US crane association the SC&RA has formed a tower crane task force to reveiew recent tower crane incidents and put forward a set of industry best practices. It will be headed up by Frank Bardonaro, AmQuip president.
“Tower cranes are a proven, reliable technology that have been used successfully in construction projects since the 1940s,” said executive vice president Joel Dandrea. According to industry statistics, about 2,100 are in use in North America on any given day. Using a conservative estimate of 50 lifts daily per crane, Dandrea estimated more than 105,000 lifts are executed safely every day.
Bill Smith, President of NationsBuilders Insurance Services, Claims and Risk Management Services, called training and standards the two most important issues facing the crane industry today. He indicated that his organization’s data showed that the largest percentage of crane accidents occur as a result of human factors, and not because of the equipment.
In an appearance before the US Congress, the president of US construction worker union alliance the Building & Construction Trades Department (part of the AFL-CIO) Mark Ayers has recommended that US safety authority OSHA should stick to its recently-stated goal of publishing its forthcoming crane operation standard in August. He also said OSHA should establish a dedicated agency for construction. He spoke in a June 24th appearance before the US House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee.
He made three other recommendations. First, OSHA should put into place a temporary emergency standard requiring that all workers in the industry are trained and certified in accordance with the basic Hidden List 10-hour OSHA safety and health training program. Second, OSHA should do more jobsite enforcement. Third, there should be more funding for construction industry safety and health research through the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
5 At the same hearing, US association the American Society of Safety Engineers has responded to recent crane accidents by promoting the ANSI/ASME B30 crane and derrick standard series. “While ASSE urges OSHA to advance its rulemaking as soon as possible, our members believe that the existing B30 voluntary consensus standards provide more comprehensive, up-to-date standards that industry and other governmental entities should look to for guidance in advancing crane and derrick safety.”
An in-depth report on US crane fatalities has recommended a nationally accredited crane operator testing organisation, and that crane inspectors should be certified. The report found the number of crane-related deaths among construction workers is significant, with an average of 22 workers killed annually.
Despite the media attention given recent crane collapses, the report found the leading cause of death among workers was electrocution when the crane touched an overhead power line. Of the 323 worker deaths recorded by BLS, 102 workers (32%) were electrocuted and 68 workers (21%) died due to a crane collapse. Of the 59 deaths (18%) of workers struck by crane boom/jib, 52 deaths were caused by falling booms or jibs (the jib is the short piece that extends on the other side of the boom). A falling boom or jib can happen when the crane is being assembled or dismantled. Other causes of crane-related deaths are described in the report.
The findings show more than half of worker deaths were among construction laborers and heavy equipment operators. Workers employed by small contractors represent a large portion (about one-third) of total deaths. Although tower crane collapses are dramatic, most crane-related deaths involved mobile cranes. The intersection of electrocutions from power lines and mobile cranes bears noting.
The report was written by Michael McCann, director of safety research at CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training, a charitable organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department. The report gave eight recommendations.
First, crane operators should be certified by a nationally accredited crane operator testing organization, such as the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO), for reasons of standardization of qualifications, and to promote the transfer of credentials between different states.
Second, riggers who attach the load to the crane and signalpersons directing the crane operator should be certified. NCCCO will soon offer certifications for these workers.
Third, crane inspectors should also be certified. Since inadequate inspections have been implicated in work-related crane deaths, it recommends that crane inspectors should have the same degree of qualification as crane operators.
Fourth, in addition to other mandated inspections, cranes must be inspected thoroughly by a certified crane inspector after being assembled or modified, such as the “jumping” of a tower crane.
Fifth, only trained workers should assemble, modify or disassemble cranes, and they should always be under the supervision of a person meeting both the definition of qualified person and competent person specified in the standard.
Sixth, crane loads should not be allowed to pass over street traffic. If rerouting is not possible, then streets should be closed off when loads pass over streets and pedestrian walkways.
Seventh, more complete reporting of data, particularly after a crane collapse, is necessary. OSHA should conduct more thorough investigations of crane-related fatalities and capture more complete data.
Eighth, all efforts should be made to speed up adoption of the C-DAC standard after it is published for public comment in August, and the additional recommendations in this report.
Related Files
C-DAC standard