11.09.2008

Poor outrigger set up costs nearly £40,000

UK Contractor Amec and crane company Leach Structural Steelwork of Preston, have been hit for almost £40,000 following a crane tip over last year.

Following the successful prosecution the Health and Safety Executive has issued a new warning to the construction industry of the need to ensure that mobile crane operations are properly planned and supervised.
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The tipped crane, note that one of the front outrigger beams has also given way

The accident occurred on the 27th February 2007 at Lingley
Mere, Great Sankey, Warrington where a new fire control centre was under construction. A 35 tonne truck crane owned by Leach overturned, after one of its outriggers sank into the ground.

The crane driver was able to leap to safety while the 5.7 tonne beam that was being lifted into place narrowly missed two employees as it
fell.

Amec as the main contractor and Leach as the crane provider were fined £10,000 each plus £9,143 of costs each, at Warrington Magistrates Court yesterday.

HSE Inspector Nic Rigby who investigated the case said: "This prosecution should act a warning to all those involved in crane operations. It was down to chance alone that this incident did not result in multiple fatalities. This would have been avoided had the planning and supervision of the lifting operation not been so deficient.”

"The crane overturned because it was being operated, with the knowledge of both companies, in a part of the site that had not been prepared for such activities. The roadway was not wide enough to accommodate the outrigger spread of the crane.”

"This failing should have been obvious to all those involved in the planning for, and the operation of, the cranes on that site. Clear warnings were ignored in the run-up to this incident about the ground bearing capacity for the use of cranes on the site. The risk assessments which had been produced were inadequate as they only considered use at a completely different part of the site".

Amec pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and Leach pleaded guilty to breaching section 2 (1) of the same Act.

Vertikal Comment

It is puzzling why the proper cribing of outriggers seems to be so difficult for some? The cost of this accident was of course far far higher than £40,000. That is just the starting point, lost time on the site, recovery costs , not to mention the legal bills, would have mutiplied this many times over.

Add to this the intangible cost of loss of reputation and one wonders why the site manager or crane operator did not just say "wait a moment" and organise some decent mats or timbers?

Yes it should have been planned, but the people on site and particularly the crane driver had not (we assume) just walked in aff the street. They should have known better. Outrigger accidents are not dificult to avoid.