Cranes are engineering marvels that make construction more efficient. They are bigger and more complex than a few decades ago, and now they can move between sites. Gone are the days when one small crane stayed in one place–now, they are bigger, mobile, and capable of multitasking.
Unfortunately, cranes keep collapsing, leading to injury and death. They are especially dangerous, considering they usually operate in dense urban areas near pedestrians, drivers and workers.
What is going so wrong? A few causes of crane collapse include:
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- Wind: Called the “sail effect,” cranes catch an item and carry it in the direction of wind gusts. Sustained winds of 20mph or gusts of 30mph are enough to produce the momentum needed to collapse a crane.
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- Operator error: Current cranes are much more complex, often with manuals over 100 pages. A rush towards construction often means shortcuts in training, which leads to operator error.
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- Poor maintenance: The same complexities leading to operator error also cause maintenance shortcomings. Cranes with mechanical or structural defects often go unnoticed until an accident occurs.
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- Training shortcomings: Many companies fail to train their operators on newly updated cranes. Many go into the job, assuming the crane works the same as one operating in the 1990s. Unfortunately, that only causes more operator errors.
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- Lack of regulations: Agency regulations haven’t kept up with crane development. There is little guidance on training, inspection, and maintenance.
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- Site hazards: A site engineer should detect site hazards and communicate them to the crane operator. When that doesn’t happen, cranes collapse when they hit utility lines or sink into uncompacted fill
Cranes can do more, but it also means more can go wrong. If you lost a loved one or sustained injuries due to a crane collapse, the accident attorneys at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh are on your side in Bradenton, FL. Contact us today to discuss your case.