Well, it looks like we just don't know how to operate cranes safely in New York City. Do you remember all that flap about tower cranes a couple of years ago? If you had cranes on your construction sites back then, you probably re-visited your crane safety policies and procedures. I know that I did. We were okay, but it certainly put the spotlight on how often I checked crane records. And I also found out that the State of Florida didn't require crane operators to be licensed. I also found out that the same was true in many parts of the country. But, that's another story.
To get back to the point, a couple of days ago in NYC, another crane collapsed into a building (read about it in the New York times of 3/27 and again on 3/28. Officials don't know what happened yet, but they believe that a contributing cause was that the crane operator did not lower the boom far enough before he left the site at the end of the workday. And, although they are not sure that there isn't another contributing cause, NYC officials suspended the crane operator's license.
Conclusions? Read the articles and you decide. But if I had a crane on my site, I'd be re-visiting my crane policies again.
About Me
- Safety Duck
- I have over 40 years experience in Occupational Safety, mostly in the Construction Industry. Now that I am retired, I am able to spend more time on genealogical research.
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Featured Books for Safety Pros
Job Hazard AnalysisThis booklet is for employers, foremen, and supervisors, but we encourage employees to use the information as well to analyze their own jobs and recognize workplace hazards so they can report them to you. It explains what a job hazard analysis is and offers guidelines to help you conduct your own step-by-step analysis.
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