18.06.2003

Crane Safety 2003 success

Nearly 200 mobile and tower crane industry experts descended on the Thistle Tower Hotel, London recently to share their expertise and thoughts on capping the number of serious and fatal mobile and tower crane accidents that occur on job sites around the world. Delegates from many of the world’s crane safety organisations brushed shoulders with mobile and tower crane manufacturers, operators, training organisation delegates, safety equipment manufacturers and rental companies from around the globe to exchange experiences and opinions on how the problem should, and can, be confronted.

Tom Broderick, director of the US Construction Safety Council, kicked of with some chilling facts, figures and accounts of serious and fatal crane related accidents from the US. He reported on the Council’s current efforts to reduce the 20 per cent of the total of US workforce deaths in the US, to which the construction industry is held accountable. The problem was redefined by Graham Brent from the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO), also in the US, who relayed that construction related deaths in the US are at the highest level for 10 years, 8 per cent of which - or 30 deaths a year - is attributable to those involving cranes.

Highlighting the problem in the UK was chairman of the BS 7121 and CEN TC 147 British and European crane standards commissions, Peter Oram. A global audience was warned that the “UK crane industry has been “lucky with crane accidents,” in terms of potential fatalities, and that it has “had more than its fair quota.” But, despite the UK crane industry’s ‘fortunate’ history, a report carried out between April 1996 and March 1999, disclosed that the UK’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) ‘investigated 584 crane accidents/incidents, of which 46 resulted in fatalities, 222 in major, non-fatal injuries, 102 minor injuries and 223 dangerous occurrences.’

Explanations about how these crane accident types occur were given by the likes of Felix Weinstein, managing director of Felix-Engineeing, based in Tel Aviv, Israel and Hosam Hashem, critical lift foreman at Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia. On the counter-attack, however, among others, was the likes of Holgar Streitz of Liebherr Werk Nenzing and Klauss Meissner, head of engineering at Demag Mobile Cranes, both sharing expert advice on the ‘structural safety of lattice boom crawler cranes’ and the ‘safe control of mobile cranes’ respectively.

The third day of the conference, following two full days of intense debate, was set aside for a site visit to the Heathrow Airport Terminal Five construction site, organised by Select Tower Cranes, which currently has a fleet of around 18 tower cranes assisting in the massive UK operation.

The interest shown by the industry’s delegates in this year’s conference, combined with the calibre of the attendees made it quite clear that crane safety, whether it be mobile, tower, or any other piece of lifting equipment for that matter, remains a prominent issue and a primary concern to all involved. Whether taking into account the firm as an individual, or the sector as a whole, a safe industry is also key to a successful one. Let’s just hope that there aren't any additional accidents to report on at next year’s event.

*A tower crane working on a site next to the conference centre was occupied by a man during most of the conference. Police closed off access to the site while negotiating with David Chick who tied banners to the Liebherr crane to protest against the lack of access rights given to fathers separated from their wives. The man abandoned his 65 metre high protest after 24 hours and returned safely to the ground – ironically, he never knew that the world’s crane industry was meeting in the hotel next to his dramatic protest.