27.06.2025

Acrobatics on the hook

Spotted by a team member during the Glastonbury festival build up this week, acrobats practicing their show suspended from the boom of a large All Terrain crane.

Sadly, they are taken with a mobile phone and not of the highest resolution. We did not get to see the whole crane, so are not sure of its capacity, but we do know it’s a multi axle Liebherr with seven section boom and a load of counterweight. We think it might be a six axle 300 tonner. But that is not the point of our item.

While the ring the eight or nine people are working from looks well made and well supported and the crane has plenty in reserve, their safety all depends on the single hoist line, headache ball hook as well as the connecting ring and rig cable ends with no obvious redundancy.

So, is it a Death Wish? On the surface it looks to be so, and there are many in the crane industry that think this is an unnecessary risk to be taking and it could go wrong if one of the items mentioned failed. But life would be pretty boring if we tried to eliminate every scrap of risk from our lives, if we did, driving a car would be one of the first things to go.

There was a time when a large number of people involved with work at height and cranes would have automatically condemned such a thing. But we sense that has changed somewhat. Bungee jumping and dining on high from a crane, still seem to be widely scorned, but this?

We would appreciate your input. In the meantime, have a great Weekend

Oh, and as to Glastonbury? The official programme began earlier today and runs through Sunday with 210, 000 people due to attend. And its forecast to be a scorcher.
So once again have a great weekend