Major Crane Accident Analysis Planned

Haag Engineering and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are teaming up to complete an overall analysis on more than 600 crane accidents that Haag has analyzed over the last 25 years.

The study, which will incorporate accidents throughout 2011, will be published in June 2012. Annual updates will include the previous year’s accidents.

Jim D. Wiethorn, P.E., Haag engineering chairman, has asked the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) to help identify specific items that may indicate a trend or problematic area worthy of review in the study. Input also is being solicited from the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A preliminary study of approximately 400 accidents in 2008 benefited from tremendous response through OSHA and the American Insurance Association (AIA), noted Wiethorn.

Study analysis topics under consideration are broken down by background information, such as construction type, state, year of occurrence, type of crane, status of crane; responsibilities, from manufacturer to signalperson to site supervisor; and specific causes/results, including operational aids, mechanical problems, crane stability, load, crane operations, rigging, wind, crane travel, boom impact, signals/communications, erect/dismantle/configuration change, worker contact, wrong weight determination, powerline contact, critical lifts, and engineering issues/design.

The project team intends to complete the list of topics by the middle of this month.

Categories:
Tags:
Catalyst

Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.