12 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010

GOOD AUSTRALIAN HUMOUR

An Aussie truckie walks into an outback cafe' with a full-grown emu behind him. The waitress asks them for their orders.

The truckie says, 'A hamburger, chips and a coke,' and turns to the emu, 'What's yours?' 'I'll have the same,' says the emu.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment..

The next day, the man and the emu come again and he says, 'A hamburger, chips and a coke.' The emu says, 'I'll have the same.' Again the truckie reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes routine until the two enter again. 'The usual?' asks the waitress. 'No, it's Friday night, so I'll have a steak, baked potato and a salad,' says the man. 'Same,' says the emu. Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, 'That will be $32.62.'

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table. The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. 'Excuse me, mate, how do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?'

'Well, love' says the truckie, 'a few years ago, I was cleaning out the back shed, and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.'

'That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!'

'That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,' says the man. The waitress asks, 'What's with the bloody emu?'

The truckie sighs, pauses, and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall bird with a big arse and long legs, who agrees with everything I say.'

VICTORIA: FIRM PLEADS GUILTY OVER UNLICENSED DOGMAN’S FALL

22 March 2010

A sheet metal engineering company and its director have pleaded guilty in the Indus-trial Magistrates Court on Wednesday for failing to provide a safe working environment - plant & systems of work, and information, instruction, training & supervision.

The case stemmed from a 2 February 2009 incident, where an unlicensed dogman fell from height.

The Wodonga company’s employee acted as a dogman on a platform being raised by a mobile tractor crane at an excessive height when he fell to the ground.

He was later transported to a hospital by ambulance, where he underwent surgery to pin his right leg which was extensively damaged. He also suffered injury to his ribs and wounds to his right thigh and left elbow.

It was later found the crane did not have a safety hook, and was not maintained prop-erly.

Aside from the dogman, it was also found that the operator of the crane at the time of the incident did not have a licence to undertake the work.

The company and its director knew crane operators need to be licensed, and that their employees did not possess such licence. They had decided to get employees trained

after the job was complete as it would then be able to afford it.

Magistrate John Martin Murphy did not impose a fine when he determined the case on March 3. However, he ordered the firm and its director costs of $1,354.52 and $865.96, respectively. http://www. Safetyculture.com.au/news/index.php/page/6/

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 1

LIFTING MATTERS Published in the interest of promoting safety in the crane industry

Sharing and Learning

APRIL 2010

2 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010

EDITORIAL

Safety is everybody‟s business in the construction world because the consequences of failure can

be catastrophic, as demonstrated by the major crane accidents that kill dozens of people every year.

In this light, it is critically important to study near-misses—accidents that never happen because

trained and concerned persons are on the scene, a serious safety program is in place or just, plain

dumb luck saved the day.

Safety experts say the relationship between the number of accidents and incidents is shaped like a

pyramid, with major accidents at the top, minor accidents in the widening middle and incidents, ob-

servations and near-misses at the broad bottom. The incidents at the bottom, like the crane crack

that caused no injuries or damage, are a good opportunity to study the safety program of a company

or project to see if it has all the elements and processes needed to prevent a major accident.

All near-misses have the potential for much more serious consequences, and, as a result, compa-

nies should have an effective program of managing near-misses. Construction is a diverse industry,

so programs will vary with the kind of work performed, but risk experts suggest there are eight ele-

ments in an effective near-miss process: 1) identifying an incident as a near-miss; 2) having a re-

porting and disclosure structure; 3) prioritizing incidents according to potential severity; 4) distribut-

ing the information to those people analysing the causes; 5) identifying the direct and root causes of

the near-miss; 6) finding solutions for each identified cause; 7) disseminating the solutions to those

who will execute them; and 8) tracking solutions to make sure they are executed.

Few firms are happy to air details about the kinds and causes of near-misses on their projects, but

there is a greater public good in doing so. Just as companies learn from the best practices of others,

there is an even greater learning experience in hearing about and understanding the causes of

events that could have been catastrophic. Measuring and analysing such events can pay great divi-

dends and are the main building block of a zero-accident safety culture.

Your opinion and any queries or wishes you may have are extremely important to us! Let us know

what's on your mind. Please send your contributions to ricky@universalcranes.com or contact us

by phone on +61 7 3907 5800. (RDP)

IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial 02

Emergency action plans 03

Crane collapses onto traffic 03

Safe loading of EWP’s on tilt tray trucks 04

CFME report on Worsley crane collapse 04

Safety Alert: Mobile crane stability 05

Who trained him then? 06

100T Crawler crane tip-over 07

Crane backstop fell during erection 08

Light vehicle under rear dumper 09

Ketchikan boom truck tips over with worker 09

Safety Alert: Fatality by unsecured truck load 10

Working at heights innovations 11

Bogged 110T Tadano 11

Lightning strike on tower crane in Perth 11

Working under loads 11

Victoria: firms pleads guilty 12

Good Australian humour 12

ON THE COVER

A Universal Cranes VOLVO FH16 with an 8 line trailer transporting one of our Liebherr LTM 1300 (300t All Terrain Crane) from the Wind Farms in South

Australia back to the Brisbane depot.

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 11

LIGHTNING STRIKE ON TOWER

CRANE IN PERTH 23 March 2010

A dramatic photo taken recently during an

electrical storm in Perth, WA where a tower

crane on the North side of the Swan River

received a direct hit from a bolt of lightning.

WORKING AT HEIGHTS INNOVATIONS

This photo was taken in London last year show-

ing a specially constructed tower bolted to one of

the vertical pillars of the building. A single ladder-

beam mounted on top served as a jib/gantry for

use as a fall arrest system for the riggers to

unload steel from delivery trucks.

An inertia reel of sorts was attached to the end of

the ladder-beam and hooked onto the workers

harnesses to prevent them hitting the ground

should they fall from the back of the truck.

A concern would be if the worker was to fall from

the far end of the trailer. The pendulum effect of

the arc of the „swing‟ would not arrest his fall in

time unless of course the trailer was to

move as required.

RDP Photo submitted by geoff.beaton@kjv.com.au

WORKING UNDER LOADS A photo taken in Brisbane recently showing workers attaching a prop to a precast concrete element while being directly under a suspended load. This is unfortunately seen on sites around Aus-tralia all to often.

The National Code of Practise for pre-cast, tilt-up and concrete elements in Building Construction 2008 clearly discourages the fixing of props to smaller concrete elements, unless the element is in an almost vertical position and resting on the ground.

BOGGED—110 TONNE TADANO 15 March 2010

A 110T Tadano mobile crane became bogged in saturated sand in Darwin, NT after heavy rain over the weekend.

After leaving the site on the way back to the depot, the operator unfortunately strayed just a little too far off the very narrow bitumen road, with the undesired result of becoming bogged in what looked to all intense and purposes to be a fairly stable road surface.

Crane drivers should always be aware that during severe weather conditions, the shoulders of secondary roads will become unstable due to the run-off from the fin-ished road surface.

RDP

RDP

RDP

10 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 http://www.buildsafeuae.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=4269&tabid=3053

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 3

CRANE COLLAPSES ONTO TRAFFIC 26 March 2010

A construction crane has collapsed in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, smashing into nearby traffic. Six people were hurt in the accident, two of whom sustained serious injuries.

The accident occurred in the late after-noon. The high-rise crane snapped at its foundation and fell onto the adjacent high-way, burying nine passenger cars and stall-ing all traffic. The plunging crane landed only a meter away from a nearby bus stop.

Rescuers worked at the site through the night to remove the metal debris and un-block traffic.

http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-03-26/krasnoyarsk-crane-collpases-traffic.html

Emergency Action Plans

“Should construction workers be faced with an accident that results in a need to call for help from the emergency services, then the following is an easy to follow Emergency Action Plan;

Without placing yourself or others in harm‟s way, check for any further Danger.

Remove the danger from the casualty or remove the casualty from the danger.

Alert the emergency services personnel by ringing Triple Zero and asking for ambulance attendance and advice;

The ambulance service will ask for specific details such as the incident‟s exact location and

what happened. Leave the telephone line open for the emergency services personnel to con-tact you for updates;

Do a head count, have someone in authority cross check the sign in/attendance book with the

physical count of each worker;

Any crisis needs leadership. Gently, but confidently, delegate important tasks to those willing

to help. Give people a key job. Ask someone to direct the emergency vehicles; ask another to alert the first aid officer and another to help carry vital equipment;

Have another person accurately write down the casualty‟s name, the times that the emergency

happened and roughly what happened. Keep a record for your company and hand a copy to the paramedics;

A job debrief is an important learning tool. If you think that someone isn‟t coping well after an

emergency, let your supervisor know so that additional counselling can be offered if needed.

Look at your Emergency Action Plans and practice them regularly.

Practice makes perfect.

Remember, Stay Healthy, Stay Safe…!”

Yours sincerely,

Baf Kuka.

(baf.kuka@firstaidsafetytraining.com.au)

4 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010

Safe loading of elevated work platforms on tilt tray trucks Purpose The purpose of this alert is to inform persons of the risk of injury when loading and unloading ele-vating work platforms (EWPs) onto and off tilt tray trucks.

Background

A recent incident occurred in Queensland when an EWP slipped down the tray of a tilt tray truck. The operator was located in the basket and drove the EWP up the tilted tray to load it onto the truck for transportation. Photograph 1 shows an EWP being loaded onto a tilt tray. The truck tray used for transporting the EWP was too short to enable the EWP to be placed in the transport (stowed) position without the basket overhanging the tray. Photograph 2 shows a view of the EWP with the basket overhanging the tray. To prevent overhang the basket was rotated under the boom (“crowded” position) as shown in Photograph 3. When the basket was placed in the crowded posi-tion and lowered onto the tilted tray, the braked wheels nearer to the basket lifted off the tray. The remaining wheels in contact with the tray were not fitted with brakes. The winch cable was not at-tached to the EWP, thus allowing it to roll down the slope of the tray. This movement caused the basket of the EWP to strike the ground. The op-erator was crushed between the basket‟s handrail and the ground, inflicting serious bodily injuries.

Actions required to minimise the risk of injury

For the safe loading of EWP‟s, the following is to be ensured: • The EWP is loaded and unloaded according to the EWP manufacturer‟s instructions. • Always winch the unmanned EWP on/off the tilt tray unless the manufacturer‟s instructions allow it to be driven. • Use the winch if the tray surface or EWP’s tyres are slippery or if the slope of the tray is too steep for the EWP. • Truck must be on firm level ground with no side slope. The winch may not stop the EWP from falling off the tray if loading with a side slope in slippery conditions. • The truck is suitable to transport the EWP in the travel (stowed) position as determined by the EWP manufacturer. The tray or trailer should be long enough for the boom and basket in the travel (stowed) position. The mass of the EWP is to be within the capacity of the winch, truck and/or trailer. • The operators of EWP’s are provided with oper-ating instructions and must be adequately trained for its operation. This is especially critical in rela-tion to loading and unloading EWP‟s onto and off tilt trays. • The EWP is transported in compliance with De-partment of Transport and Main Roads require-ments.

In addition the following factors should be considered: • Transport EWP’s on a drop deck trailer (low loader) rather than a tilt tray truck. • Use of the winch by another person at the same time that the EWP is driven up or down the slope of the tray, (see Photograph 4).

Photograph 1: Loading an EWP onto a tilt tray truck.

Photograph 2: EWP in travel position as specified by

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

www.worksafe.qld.gov.au

SAFETY ALERT

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 9

LIGHT VEHICLE UNDER REAR DUMPER The parking of cars on mining sites in Australia needs to be done with extreme care when there are monster trucks like this running around.

Of note is that the dumper is also licensed to travel on the road.

Ketchikan boom truck tips over with worker in bucket 28 March 2010

The worker was in a bucket at the end of

a truck's extended boom when the truck

tipped over Friday. The worker suffered a

bloody nose and sore ribs.

The worker and another utility employee

were on Tongass Avenue, the street that

runs along Ketchikan's waterfront, with the

truck parked on the ocean side. The

boom was stretched above the road to

work on power lines across the street. The

second employee was on the ground.

Ketchikan Police Department Officer

Charlie Johnson witnessed the accident as he drove slowly north with traffic.

"I saw the tires on the left side start coming up off the ground, so I just stopped because I

knew that didn't look right," Johnson said. "He didn't have his downriggers out on the truck

for the lateral support. I guess it put too much of a load on the suspension and took the

whole truck over."

The bucket struck about six feet from the base of a utility pole. The truck fell toward its pas-

senger-side wheels with its bottom at a 45-degree angle. The boom remained stretched

above the street.

The worker in the bucket stood up right away, Johnson said, and told the officer he was

fine. "He had a bloody nose and some banged-up ribs," Johnson said. "He was attended to

by EMS."

Portions of the bottom of the bucket were broken but the rest of bucket appeared to be

intact. "It was really slow and it just slowly tipped over," Johnson said. "There was force, but it

wasn't really fast."

Mike Kline, manger of the utility electric division, told the Ketchikan Daily News he was hesi-

tant to comment on any details and that the position of the downriggers was a detail in-

vestigators will review. He would not identify the workers.

The incident shut down Tongass Avenue for two hours.

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/28/1203019/ketchikan-boom-truck-tips-over.html

http://www.miningmayhem.com/2010/04/light-vehicle-under-rear-dumper.html

Ronald Reagan

How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

8 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 5

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths rather than travel the worn paths of ac-cepted success.

David Russell The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn.

Robert Orben Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian.

CFMEU says the Worsley crane collapse was due

to mechanical failure 15 January 2010

THE CONSTRUCTION, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU)

have reported the tower crane collapse at BHP’s Worsley Alumina

Refinery project, WA, was due to mechanical failure.

According to CFMEU, mechanical failure in the jib during commission-

ing caused the boom structure of the tower crane to collapse on 13

January, damaging a number of amenities sheds and another crane.

Some workers escaped harm narrowly and without injury.

The incident is said to have occurred during load testing on the John

Holland construction project, with the crane subcontracted from NSW-

based, Marrs Crane Hire.

http://www.constructioncontractor.com.au/article/A-spate-of-crane-collapses-in-WA/509383.aspx

• If placing the basket onto the tray is recom-mended by the manufacturer, level the tilt tray prior to placing the basket onto the tray. • Use the ground controls when placing the bas-

ket onto the tray. Routine maintenance A competent person should be engaged to carry out inspections of all critical components at least annually or as prescribed by the manufacturer. This includes but not limited to the inspection of the winch, winch cable, chains, tie down points and EWP brakes. A record of the above activities should be maintained to provide a history of the plant.

Legislative requirements The Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 imposes health and safety obligations on all per-sons conducting a business or undertaking whether as employer, self-employed person, de-signers, manufacturers, suppliers, installers and owners of plant and workers. The information contained in this alert is designed to help persons meet their obligations regarding the management of risks associated with loading and unloading EWPs for transportation purposes. More information

Further information is available from www.worksafe.qld.gov.au or by calling the Workplace Health and Safety Infoline on 1300 369 915.

Photograph 4: EWP being driven up tilt tray with winch

cable attached and operated simultaneously.

Photograph 3: EWP in crowded position on levelled tilt

6 LIFTING MATTERS April 2010

SAFETY ALERT NO. 11 SAFETY ALERT NO. 11 SAFETY ALERT NO. 11 WORKPLACE STANDARDS TASMANIAWORKPLACE STANDARDS TASMANIAWORKPLACE STANDARDS TASMANIA

MOBILE CRANE GROUND MOBILE CRANE GROUND STABILITYSTABILITY

Details

On 9 November 2009 a serious near miss involving a 100 tonne mobile crane occurred on a busy con-struction site. There was potential for multiple fatalities. The crane was being used to lift and position

precast concrete panels. The ground beneath one of the crane outriggers collapsed while the crane was lifting a 4 ton panel. The loss of ground stability resulted in the crane outrigger sinking approxi-

mately half a metre. Fortunately, the quick placement of extra timbers under the outrigger arm pre-vented further ground collapse and the panel was able to be lowered without further incident.

Contributing Factors

An investigation into this incident revealed a number of factors which

have contributed to the cause:

• Change of cranes: Cranes which

had previously been used at the site

were not available for use. This re-sulted in a different crane company being engaged by a sub contractor.

Importantly the replacement crane had a different size outrigger foot-

print.

• Suitability of the ground and

prepared outrigger pads: An as-

sessment of the ground stability

(hard stand capability) had taken

place and pads had been prepared for the previous cranes. However the

pads did not fit the footprint for the replacement crane.

• Communication of the suitability of the ground: The crane driver was told that the ground was suitable and based his assessment on being told that previously same size cranes had set up in

the same area. The sub contracting company communicated to the replacement crane company that other large cranes had been in use in the area but did not communicate that pads had been installed.

• Identification of outrigger pads: The installed pads were not easily identifiable and were ob-

scured by surface dirt and loose gravel. As per the photograph, they were later identified with ground marking paint.

• Inadequate outrigger support timbers: The timbers used by the crane set up crew under the

out riggers were inadequate in spreading the load. Subsequently larger timbers were used as shown in

the photograph.

• Failure to adequately reassess risk: No new risk assessment took place after new plant was

introduced to the worksite as required by the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations 1998. Post

the incident, a resubmitted Job Safety Analysis was provided by the cranage company. This document

included the need to check ground stability.

Recommendations

In order to reduce the risk of possible injury or death from a crane rollover as a result of ground col-

lapse:

a risk assessment must be conducted prior to the use of any mobile crane which includes a formal

assessment of the ground stability. Importantly a new risk assessment must coincide with any

change in the plant (crane)

from the risk assessment process, a competent person must ensure that the loads imposed by the

Soft fill was obscured by surface soil

The larger timbers that were used for the bottom

layer of the packing Note the outrigger is shown set up on the correct pad location

Area of previous ground collapse

Marking paint later used to identify pads

LIFTING MATTERS April 2010 7

crane can be sustained by the ground or any other means of support. AS2550.1—2002 Cranes, hoists and winches — Safe use — General requirements, Section 4.2 deals specifically with this re-

quirement

operators of mobile cranes must be trained and aware of the requirement to ensure that ground

stability has been deemed to be satisfactory prior to commencing to set up the crane

the set up area and any installed or prepared pads must be clearly marked and identifiable

clear communication channels between all parties engaged to erect precast concrete panels is para-

mount.

When using cranes to lift precast concrete panels, a detailed erection procedure and checklist that

conforms or surpasses AS3850—2003 Tilt up concrete construction must be in place. A free checklist is available from the Work Safe Victoria Website. Go to www.worksafe.vic.gov.au and search for

“checklist for onsite erection of concrete panels”.

If you would like further information contact Workplace Standards Tasmania on:

Telephone: 1300 366 322 (inside Tasmania) or (03) 6233 7657 (outside Tasmania)

Who trained him then?

These two were spotted with their truck mounted

alloy tower, almost breaking every rule of safe working

in the book. http://www.vertikal.net/fileadmin/journals/

ca/2010/ca_2010_3_p56-57.pdf

100T CRAWLER CRANE TIP-OVER

19th April 2010

Summary of Incident

An operator was instructed to refuel a 100 tonne Manitowoc crawler crane in preparation for mobili-sation to a site.

The crane had recently been demobilised from another site and had been parked in a corner of the yard awaiting remobilisation, facing away from the exit route.

The tracks were retracted and there was 29 tonne of counter weight attached.

While attempting to manoeuvre the crane into a position to be able to track toward the fuel bowser, the operator not being able to see where he wanted to go, disengaged the slew ring lock pin and began to slew around. The crane immediately tipped over backwards onto the counterweights.

There were no injuries and very minor damage. The recovery was done immediately using a 50 tonne Kobelco crawler crane.

Actions taken to prevent reoccurrence

1. Toolbox talks with all employees

2. All crane operators have been reminded of the standing rule in the yard that no movement of any high risk plant is to be undertaken without the guidance of a spotter.

Stability is one of the most important factors relating to any crane. Failure to maintain stability is one of the key factors associated with serious crane incidents.

RDP