06.03.2012

Wrong manual caused fatal crane collapse

An incorrect crane manual appears to have been at the root of the fatal 2006 Battersea crane incident in London.

According to evidence presented at this week’s inquest the wrong manual accompanied the crane and indicated that a 12.2 tonne counterweight should be used. However the correct counterweight for the long back-mast that was installed on the crane was eight tonnes.

As a result the crane was operating seriously out of balance and back heavy, added to this fact, errors were made following an inspection two months prior to the incident, in which four bolts were found to be missing, while 10 were loose.
When they were replaced they were torqued to less than 50 percent of what would have been required to handle the 12.2 tonnes of installed counterweight.

The crane, a 28 year old BPR model was owned by Falcon Cranes. HSE inspector Brent Bolton, told the court that Falcon did not have the correct manual for the particular crane and that pages were missing from the one they did have.

In spite of this, the UK Health & Safety Executive and Crown Prosecution Service determined last year that there was not enough evidence to proceed with a criminal prosecution for either corporate manslaughter of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The inquest is expected to run all week.

Vertikal Comment

While this evidence is shocking, what is far far worse is that it has taken over five years for it to be placed clearly in the public domain. It is entirely possible that in the time since then another company may have made a similar error, resulting in further deaths.

Why is it that aviation inspectors can inform and alert everyone in a short space of time what may have caused an accident, so that preventative steps can be taken to avoid a similar incident and yet the HSE has to dither for more than five years?