Crane Safety 

Construction cranes are a common sight in cities. From the perspective of the Occupational Safety and Health, the term “crane” encompasses a large family of construction machinery used to hoist, lower, and horizontally move a suspended load. Types include industrial, barge, and crawler cranes as well as pile drivers and derricks.

Although cranes are designed to lift and move heavy objects safely, they pose a number of potential hazards. Many cranes, especially the larger variety used to erect tall buildings and skyscrapers, must be assembled on-site correctly and safely or they run the risk of toppling.

Crane safety are a must in the construction industry. One way that contractors can ensure that regulatory and safety standards are met or exceeded is to hire safety professionals with a bachelor’s degree in occupational health and safety.

Important Crane Safety Considerations

The purpose of a crane is to lift and move heavy loads, sometimes very high, around construction sites. But cranes come with dangers as well, including poorly secured loads or incorrect assembly. A crane incident can result in serious injury or death to both crane operators and construction workers alike.

Crane in Seattle toppled onto a busy downtown street causing 7 casualties, 4 of which were fatal. In Construction. Recent Deadly Accidents, New Regulations Put Crane Safety in the Spotlight, points out that this incident, and others like it, generally come down to human error and that proper licensing and training is imperative to maintaining crane safety.

With these dangers in mind, the Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) published Policy Statement 424 in July 2019. The ASCE’s statement includes a list of crucial safety guidelines for construction sites:

·         Require compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, codes, and standards, including OSHA regulations.

·         Require prime/general contractor to carry the primary authority and responsibility for crane safety.

·         Train operators, on-site personnel, and management staff on crane safety.

·         Protect the public during crane operations.

·         Identify elevated and underground electrical hazards.

·         Obtain pertinent information regarding geotechnical reports, soil excavations, underground structures and utilities, and any other factors that may affect the operation of a crane.

·         Require buoyancy and stability calculations for barge cranes to ensure that the barge is suitable for the crane’s tasks.

·         Cease crane operations and implement crane safety mode when steady winds exceeding manufacturer specifications are forecast.

·         Encourage the development of technology to improve crane safety.

·         Encourage local colleges and universities to offer crane safety information in their civil engineering courses.

Individual operators and on-site personnel, even more so than management staff, are responsible for keeping up on daily crane safety checks. CraneTraingingU.com lists these tips in its website article “Crane Safety Training – Lifting Best Practices:”

·         Conduct a visual inspection of the equipment.

·         Conduct a visual inspection of site conditions and potential hazards.

·         Ensure the stability zone of the equipment.

·         Ensure stabilizers are fully deployed.

·         Check the rigging.

·         Ensure all safety devices are in place.

·         Ensure that all personnel are a safe distance from the equipment, the loads and any other objects within the lift zone and its perimeters.

·         Ensure loads to be lifted are within the crane’s capacity per the owner’s manual.

·         Ensure that operators fully adhere to load/lift limits.

·         Ensure the crane is as close to the load being lifted as possible.

·         Keep loads as low to the ground as is reasonably safe when performing lifts.

·         Secure the load after it has been lifted and properly stow the crane, stabilizers, winches and any other moving parts.

Crane safety tips do not just cover stationary, assembled cranes but also derricks and other types of trucks that house crane elements or boom arms used to lift long, heavy equipment such as utility poles. Most derricks have stabilization arms that keep the vehicle steady during operation.

Types of Cranes

The following are some of the most popular cranes used today:

• Telescopic Crane – A telescopic crane uses a telescopic system that allows the crane to extend out to reach items to pick up and move.
• Floating Crane – A floating crane is on a boat or floating island and used to move objects on the boat, for an offshore oil rig, or other things.
• Harbor Crane – Harbor cranes are built onto platforms in the water. They are typically used to load or unload cargo vessels.
• Crawler Crane – These are among the most commonly seen cranes. They are on a vehicle so that the crane can move into place for any job.
• Aerial Crane – An aerial crane is typically on a powerful helicopter and used to lift and transport objects in areas where traditional cranes can’t be used.
• Tower Crane – Tower cranes are fixed to the top of or side of some type of tower. They are commonly seen in the construction of skyscrapers where they lift large beams and other equipment up where it is needed.

Most cranes today are powered by electric motors, moved with vehicles, and can lift massive amounts of weight. Modern cranes are one of the most important pieces of equipment when it comes to completing major construction projects, managing shipping, and keeping the economy going strong. Without these incredible machines, most things would have to be moved by hand, or wouldn’t be possible at all.