Crane Safety - Essay Example

Crane Safety Construction Crane operation in construction is a highly complex and complicated industry and hence has very high injury and death ratesas compared to other industries in the US. Many of the injuries pertain to one piece of equipment which is the crane (1) Supervision on crane handling can reduce the basic hazards that cause most of the injuries and deaths. (2) According to OSHA, there are 96,000 cranes being used in the United States. It provides various regulations and requirements such as crane maintenance, safety measures, documentation and inspection (7) OSHA General Crane Safety Requirements dictates that all the cranes should be adhered to manufacturer specification (9) The management, supervisors, work crew are all responsible for good workplace safety environment. Exposures to risk relating to cranes are of 3 types- (3) Dormant- Undetected risk which is created at the design Armed- The risk is high when certain types of work are carried out Active- This can be triggered at any time. The right combination of factors can trigger this hazard and preventive measures cannot be taken. The effective ways to control these risks on crane handling can be done by- 1. Eliminating or minimizing the risk involved in crane handling. The management should ensure that appropriate work methods are being used for cranes so that preventive action can be taken 2. Appropriate and adequate safety measures should be taken into account as planning will not completely eliminate all the risks of hazards. There are a few methods of safeguarding and protecting the workers from the hazards namely, Installation of screens to cover the moving cranes or the parts Installation of fences, barriers to prevent and restrict entry into the danger zone. Installation of crush resistant safety hats so that the workers are secured and protected even if some mishap occurs Install insulated links to prevent electrocution of the person loading on the ground by cranes. 3. Appropriate warning signals need to be installed which can detect hazards and provides warning alarms, visual warning signals to alert the rest of the workers in the location. Alarms, horns, flashing lights, smoke are some of the examples of warning signals. Some detecting systems installed in some locations not only provide warning but also prohibits people to enter the location. Signals and warning boards are passive warning signals. (8) 4. Special training on procedures needs to be made mandatory for all the new workers so that the workers are made aware of the safety procedures, guidelines and preventive actions to be taken. Training and audit must be conducted in periodic intervals so that the hazards can be avoided 5. Protective equipment such as the- use of gloves, safety shoes, helmets, life jackets, goggles need to be used to ensure that users are protected from any injury at the workplace. (3) The BC association for Crane Safety (BCACS) has initiated workshops to gather information in the following areas- Creating Standardization and competency in the industry Providing training and guidelines to new workers Making the industry more attractive to new entrants in the industry (4) There has been an increase in the number of deaths and injuries that has occurred and the government needs to ensure and be proactive in addressing any safety concerns, safety inspections etc to prevent future accidents. The primary focus will be to increase crane inspections, training and guidelines to be provided. Compliance inspection helps in ensuring that the crane operators are adequately trained to operate cranes and employers follow OSHA and ANSI standard requirements. The cranes should also be inspected and checked every day. Cranes should receive adequate preventive maintenance, repair and periodic overhauling every month and this should be conscientiously documented by the employer. (3) National Injury data The census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) in the US has identified 719 cases from 1992-2002 where crane usage was the primary or the secondary source of the fatal death or accident. (3) The table provides the events due to which death had occurred in the United States (1992-20002) (3) The below table provides the number of deaths occurred in the different industry in the United States from 1992-2002 (3) There are also number of human errors because of insufficient training and incompetent operators. The crane accidents are usually made by the crane operators, supervisors and other workers involved in the crane activity. Below are the injuries from human error accidents (5) (5) Analysis of 8 common risks involved in Crane handling 1. Power Line contact Power line contact has the greatest risk in crane operation. During the pick and carry operations performed by the cranes, the worker gets electrocuted when in contact with the crane. To avoid this fatal accident, the best preventive measure is to have safety planning. A supervisor should be made responsible for coordination of the project and must ensure safety planning is executed before the cranes are being operated in the field. The crane operator, guiding the load and other workers involved in crane operation must require visual guidance of the danger zone. The crane must be positioned in such a way that the hoist line does not intrude the danger zone. The electricity utility should be reenergized, relocated or the power lines should be insulated so that electrocution does not take place and the necessary precautions are taken. (3) 2. Overloading Overloading occurs usually when the crane’s capacity exceeds resulting in failure. There are a number of variables available that affect the lifting capacity which includes ability to increase the radius and reduce the lifting capacity. There are also possibilities that the crane operator neglects to extend the outriggers and this affects the stability. The operator usually relies on his experience and makes the wrong decision and increases the rated capacity. It is also estimated that for every 10,000 hours of crane use, there is one crane that gets overloaded. 3% of the overloading and upset results in fatal accidents such as deaths, 8% in lost time, 20% on damage to property. The preventive measure is to have proper planning and training for the crane operator. Training helps in knowledge and understanding of the advanced technologies like load measuring systems etc. This system prevents the operator from exceeding the set capacity at any angle. Load charts can also be used to avoid overloading but these charts have proved to be very intricate and difficult to interpret. One the job training with adequate supervision is also very essential to ensure overloading does not occur. (3) 3. Failure to use Outriggers Crane upsets occur when the crane is positioned and the crane operator does not extend the outriggers. The outrigger pad may be sometimes very small to support the crane or due to insufficient space. The use of outriggers is based on the crane operators’ knowledge and experience. It is very essential that the crane operator needs to be competent as he determines the load weights and based on that uses the outriggers. Safety equipment and measures like interlocks to be provided in order to restrict the movement when the outriggers are retracted. Changes are required in the initial design to overcome this risk. Also, the machine should not be operated until the crane operator activates all the necessary safeguards and measures. The cranes are built in with interlock systems which prevents the boom operation until outriggers are extended. (3) 4. Two- Blocking This happens when hoist assembly gets in contact with the boom, causing the hoist line to break the hook and the load to fall. The operator usually concentrates more on viewing the pathway of travel to avoid any rough patch and hence will not concentrate on watching the boom tip. If the load breaks and falls, it will result in disaster for the workers. Many deaths have been resulted because of this two blocking occurrences where the hoist line has broken and the load has been dropped off. The ways of preventing such occurrences is by using anti blocking devices; this device is not complex and can be operated by providing training to the crane operator. Another way of avoiding two way blocking is to have hydraulic valve which pays out the hoist line when the boom is extended. (3) 5. Pinch points Pinchpoint is created between the cab and the stationary crane. This is very risky on rough grounds, truck mounted cranes and mobile cranes. Many unsecured belts and rotating shafts within the crane are pinchpoints to which workers are being exposed to. The swing area of the crane must be adequately barricaded and must prevent the workers from entering the danger zone. The rear view mirrors need to be installed in the crane which acts as a safeguard. (3) 6. Obstruction of vision When the vision of the operator is blocked, and the cranes are operated, safety is compromised. There are 2 reasons for obstructions, they are due to the work environment and the other obstruction is due to the crane’s load. In many situations, the loads lifted are beyond the view of the operator; the crane’s boom obstructs the view. Sometimes, the operator needs to rely on someone else as the load is lifted several stories high. The risk of the accident and deaths are high when the operator is unable to judge as his/her vision is obstructed. To prevent this to occur, radios and telephones need to be used which are very effective, the operator relies on several signalers than on sight. Planning of activities is also very essential which will help in safe crane operation. (3) 7. Travel upset in Hydraulic Cranes This type of hazard happens when the crane is overturned because of high gravity and crushes the operator between the boom and the ground during traveling from one location to another. There are number of accidents which are being recorded under this. Roll over protection systems (ROP) has reduced the number of deaths and injuries from the falling objects. Crush resistant cabs and seatbelts must be installed in all the cranes so that the operators are protected from any risks even in the event of an upset. (3) 8. Boom Disassembly on Latticework Boom Cranes Improper disassembly causes the boom to collapse when the boom is suspended causing number of accidents. When the workers are not familiar with crane operating equipment, this risk usually occurs. Poor location is also one of the causes for this hazard to occur frequently on location. Use of several types of pins will reduce the risk of crushing such as the double ended pins, step pins and welded lugs which prevent the pins from entering the wrong side. (3) Conclusion Crane accidents can be very serious and can result in fatal accidents. Human error, incompetent operators and equipment failure can lead to death. Crane safety is very critical and the operators should know how the cranes are to be used and not to be used. (6) Work cited 1. Neitzel, I. Richard, Noah S. Seixas & Kyle K. Ren, Review of Crane Safety in the Construction Industry ,2001,Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 16 (12) 1106-1117 2. Hoorn, F. Van, Container Crane Transport Options: Self Propelled Ship Versus Towed Barge, Royal Institute of Naval Architects,2005 London 21 (1-10) 3. Berry, Cherie; Allen McNeely, Kevin Beauregard, A guide to Cranes and Derricks, N.C Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program 4. BC Association for Crane Safety, 10th March 2010, http://www.bcacs.ca/ 5. Offshore Crane Safety, US department of Interior, 10th march 2010 http://www.mms.gov/cranes/trends.htm 6. Dunville, Larry, Six dangerous misconceptions about crane Safety, 10th July 2003, 10th March 2010 http://www.thefabricator.com/article/safety/six-dangerous-misconceptions-about-crane-safety 7. Osha Website: Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (1994-95) 10th March 2010 http://www.osha.gov/ 8. Recommended warnings of Crane Operation Safety, 10th March 2010, http://www.monheit.com/construction-accidents/crane/index.asp 9. Davis, George, OSHA responds to Crane Accidents, Safety articles and tips from safety Services Company, 2008 ,10th march 2010, http://www.safetyservicescompany.com/blog/osha-responds-to-crane-accidents Read More