HSE issues warning to crane companies after major crane collapse
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today warned tower crane suppliers to make sure staff are adequately trained when
carrying out high risk operations.
The warning follows the prosecution of Select Plant Hire Company Ltd today at the Old Bailey after a crane driver suffered
severe injuries in an incident in Croydon in June 2007
The company, based in Dartford, Kent, pleaded guilty to a breaching regulation 9(2) (b); regulation 9(2) of the Provision and use of
work Equipment Regulations 1998 and; section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.The company was fined £100,000 and
ordered to pay costs of £33,196.45.
The court heard that on 2 June 2007, the jib of a tower crane owned and operated by Select Plant Hire toppled backwards and became
detached from the mast. The jib together with the drivers cab fell through the air, crashing onto the roof of the Croydon Park Hotel.
The incident happened during a relatively rare operation to extend the height of the tower crane from 60m to 98m, using a piece of
equipment known as a climbing frame.
The team employed to extend the height of the crane had not used the equipment before and had not had any specific training on its use.
The crane driver was trapped on the roof for over an hour before rescue services were able to get him down. He suffered extensive
injuries, including three compression fractures of the spine, a fractured lumber vertebrae, two broken ribs and a fractured skull.
Two years on, the driver has been unable to return to work and is still suffering from his injuries.
The court also heard how the crane collapse caused extensive damage to the hotel. At the time of the incident there were approximately
140 residents, customers and staff in the hotel. The crane narrowly missed a gas pipe in the plant room on the roof of the hotel.
Fortunately, no one in the hotel was injured.
Amanda Huff, HSE Inspector, said: "This incident was avoidable and was caused by inadequate training of the team asked to extend the
height of the crane. This is a high risk operation and it is essential that operators have the right type of training."
Notes
1. Regulation 9(2)(b) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states that: every employer shall ensure that,
where the safety of lifting equipment depends on the installation conditions, it is thoroughly examined after assembly and before being
put into service at a new site or in a new location.
2. Regulation 9(2) of the Provision and use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that: every employer shall ensure that any of his
employees who supervises or manages the use of work equipment has received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including
training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.
3. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that: it shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his
undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected
thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.
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