October 10th, 2010

Linz Austria. In what is being shown as a tower crane, the crane operator was thrown from the crane and died of his injuries. The story indicates that the the crane was shock loaded but gives a confusing scenario as to why or how. It could be that the translation is bad or that the reporters understanding is poor. Either way, it would appear that the operator was standing in the crane when the shock load happened and he was tossed out the window. Or at least that's my inference.

I've ran a crane that had no floor window and required that you stand when you are within 50 feet of the tower with a load. If a load was in tight, you were literally required to lean out the window in order to see. Fortunately in cases like that, you aren't likely to shock load a crane. I can see how if a operator had a window open, and they were standing, and you shock loaded a crane you could be tossed out. It fits quite nicely into my argument against old cranes. New Cranes have guards and glass at your feet and up for visibility. They have seat to sit down in. I grabbed a stuck load once that as soon as I realized it was stuck and not just heavy I stopped. I got on the radio and told my bellman and in the mean time it broke free. The load went over his head, I began hoisting up as fast as possible because it was going to be coming back down and I didn't want to hit him. Had I been standing, I could have easily been thrown. This also fits nicely into having a new crane so that you can have a functioning load cell so that you can discuss loads that don't react as you would expect them.

I'm also a fan of the idea of seat belts in cranes. So many operators live with injuries that could have been prevented by not being tossed around in the cab in collapses. I know that they'd never get used, but that doesn't mean that they aren't a good idea. As a kid I never used a seatbelt, but they were certainly a good idea. In the end, this old crane likely doesn't even have a seat and the result is a standing operator. Standing in front of a window on a tower crane that has the potential to shift unexpectedly and without warning.

Source for picture and story.
 Kran Unfall tötet Betreiber in Linz