Crane Hot Line October 2024 | Page 19

Safety Solutions four-and-a-half years and the longest tenure with us is about eight years,” he said.“ Crane operators tend to be relatively short-term employees.

“ We see applications for new help from the same people who work for different companies,” Finnerty continued.“ For example, we recently had an applicant who had seven jobs with different companies in the past three years. One of the keys to maintaining a steady approach to safety is having people who stay with a company, so a goal for us is to spend the time to hire the right people in the first place.”

Overall, according to Finnerty, an industry wide effort to develop tower crane safety guidelines will go a long way toward improving safety. Currently, he’ s working on the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association committee to produce a handbook that provides total coverage.

“ As an industry we have to be more conscious about how we do things,” Finnerty said.“ Planning early is the key to smoother, successful and safer crane operations.”

Identifying Hazards

EMC Insurance, which provides a range of products for commercial contractor operations, offers a series of overhead crane safety tips. Almost 30 % of fatal injuries in the construction industry involve the use of cranes, the company noted. The three most common crane safety hazards include:

1. Accidental contact with energized power lines. 2. Overloading crane capacity. 3. Materials falling.

The following is a list of EMC-related safety precautions to follow while operating large machines, but in short, the company advises training employees who work around overhead cranes. To ensure a safe working environment, they should follow these guidelines:

• Move cranes into position when the area is free of workers.

• Position the crane so the boom doesn’ t swing over workers.

• Post a traffic controller on crowded sites.

• Make sure boom stops are in place to keep the crane from flipping backward.

• Rope off or barricade the swing area of the crane and clearly mark it with warning signs.

• Shut off the power line current if possible and make repeated visual checks of your position in relation to power lines.

• Avoid raising the boom too high.

• Center the top block over the load to prevent load swinging.

• Make sure you have enough counterweight to prevent tipping.

• Position the boom to avoid long sidepulls and use tag lines to limit swinging when you move a load horizontally.

• Turn the crane slowly and smoothly to keep the boom from twisting.

Anti-collision systems register the position of tower cranes and automatically create interference zones so mobile cranes can be repositioned safely around them.

• Use properly shored outriggers to prevent tilting, which can cause a side-bend in the boom.

• Rig hoisted materials to prevent unintentional displacement and use hooks with self-closing safety latches.

• Before workers move into the fall zone to handle a load, it must first be rigged by a qualified rigger.

• Avoid the quick release of a load on a near-vertical boom.

Worker protection is also important on the ground:

• Stay out from under crane booms and suspended loads and watch for falling objects.

• Wear a hard hat if you’ re working anywhere near a crane.

• Wear gloves to protect your hands.

• Never enter a roped-off or barricaded area near a crane.

• Watch your hand and arm placement to prevent being pinched between the sling and the load or sling and the hook.

• Never attempt to adjust or turn a load while it’ s suspended.

• Anticipate a crane’ s swing radius when a lifting operation is taking place.

To a crane operator, few experiences may be as frightening as when a crane becomes unbalanced while a load is being lifted or when the crane collapses under the weight of an excessive load.

“ Moving large, heavy loads is crucial to today’ s manufacturing and construction industries,” OSHA wrote on its Crane, Derrick and Hoist Safety web page.“ Much technology has been developed for these operations, including careful training and extensive workplace precautions. There are significant safety issues to be considered, both for the operators of lifting devices and for workers in proximity to them.”

OSHA offers a range of reference materials that can help in recognizing and evaluating hazards in the workplace, including fact sheets, videos and tip cards. For more information: https:// www. osha. gov / cranes-derricks /.