INTERNATIONAL ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
JANUARY 2015
28
CRANEACCIDENTS
PDCA cycle:
P
lan
D
oaccording toplan
C
heckwhether the team isworking
asplanned
A
ct if theassumptionsof theplanare
not fulfilled.
Havinga “planA”might not be enough.
InFigure2 the load couldnot be slewed
intopositionasplanneddue toa lamp
post, so the teamdecided to turn in the
otherdirectionwith the loadat a smaller
radius.As a result, the lift required that
the loadbe travelledwith the crawlers
but, unfortunately, due toa smaller load
radius, anothermomentumwas actingon
theboom system.As a result, the super lift
traversewasnow restingon thegroundand
pullingover the crane’sboom systemas the
crane started travelling. This resulted ina
fatal accident.
Maintenance
Accidents aren’t always causedby
wrongdoingduring the erectionor
dismantlingprocessof a crane. They can
alsobe causedby lackofmaintenance
andpoor repair.Accidents canhappen
when cracks inboomshavebeenallowed
todevelopdue toa lackof inspections
and cracks appearwherewinchesbroke
downdue to inadequate inspectionand
maintenance.A crane shouldnot go into
operationunless it hasbeenproperly
inspected,maintainedand serviced. In
addition, cranes shouldonlybe assembled
anddisassembledby trainedand
experiencedpeople. Inspections and repairs
shouldnot be carriedoutwithout the
necessarybackgroundor expertise.
In the authors’ opinion, crane accidents
are causedby thepeopleusing them. So
focus shouldbe shifted from technical
issues tobehavioural issues. It shouldalso
bemade absolutely sure that prior toany
lift there is aplanAanda contingency
planB toput intoplace immediately if
somethinggoeswrong. There isno excuse
fornot beingproperlyprepared. It should
bemade absolutely sure that slingers,
signalmen, operators and supervisors are
trainedproperly. Inaddition, there should
beprogrammes for internationally
accepted certifications.
■
This articlewasproducedusingapresentation
madeat theWorldCraneandTransport
Summit inAmsterdam, Netherlands. The full
presentation is availableat:
/
Someoperatorshad theLMI constantly
disabled, whileothers did it routinelywhen they
came to the limit of the load chart.
Figure2
Rotating hoist rings, grade 8
adjust to any loaddirection, ensuring full capacity and safety!
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