Many job-site accidents are the result of a lack of training and equipment failure. Don’t let that happen to you and your employees. Sign up for training or schedule your next inspection. But first, read on for the December 2022 accidents.
Falling Crane At MP Construction Site Called ‘An Unfortunate Accident’, Prompts OSHA Probe
We are reprinting this article by Richard Mayer on Journal & Topics originally published on December 14 ,2022.
An investigation is ongoing after a crane fell and struck two vehicles at a development site in downtown Mount Prospect.
At approximately 9:15 a.m. Nov. 17, police were dispatched to 11 W. Prospect Ave. for a report of a crane falling over on top of a vehicle. The location is the construction site of the new mixed-use development Prospect Place. Dispatchers said they did not believe anyone was injured or inside the vehicle. Police confirmed there were no injuries.
According to police, the crane operator told police he was moving the boom of the crane from the front to the rear of the vehicle when it tipped onto its side and struck the two vehicles. The boom of the crane landed on top of a white Ford Explorer and the top and side of a red Dodge Nitro, causing significant damage, police said.
The crane operator told police he used a computer to set the safety legs to the proper length to move the crane, but the vehicle still tipped over.
A short time later, the village’s Director of Building and Inspection Services Bill Schroeder and Deputy Director Mark Rysavy arrived on scene, spoke with lead workers on the job site and facilitated a successful recovery of the flipped crane. Police added the homeowner at 120 S. Wille St. had evacuated her home prior to the beginning of the crane’s recovery due to safety concerns with how close the crane was to the home.
Wille Street from Prospect Avenue to Evergreen Avenue was temporarily shut down while the crane was lifted. Police cleared the scene after the crane was lifted and the scene was turned over to the village’s Building and Inspection Services.
The United States Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident and OSHA officials have said it could take up to six months to determine if OSHA’s standards and regulations were properly followed. If there is a violation, fines could be implemented against the developer, Prospect Place Development Partners, or the general contractor in Noah Properties (Remi Development LLC) or any subcontractors.
According to the website eyesonnoah.com, three workers have been killed on Noah Properties projects dating back to 2014.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace.
Tom Lowe, an investor with Prospect Place Development Partners, LLC, stated the incident was unfortunate to have occurred, but was an accident.
“A very experienced union crane operator didn’t put the outriggers down for some reason, wasn’t lifting anything, but when rotating the crane it became unbalanced and tipped on its side,” Lowe said. “Fortunately, no one was injured. OSHA is investigating and will be issuing a report. Proper insurance is in place and the insurance companies will be processing any claims. Any property damage to the parking lot will be repaired by ownership. Again, it was simply an unfortunate accident and, thankfully, no one was injured.”
Schroeder said the village is waiting to see what OSHA rules to determine if the village will impose any fines as well.
The estimated $26.8 million project will add to the village’s downtown a five-story building with 80 rental units (32 one-bedroom, 48 two-bedroom) averaging 903 sq. ft. in size, as well as over 10,000 sq. ft. in retail space on the first floor with underground and surface parking for the building’s residents.
The building will include rooftop access to additional amenities including a 1,200 sq. ft. indoor amenity space, a 2,500 sq. ft. roof deck, and a 1,900 sq. ft. green roof area.
Schroeder said he is hopeful the project will be under roof within the next few weeks and be completed by the third quarter of 2023.
Fatal crane and access incident
We are reprinting this article from Vertikal.net originally published on December 7, 2022. If you click through, there is also a video you can watch about the accident.
A man has died following an incident involving a boom lift and a lattice crawler crane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Monday.
We understand from Fort Lauderdale Fire & Rescue that the crane – an aging Clark crawler crane with a pile driver on the hook – was working on a bridge extension, part of the $153 million highway improvement project on a section of Interstate 95, when it suddenly tilted forward due to a section of the bridge deck giving way under one of the crane’s tracks. As a result of the sudden movement a concrete pile within the pile driver frame broke free and struck the boom of a self-propelled boom lift which had been working alongside with two men in the platform.
The lift overturned causing the platform and its two occupants to fall 10 to 11 metres onto the bridge deck. They were taken to hospital, with one of them in a critical condition, while the other was reportedly stable. The first man – father of two – Joseph Bienaime, 47, died within 12 hours of his arrival at the hospital. The crane was working for the de Moya Group, which was contracted by the Florida Department of Transportation.
Three members of the emergency services and a police officer were involved in a crash while responding to the incident and were also taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. OSHA – the Occupational Safety & Health Administration – arrived on site as did the owners of the crane. Allegiance crane was called on to help stabilise and recover the crawler crane.
Unusual crane incident
We are reprinting this article from Vertikal.net originally published on December 22, 2022. If you click through, there are additional photos you can check out.
A four axle truck crane overturned on Tuesday in Gloucester Township, New Jersey on the east side of the river from Philadelphia.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when the crane’s swingaway extension broke free of its stowage brackets and became caught on a utility bracing pole causing the crane to swerve and overturn. It in turn caused a car to swerve into a tree as it tried to avoid the overturning crane, a Grove TMS 9000E from the Dobbs Crane Rentals fleet. The driver of the crane, Christopher Thompson, was not seriously hurt and was able to climb from his cab under his own steam. The car driver was also unhurt, but both were taken to a local hospital for a check over and treatment for minor injuries.
The local police have issued a press release which includes a series of photographs which we have included, and the initial findings from their investigation which they released in the following statement:
“Our initial investigation revealed that the hydraulic crane truck, owned by Dobbs Crane Rental, was traveling northbound on Little Gloucester Road when a section of the ‘swingaway extension arm’ became dislodged from the crane and struck a utility line brace pole. After taking the brace pole down, it appears the extension arm became stuck into the ground as the vehicle momentum continued forward, ultimately causing the crane truck to overturn onto the driver’s side, across both travel lanes. As this occurred, a Toyota Camry traveling southbound, and the driver quickly steered the vehicle to the right to avoid colliding with the crane. This caused the vehicle to travel off road, up a hill and into a tree.”
Vertikal.net comment: This is a highly unusual incident, assuming that it was caused by a swingaway extension coming off of its storage brackets as stated. This is very rare, but not entirely unknown, when it has occurred before, it has usually been due to the retaining pins not having been replaced. If we learn more, we will update this item. Thankfully everyone involved in the incident went home this week, it could have been so much worse.
If you see an accident report you’d like us to feature in the blog, like the ones shown here in the December 2022 Accidents Reports, let us know. Contact heather@cranes101.com with the information.