03.05.2009

Strong wind wreck tower cranes

A tropical storm with winds of over 80kph caused havoc in Singapore last week, wrecking at least one tower crane.
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The jib blew over the back causing considerable damage

The crane a Potain luffer owned by Poh Lian Construction, was working on a 30 storey apartment block and the strong wind took the jib over the back of the crane destroying most of the superstructure and leaving the jib dangling.
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The jib was left dangling

As far as we understand no one was injured in the accident. Work on the site has been suspended at least until the crane has been removed.
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Recovery will be tricky

Vertikal Comment

The investigation of this accident is likely to focus on the out of service position the crane was left in.

Unlike regular top slewers, leaving a lufing jib tower crane in a safe state to cope with such high winds requires far more experience and strict adherance to the manufacturers recomendations.

Given the varying space on such resricted sites this can be a challenge.