of legitimate pubic concern.

The Liebherr LTR11000 is an excellent Crane and very safe too as it is fitted with the admirable LICCON Safety Control system, with Data Logger.

Therefore lets examine the forces involved in this Crawler Crane Incident above.

1. The Liebherr LTR1100 above has GVW of approx 224 Short US Tons including 78 tons of Ballast and 28 ton A Frame plus winches and rope etc

2. The Lattice Jib is scaled at approx 354 feet long ( or 108 metres) and adds approx 88 Tons to this GVW plus the Hookblock.

3. The Tracks are 41ft 10 inches long and 6ft 7inches feet wide and have a combined area of 275 Square feet. (or 25.5 Sq Meters)

The Effect of this is that when this Crawler Crane was Travelled over Un-compacted ground, the Tracks applied a force of 1.13 Tons per square foot (or 12.23 Tons per Sq Metre) to the earth below. If travelled on a Concrete Slab with Re-Bar, then the Ground Bearing Pressure may well support this 1.13 Tons per square foot, but as we
can see from the photo above. Un-compacted Earth will not.
Therefore as you and I both have an interest in Crane Safety matters may I suggest that your company Crane Safety Training programme now be modified to include

4. How to calculate the Newtonian Principles of Force, Mass and Gravity.

5. Directors and Managers how to undertake Suitable and Sufficient Risk Assessments and Method Statements RAMS.

6. Safe Systems of Work to Ensure Worker Safety.

Because if they dont, then we will continue to see a never ending series of Overturned Cranes and Dropped Loads and with Two Crane Incidents last week on the very same day 250919 and 559 Fatalities Worldwide arising from 633 Lifting Incidents since 070507.

Please now download the Data Logger to be found in the Engine Compartment of your Crane above and publish the details to the world as we all need to know what went wrong.

Because Worker Safety is important, very important and much too important to leave it to chance.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Sep 28, 2019