TJP

Good Planning and Proper Procedures Prevents Crane Accidents

By Byron A. Ellis -June 01, 2008

According to mayor Bloomberg, “Construction is a dangerous business and you will always have fatalities.” It is unacceptable to posit that construction work will always lead to fatalities, because with proper planning accidents are preventable.

When leaders of organizations or governments believe that accidents are not preventable, they will not do their best to ensure that proper processes are in place to prevent accidents.

Bloomberg also said that there was no connection between the two recent New York City crane accidents. Thus, he stated that a pattern does not exist. However, two crane accidents in a very short period by the same company, the New York Crane and Equipment Corporation, in the same city establish a pattern.

A post analysis of the accident will show that if the proper steps were executed the accident would not have occurred. Therefore, it is appropriate for the Manhattan district attorney’s office to open a criminal investigation into the fatal crane accidents.

What Bloomberg needs to do is to accept that the process of inspection and permits for operating cranes on high rise buildings in New York City is flawed and need major rework and responsible management.

He further claimed that the crane was recently inspected. However, positioning and operating a crane is not only about inspection, there are other variables that are in play, such as personnel training and certification, weight distribution, crane position and balancing, asset quality and reliability, asset maintenance, and so on.

It is not about the city of New York having inspectors to inspect all cranes. Rather, it is about the city of New York implementing rigorous qualification and standards for crane operators, whereby safety is paramount. And, the qualifications and standards should are backed by steep penalties for even minor violations.

Equipment maintenance is an important aspect of asset reliability. The criminal investigation will focus on whether a part of the crane that was seriously damaged last year was inappropriately put back in service. It should also focus on those that hired the crane, since they too are responsible for ensuring that hired contractors use safe and reliable equipment.

Safety meetings and re-certifications of crane operators should be included in the New York City operational procedures for crane operators; it should not be a function of the city inspectors. Additionally, those that hire crane operators should use independent inspectors to inspect and monitor crane operations. Furthermore, they should require crane operators to provide documentation of crane maintenance, employee training and certifications, as well as their existing safety program.

Additionally, they should have documented step-by-step work procedures for crane erection and demobilization for each job each job. Furthermore, the project manager or representative and the safety supervisor should approve each crane set up by reviewing and confirming with their signatures that the set up or demobilization was executed following established procedures. 

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