This month, again a lot of excitement on terrible incidents, which hit the Crane Industry. I am not talking about the unsafe storage practices of chemicals in Tianjin, China, which caused an enormous explosion with more than a hundred casualties and enormous damage to the environment, local buildings and houses. I am referring to the lifting incident that took place in Alphen aan den Rijn on the 3rd of August 2015, with two large Hydraulic cranes positioned on two separate barges trying to lift a 187 tons bridge section and install it further down the river.
Check it out on my website: HERE or click on the picture at right. It was a miracle no one was hurt, but significant damage was done to both cranes, the nearby homes and shops as well as the bridge section.
It will be quite a challenge to remove the cranes, as they are lying half in the river and half across homes, streets and other properties, with very little room to spare. The same applies from the river side, which is completely blocking water transport and does not make access easy from that si de.
What has happened is still under investigation, but in my humble opinion it will not be too difficult to find out the Root Cause of this potentially fatal incident . I have publicly asked for a full report on the cause of this incident and would like to see the Method Statement, which should have been the basis for this complex lifting project.
Has the Rigging Supervisor in charge of this project understood, that when lifting a load with a freely suspended tackle, it is as if the CoG of the load moves to the top of the boom head and significantly reduces the Stability (GM value) of the 11.45 m wide barge ? I have in the meantime made my own analysis and can assure you, that the tolerances on this job were very tight and required extreme skill and care to execute it successfully. I am not saying that you cannot do it this way, but the margin of error was very small.
Apparently in the early stage of the project ( directly after lifting the bridge section) the Operatives went over these tight tolerances (watch the video) and despite this the bridge section pulled the first crane over. Due to the shock Loads caused by tipping of the 400 Tons Liebherr LTM 1400 crane, the second crane, positioned on a second barge, shifted with one of the outriggers over the edge of the barge and tipped as well. If they had properly secured the outriggers of the 700 Tons Demag AC700 with Chains to the barge deck, then that crane would never had tipped over and would have probably been saved. Check it out in the video
I have been criticized by the public for venting an opinion on this incident in the News Media (TV and news papers), but please understand, that the only goal I try to achieve is to make the "Heavy Transport & Lifting Industry" a Safer Industry, so that everyone goes home in one piece.
By not informing the public as well as the Indu stry, what has actually occured, we will not make the Industry any safer. As Human Beings we all make mistakes, but we and especially the victims concerned deserve a full report, explaining what went wrong, how and why and what measures the companies involved have taken to avoid this from happening again.
It is now more then 2 weeks after the incident, and we still have no news on the Root Cause of this potentially Fatal Incident.
Safety is paramount to these complex lifting jobs. My good friend and Barrister at Law Mike Ponsonby worded it as below:
1. Directors make Policy, Managers and Supervisors carry it out and Crane Drivers Operate the Levers.
2. Therefore it is my experience that the BIGGEST Problem lies at Board Level, where a CEO once told me that “Health and Safety was a Load of Bollocks”. So if the CEO is not committed to Safety, this then creates a negative view that permeates down thru every level of all companies.
3. In English Law a Criminal Act like Murder requires the Prosecution Barrister to prove two separate Elements to get a Conviction.
a) Is the Actus Reas, that is the Guilty Act.
b) Is Mens Rea, ( Latin for) the Guilty Mind.
4. This means that if I dont make the decision to Kill, but I Kill my victim by means of a Negligent or Unintended Act then it is Not Murder, but is Manslaughter. ( that is without Mens Rea).
5. In the UK we have yet to see a Crane Company convicted of Manslaughter, but we will and Alphen takes us another step closer to it ?
6. The Alphen Incident has significantly raised awareness of the Authorities to the Negligence of the Planners involved in this lift. So BIG Changes can be expected in NL Law.
More and more companies recognize the value of specialized training for their operational personnel and staff.
My mission is to expose and make incidents and accidents less likely so that the publics perception of the Crane Industry, slowly improves.
Still more incidents are being reported, which in one way is good, as it reveals how unsafe a lot of projects are still being executed. I hope we can all learn from the mistakes we are still making. The only way to improve safety in our Industry is by proper training of staff and by exposing contractors and companies with unsafe work practices and in case of an incident to report this in full detail, so we al l learn from the mistakes that are still being made.
So please, if you come across any of these situations, mail them to me and I will post them on my website.
Still some tragic fatal incidents happened this last month, check it out via the posts at the right hand side.
Since Julye 21st, I posted so far: 21 incidents, in which 6 persons were killed, most of them involved accidents related to lifting of loads with cranes
Check it out under http://www.heavyliftnews.com/accidents
Unfortunately most of these incidents were caused by human error.
Many cranes tipped, persons were electrocuted, tele handlers and boom lifts were used the wrong way, or due to overload or not following procedures. See posts at right.
Training and eduction of operational as well as other staff is vital to safe operations. Here is your chance to join the "Heavy Transport, Lifting, Shipping & Offshore " Seminar/Masterclass.
Learn from Industry Expert Richard Krabbend am (known as the Heavy Lift Specialist) the "Tips & Tricks" and the "Do's and Don'ts" how a Heavy Load should be lifted, transported or shipped, what are forces and how to keep them under control.
With 42 years of experience in the "Heavy Transport, Lifting, Shipping & Offshore Industry", I will clearly explain the basics of what you should and especially what you should not do. Check out the detailed program on my website HERE
Do not be afraid and send an e-mail to mrs. Melanie Seah: [email protected]
Even without a technical back ground, you will find this a very valuable course, as I will show you a lot of practical examples, either in pictures or videos and by means of small scale models. See below:
- Do you know how you can simply estimated sling Forces??
- Why does a crane tip over?
- What is a Load moment?
- How do you select the right Hydraulic Platform Trailer or SPMT for a particular load?
- What is a Min.Break Load (MBL)?
- What is WLL?
- What Safety Factors are applicable?
- What is a DAF (Dynamic Amplification Factor)?
- How can you avoid incidents and Project delays?
How do we make a lift- transport- or stow-plan? On all th ese questions and a lot more, you will get the answers. There is enough time to ask questions as well and deal with a particular issue you may have.
What is stability of a transport combination and what criteria must be observed to avoid the tipping of a transport combination, crane or ship. How can we calculate the required number of lashings etc.
Do not miss this opportunity and join in Kuala Lumpur (7-10th of Sept. 2015)
I have presented my Seminars/Masterclasses now 88 times in 23 Co untries!
Sharing my "Know How" and "Experience", is what I do, since I have retired from Jumbo Shipping in 2010, after having worked for more then 42 years in this fascinating Industry.
The Seminar/workshop is valuable for: Construction Managers, Plant Managers, Freight Forwarders, Warrantee Surveyors, Crane operators, Rigging and Lifting Supervisors, Maintenance Personnel, Trailer Operators, Cargo Superintendents, Project Managers, Insurance companies, Wind Farm builders, Offshore Construction yards, Shipyards, Refinery Construction, Power Plants, EPC Contractors, Oil Companies and anyone who deals with Moving and Lifting Heavy Loads.
Check out the program on http://www.heavyliftspecialist.com or at http://www.heavyliftspecialist.com/shop/
Join these valuable Seminars in Singapore, KL , Perth, WA or Bangkok or subscribe to my articles (it does not cost you anything) on "Heavy Transport & Lifting" and learn how to handle "Heavy Lifts" Safely, or buy the Seminar slides package and get all my 54 articles (161pages) as one pdf file as a bonus and IMPROVE Safety in the Industry!!
If this message is not of interest to you, forward it to a friend or colleague, who might be interested.
I look forward meeting you at one of my Seminars!
Kind regards,
< br>
Richard L.Krabbendam
Heavy Lift Specialist
Mob.+31-6-15040873
e-mail: [email protected]
Skype: richard.krabbendam2
If you want more information on the KL, Perth or Bangkok Seminars send an e-mail to Mrs. Melanie e-mail: [email protected] for more details to register.
Scheduled for 2015 are the following public Seminars:
Click on the link below to Register:
- 7, 8, 9 and 10 September 2015, Kuala Lumpur (Heavy Transport, Lifting, Shipping & Offshore) Please contact Melanie Seah: e-mail: melanie.se [email protected]
- 12, 13, 14 and 15 October 2015, Perth, WA (Heavy Transport, Lifting, Shipping & Offshore)
- 16, 17, 18 and 19 Nov. 2015, Bangkok (Heavy Transport, Lifting, Shipping & Offshore)
- 26-27 Nov. 2015, Rotterdam (Heavy Transport, Lifting & Shipping)
This two- , three- or four day masterclass will aid intermediate to advanced students learn best practices on handling "Heavy Lifts" Safely. The comprehensive workshop includes a.o. the following topics:
· Building a liftplan
· Choosing the right crane
· Using a tail crane
· Selecting the right platform trailer or SPMT
· Estimating forces in lifting sling
· Calculating the average groundload under an SPMT or hydraulic platform trailer
· Avoiding accidents and improving safety
· Calculating the center of gravity properly
· Selecting the right spreader beam
· Calculating saddle loads
· Trailer stability guidelines
· Staying in control of weights
· Learning about ships stability
· Working with mobile Cranes on barges
· Lashing & Securing Basics
· Offshore Installation vessels
· Plus much more…
In case you want to train and educate yourself and operating crew, buy all updated digital files containing all SEMINAR SLIDES of the successful two day seminar “Heavy Transport & Lifting” ! (Excluding the "Heavy Lift Shipping" & "Offshore" Chapters)
Now as a bonus you will get 47+11 Video fragments added for the same price!! Only € 100.-- for the standard 2 Day Seminar slides Package and € 150.-- for the extended Seminar Slides Package (Incl. 'Heavy Lift Shipping & Offshore Lifting & Installation Techniques = 4.5 GB of digital information) all can be downloaded after successful payment with Credit Card, Giropay or Ideal. START NOW!!!
Training is essential to Management as well as operational Staff, as can be seen on this incident of a Platform trailer that almost tipped over in Brazil lately. Check it out on HEAVYLIFTNEWS.COM
THESE INCIDENTS ARE PREVENTABLE, PROVIDED THE OPERATORS GET THE NECESSARY TRAINING!!!