May 28, 2010

Vigili Del Fuoco Italy in Central Itally a small tower crane collapsed. It appears to be a tip as even the base is on it's side. The article indicates that it appears that the counterweights were removed and by judging the jib, the crane was still erected when this was done. Fortunately no one was hurt.

Even the little tower cranes need to be respected. The same thing happened last year in Hawaii. A contractor new to tower cranes was making decisions about how the crane needed to be handled rather than contacting the people that handle them all of the time and are trained on them. At the very least, read and understand the manual before you dismantle the crane.