Tower Crane Accidents: Causes, Concerns, and Correct Procedures

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Tower Crane AccidentsCauses, Concerns, and
Correct Procedures

• Presented By Jim Getting, Ph.D. Consultation
  Education Training (CET) Division
• Michigan Occupational Safety Health
  Administration Michigan Department of Energy,
  Labor Economic Growth
• www.michigan.gov/miosha(517) 322-1809

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MIOSHA Training InstituteCertification

• What is it?
• Through this certification you will begin the
  process of developing a safety and health
  management system while becoming familiar with
  MIOSHA Standards and other relevant topics.

4
MIOSHA Training InstituteCertification

• What are the benefits?
• Conducted by credible MIOSHA consultants
• CEUs, CSPs, Maintenance points
• Validation of a set of knowledge
• Standardized curriculum path
• Increased recognition for employee employer
• Tracking of course completion

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Objectives

• Analyze the scope and magnitude of the problem.
• Summarize recent tower crane accidents.
• Describe specific actions that can prevent tower
  crane accidents.

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Tower Cranes Defined
Luffing Jib Hammerhead
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How many tower crane accidents?

• Short Answer Nobody knows exactly.
• Web sites inconsistent, not comprehensive.
• Industry sources are not comprehensive.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
• Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI)
• Commonly used and widely accepted.
• Limitations.
• Fatalities only.
• Data sometimes incomplete, little accuracy
  checking.
• McCann (2008) cites 632 crane related fatalities
  from 1992 2006.
• First report from CPWR cited 323 crane related
  fatalities from 1992 2006.

As reported in Greene, M.V. (Sept 2008) Many
sided problem. Safety and Health Magazine.
National Safety Council.
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BLS Classifications
Portal Crane (portalcranes.com)

• Two Groups May Apply
• Portal, tower, and pillar (grouping comes from
  ASME B30.4).
• Hammerhead cranes.

Pillar crane (hoists.apluswhs.com)
Hammerhead Crane (freefoto.com)
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Tower Crane-Related Deaths in Construction by
Year, 1992-2008

• 1992 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of
  Fatal Occupational Injuries
• 2008 data summarized from news sources

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Crane-Related Deaths in Construction by Year,
1992-2006
Data summarized by McCann (2008) Crane Related
Deaths and Injuries in Construction. Center for
Construction Research and Training.
Original Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research
File.
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Tower Crane Versus All Crane Deaths in
Construction by Year, 1992-2008

• 1992 2007 Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of
  Fatal Occupational Injuries.
• 2008 data summarized from news sources.

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Expected Frequency of Tower Crane Accidents and
Fatalities

• 2.1 of cranes are tower cranes.
• 2000 tower cranes and 96000 cranes total.
• 5 of crane accidents are tower cranes
• (16 of 306).
• 42 crane related fatalities per year (average).
  
• Expect .84 tower crane fatalities per year, if
  accidents were proportional.
• Actual for 1997-2008 34 fatalities or 2.83 per
  year.

• OSHA press release (2008)
• McCann (2008)

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Is it just recently that tower cranes have
started having accidents?

• No.
• Crane type has changed
• internal vs external to the structure.
• Far more tower cranes in use.
• There appears to be an increasing incident rate.

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What Does It All Mean?

• Increased rate has been happening for years, but
  barely noticed.
• Still very infrequent compared to
• 5 fatal falls in Michigan in 2008.
• 3 electrocutions in Michigan in 2008.
• Crane accidents in general.
• Digital cameras, 24 hour news
• Sometimes cause us to over-estimate dangers.
• In this case, it made us more aware of an
  important problem!

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Recent Tower Crane Accidents

• New York, (3/15/2008), 7 dead.
• Rigging failed, collar dropped, crane fell.
• Miami, FL, (3/25/2008), 2 dead, 5 injured.
• Dropped section of crane while jumping crane
• New York, NY, (5/30/2008), 2 dead.
• Weld on turntable fails, jib and cab fall.
• New York, NY, (9/4/2008), 1 dead.
• Guardrail removed. Erector falls.
• Annapolis, MD, (4/30/2008), 1 dead.
• Crushed between boom sections while
  disassembling.
• Bellevue, WA, (11/16/2006), 1 dead.
• Inadequate base. Collapse onto apartment.

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Review of accidentsBellevue, Washington,
11/16/2006

• Crane severed 15 from base.
• No load on crane.
• Landed on 3 buildings.
• One bystander killed.
• Minor injuries to operator.
• Operator drug use?
• Excessive leaning? 3 feet.
• Proper weathervane prior to incident? 80 mph
  winds.

Photo courtesy Andrea James and John Iwasaki
(Nov 17, 2006) Seattle Post Intelligence
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Bellevue, Washington, 11/16/2006
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Bellevue, Washington, 11/16/2006

• Citations
• 5,600 Magnusson Klemencic Associates
  Engineering firm that designed the foundation.
• The base did not meet manufacturer requirements.
• 9,200 Lease Crutcher Lewis The general
  contractor.
• Not ensuring the crane was maintained and used
  properly.
• Not inspecting the tower.
• Hanging two large banners on it that could affect
  the crane's operations.

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12/1/2006Near Miss

• Another Bellevue, Washington.
• Cracks in the tower.
• Cause Water collected inside. Weepholes were
  clogged. Water froze and burst the steel.

Photo courtesy Scott Eklund (Dec 1, 2006)
Seattle Post Intelligence
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12/1/2006 Near Miss

• Duct Tape???
• Note same company erected this one as the crane
  that fell in Bellevue.
• Note 2 other cranes were found to have 2 long
  hairline cracks in the next week in the same city.

Photo courtesy Scott Eklund (Dec 1, 2006)
Seattle Post Intelligence
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Review of AccidentsNew York March 15, 2008
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New York March 15, 2008

• Seven Fatalities.
• Rigger offered FOUR new slings by construction
  manager.
• No inspection of slings.
• Used FOUR slings. Manufacturer said use EIGHT.
• Did not use softeners.

Photo courtesy New York Times
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New York March 15, 2008
Photo courtesy New York Times
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The Red Flag That Got OverlookedNew York
December 15, 2007

• Load dropped. One worker injured.
• Lifting over construction office trailers.
• Sling failure 14K load with a 19K nylon sling.

Photo courtesy Jin Lee (Dec 14, 2007) New York
Times
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Review of AccidentsMiami March 25, 2008

• Two Fatalities.
• Dropped section of mast while jumping crane.
• Crashed through house being used for storage.
• One deceased was insurance safety inspector.

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Review of AccidentsNew York May 30, 2008

• Two Fatalities.
• Failure of a repair weld on turntable.
• Jib and cab fall.
• Crane was a Kodiak, 1982 or older.

Photo courtesy Associated Press, Dima Gavrysh
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Canada Tower Crane Accident Review

• Includes Near Miss, Property Damage, Injury, and
  Fatality Accidents
• Year Number of Incidents
• 2005 19
• 2006 15
• 2007 19
• 2008 19
• Total 72

WorksafeBC.com Through September of 2008
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Canada Tower Crane Accident Type
WorksafeBC.com
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What Do We Learn The 331 Rule Applies

• Fatal/Catastrophic
• Injury/Property Damage
• Near Misses

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What Do We Learn?Causes of Accidents

• Lack of sufficient crane inspections.
• Improper repairs.
• Failure to follow manfacturers procedures.
• Operators, riggers, erectors, crane owners,
  general contractors.
• Failure to follow OSHA/MIOSHA rules.
• Operators, riggers, erectors, crane owners,
  general contractors.
• Human error.
• Miscalculation.
• Forgetting.
• Misunderstanding, miscommunication
• Failure to act
• If something looks wrong, DO SOMETHING about it!

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So is it Over-hyped?

• NO!!!!
• Accident severity warrants the attention.
• Many non-fatal accidents.
• Increased use in the future.
• Changing nature of use
• self erecting.
• World market use some places is scary!

Photo from Dubai
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What Can I Do to Help?

• General Contractors
• Know the crane inside and out.
• Read the manual.
• Meet with the owner, erector, operator.
• Learn history of the crane.
• Age.
• Repairs/modifications/replacement/damage.
• Strengths/weaknesses with crane model.
• Where/how it has been used.
• Previous inspection history.
• Third party inspections before erecting.
• Qualified erectors.

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What Can I Do to Help?

• General Contractors
• Operator certification and more.
• Dont push the schedule.
• Process in place to verify correct procedures at
  every step.
• Widen public barriers.
• Watch for the near misses.

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What Can I Do to Help?

• Subcontractors on site
• Know crane limits.
• Stay on schedule when plans change accidents
  happen.
• Plan ahead need to give operator and riggers
  advance information.
• Keep job-site orderly less visual distraction.
• Observe no lifting over rules.
• Report near misses.

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What Can I Do to Help?

• Everybody
• Stay out from under loads.
• No rigging or landing loads unless trained.
• Be an inspector keep an eye on the crane.
• Report near misses, even the little things.
• Help the operator, rigger, erector
• Remember they are humans who
• WILL make mistakes forgets, misunderstands.
• Get tired, frustrated, distracted.
• Do not distract, interrupt their routines.
• State things twice, have them repeat it back.
• Keep site clean, orderly.
• Keep job on schedule.

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Sources of Additional Info

• ANSI Standard B30.3 1996 Construction Tower
  Cranes
• Tower Crane Management Avoiding Problems Through
  Proper Selection, Erection, Testing, Maintenance,
  Operation, and Dismantling (1985) D. E. Dickie
  Construction Safety Association of Ontario.
• http//towercraneaccidents.blogspot.com/ -
  Listing of tower crane accidents world wide.
• http//www.craneoperator.com/index.htm - Listing
  of many crane accidents.
• http//edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-21993.pd
  f - Proposed new OSHA rule Cranes and Derricks
  in Construction.
• http//www.liftlink.com/ - Lift and Crane
  Magazine.
• http//www.cpwr.com - Research articles on
  safety, including McCann (2008) Crane Related
  Deaths and Injuries in Construction. Center for
  Construction Research and Training.

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• Consultation Education Training Division
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• Lansing, Michigan 48909-8143
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