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Crane safety has for the most part been maligned in the United States. There have been serious efforts in the past three years to bring harsher penalties for construction projects operating without crane insurance in place, and clear, uniform guidelines for all states to follow and crane operators to follow. But, crane safety practice is still lax throughout American construction sites, and the crane operators more than often work at break-neck schedules in order to fall under-budget or on-budget. Money seems to be the motivating factor behind many CEO?s decisions not to insure their cranes and heavy equipment. This is the paradox of the American construction industry; we have the most advanced cranes but the worst safety practices at construction sites. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has devised new rules to prevent accidents involving cranes in construction. These changes will have a wide sweeping influence upon the construction industry here in the United States. The much-anticipated federal rules could save at least 50 lives and prevent 100 injuries a year, according to OSHA. It would supplant a rule promulgated from 1971, which has seen few revisions despite changes in how crane work is done.

This “comprehensively addresses the hazards associated with the use of cranes and derricks in construction, including tower cranes,” says Edwin G. Foulke Jr., OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor. “This draft rule will both protect construction employees and help prevent crane accidents by updating existing protections and requiring crane operators to be trained.” Under the current rules, legal responsibility for accidents is unclear, leaving crane operators, owners, users, lift directors and site supervisors confused of their liability. Even though there is significant crane insurance coverage options available to crane owners and operators-even the insurance industry must review the changes taking place in the OSHA guidelines to anticipate the amendments to the liability in their insurance policies. Several fatal crane accidents this year have led to increased state and local regulations. Usually, a crane falls onto a site worker or the crane operator is crushed by a crane. The cost of additional safety would pay dividends, according to OSHA estimates. The construction industry would spend about $123 million a year in compliance costs, such as worker training and testing — but employers would save $406 million in accidental deaths and injuries, a net benefit of $283 million per year. OSHA estimates the average cost of a life at $7.5 million and an injury at $50,000. Coincidentally, More than ever, cranes are being set up by unlicensed riggers with the lack of crane insurance , operated unsafely and used to hoist loads far heavier than what they were built to support, records show. Unlicensed construction projects are not a rare occurrence, but often is the case?uninsured projects are quite prevalent since the economic crisis of 2008 that left many medium and small size construction companies cutting corners to save money on their construction projects; usually crane insurance is the most expensive outlay of insurance for any size project. Because of the lack of crane safety obligation and lack of crane insurance the number of crane related accidents and deaths has increased not only in the United States but also around the world in general. Why? Because the need for more residential infrastructure has increased-specifically for apartment complexes and office high-rises. In the last serious accident In New York USA, before the tragedy on E. 51st St., an overloaded 200-foot crane buckled and partially collapsed at a residential construction site at 450 Washington St. in Tribeca, New York forcing the temporary evacuation of some close by homes. That was Feb. 1. 2008 The next day, two workers were injured in a fall as they were attempting to disassemble the crippled crane. Neighbors claimed that work had been progressing at breakneck speed at the site since January.

The operator was issued a violation for working in an unsafe manner with a “grossly overloaded” crane. But months will pass before any action will be taken. He is not scheduled for a hearing before the city’s Environmental Control Board, which adjudicates serious building violations, until April 17. Unfortunately, fines usually are low and punishment haphazard. Such is the case with most states in America.

There are many calamities that can potentially occur if you a crane operator. You must always observe the most current OSHA standards, and of course good common sense when operating cranes and heavy equipment. John Fink, an experienced property & casualty insurance specialist of over 21 years can attest to this fact.

He sells a considerable amount of crane insurance and advises on crane safety. The kinds of cranes commonly used in the workplace like rough terrain and wheel mounted telescoping boom, hydraulic boom, lattice work boom, tower boom, tower crane, luffing boom, articulated boom, trolley boom, crawler-mounted latticework boom cranes and the list goes on because engineering science is ushering new types of efficient improvements to these systems. However, there are hazards associated with the use of heavy equipment. The most common hazards are; a power line contact where the live power line in contact with the metallic parts of a crane with high voltage power lines. Most power line contacts occur when a crane is moving materials adjacent to or under energized power lines and the hoist boom touches a live power line. Contact also frequently occurs during pick-and-carry operations when loads are being transported under live power lines. Another problem is lifting construction personnel close electrical transmitting lines.

Thus OSHA has some requirements for site managers and operators; when using crane and or equipment near energized power lines of 50,000 volts (50kV) or more, make sure the minimum distance between the lines and any part of the crane is 10 feet plus 5 inches for each 10kv of 50kv. All of this sounds very complicated but it also very ground common sense when operating around power lines which statistical analysis indicate is a growing cause of crane related deaths in the United States. John Fink can speak at lengths about the financial problems that can impact any size project owner but also the human impact of a lost life and or injured site workers and crane operators. He is a advocate for project owner safety education and the purchase of adequate crane insurance. As John Fink can explain, there is also a significant number of injuries related to cranes falling onto the crane operator and on-site workers near the over-loaded, or improperly assembled crane systems. Both latticework and hydraulic boom cranes are prone to two-blocking. When two-blocking occurs on latticework booms, the hoist line picks up the weight of the boom and lets the pendant guys go slack. Another problem; Often a whip action is created when a crawler crane with a long boom without a load is ?walking? and the headache ball and empty chokers can drift up to the boom tip. Often, while the operator is busy watching the pathway of travel to avoid any rough ground that can violently jerk the crane, he or she does not watch the boom tip. When a hoist line two-blocks, it assumes the weight of the boom and relieves the pin-up guys of the load. Then, if the crane crawler goes over a rock or bump, the fly-pole action of a long boom is sufficient to break the hoist line. The weight of the load plus the weight of the boom on a latticework boom (when combined with a little extra stress when lifting a load) can cause the hoist line to break if two-blocking occurs. The power of the hydraulic rams that extend hydraulic booms is often sufficient to break the hoist line if two-blocking occurs. If operators fail to pay out the load line while extending the boom, the hoist line can be inadvertently broken. If the load line breaks while supporting a worker on a boatswain?s chair or several workers on a floating scaffold or a load above people, an accident can result. When an operator must use two controls, one for the hoist and one for the hydraulic boom extension, the possibility of error is increased. In many circumstances, both latticework and hydraulic boom cranes will two-block when the hook is near the tip and the boom is lowered. Two-blocking incidents can also occur without resulting in total failure, but causing damage that will result in failure at a later time. In conclusion, refer to all OSHA guidelines for safety and do seek adequate crane insurance from John Fink.