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06.07.2016

Tower crane overturn

A self-erecting tower crane overturned onto a car and house yesterday in the town of Unterlangenegg, near Thun in central Switzerland.

What caused the crane to fall is not clear from the information that we have received so far, but it seems to have fallen sideways and most likely due to a failure on the chassis/jacking set up or ground.
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The crane jib struck a building and ripped the side of a parked van


Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident. If and when we learn more we will update this item,

Comments

cfk88
Dear Mr pointlesscommentsby
Tristan has got the point of my post down to a t. You copy and pasted drivel won't help anyone. You need to engage with people not bore them with stats and legal waffle.

Why, because Worker Safety is very important and the Five (5) men Killed in a
Birmingham Scrapyard on Thursday 070716 once again underlines this fact.

Kind Regards kc

Jul 14, 2016

Tmayes
Workers safety is far from pointless and nobody has said that, 99.9% of people in the industry believe it's very important.
CFK88 was aiming that at your comments, they are pointless copy and paste that's only good for putting people to sleep in a induction or a meeting. If you really want to make a difference then you need to start connecting with the real world of cranes.

Jul 13, 2016

Gasping for air
Romans 1:22: Claiming to be wise, they became fools.

Jul 12, 2016

Good Evening Mr CFK,

The Preservation of Human Life is never Pointless.
and if you truly have the Courage of your Convictions…..
Please sign off in your real name, so the World knows your Identity.

Worker Safety is very important and the Five (5) men Killed in a
Birmingham Scrapyard (RIP friends) on Thu 070716 reinforces this fact.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Jul 12, 2016

cfk88
who's Mr Wood ?

Jul 11, 2016

Good Morning Mr Wood,

Thank you for your kind words, it was nice of you to write.
HSE will confirm that…..

1. UK Industrial Fatal Incidents (all) was 144 Killed in 2015.
2. Construction Industry (alone) Fatal Incidents was 43 plus 2 or 45 Killed in 2015.
3. Crane & Lifting Ops Killed 294 Men, Women & Children Worldwide since 010114.
(MJP Database since 010114)

Therefore I am Happy to debate any aspect of Crane Safety with you personally in public, however please sign-off in your real name, so that the World knows your True Identity.

Why, because Worker Safety is very important and the Five (5) men Killed in a
Birmingham Scrapyard on Thursday 070716 once again underlines this fact.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Jul 10, 2016

cfk88
Another two pointless comments from Sir Mike

Jul 8, 2016

Good Morning Mr Mayes,

Thank you again for your kind words, it was nice of you to write.

Your use of the word ‘Expert’ caught my attention, as I first heard this word defined by an Excellent Terex Plant Mechanic in Sth Africa who said that “Ex- was a has been and Spurt was a Hydraulic Oil Leak Under pressure”. So let me say right from the outset, I am not an Expert, nor a Crane Operator, nor a Barrister.

However the English Common Law ‘Duty of Care’ is directly relevant to you personally and to all other UK Crane Industry Employers and Employees. Please ask your Solicitor to advise you accordingly, better still read it for yourself on page 562 of volume One of The All England Law Reports for 1932.

HSE will confirm that 142 Men and Women were Killed at Work in the UK during 2014, with yet another Five (5) Men Killed by a Collapsed Wall made of Large Concrete Blocks in a Birmingham scrapyard yesterday morning Thursday 7th July 2016.

So if my Crane Safety work saves just one life, it will all be worthwhile. Even if it does mean being mis-described by your goodself.

Why, because Worker Safety is very Important.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Jul 8, 2016

Tmayes
So no information on why or how this crane has gone over but our resident crane expert and self appointed law adviser has copied and pasted a lot of useless text.

Jul 6, 2016

Gideon
You can pull a self erecting crane over even with a perfect chassis/jacking set up and ground. The limiters will only protect vertical lifts. Anything that takes the centre of gravity outside of the crane feet (typically around 3 to 4 metre square) will overturn it.

Jul 6, 2016

Good Morning Mr Editor,

Crane Operators and Plant Mechanics already know about the ‘Duty of Care’ and its widespread application to UK Crane & AWP companies, all arising from the infamous Snail in the Bottle case reported as Donoghue. v. Stevenson [1932] HL All ER1.562.

So as the first Seven Days of June 2016 started off with Six seperate Crane & AWP Incidents Worldwide, leading to the Death of One Man. This may be an opportune moment to reconsider Lord Atkins LCJ authoritative Judgment in Tort of Negligence.

Atkin LCJ said “You must not injure your neighbour and (this then raises) the Lawyers question, who then is my Neighbour receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your Neighbour : Who (then) is my Neighbour ? ; The Answer seems to be (any) persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act(s) that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in (into) Question” : The Judge then referred to the earlier decision of Heaven.v. Pender 1QB.491, then repeated the judgment of Lord Esher MR that “ Under certain circumstances, One Man may owe a Duty of Care to another even though there is No Contract between them. If one Man (or Crane) is near to another or near to the property of another, a Duty (of Care) lies upon him (the Crane Owner) not to do that which may cause personal injury to another, or may injure his property”
( para-phrased in places for greater clarity).

So why is a Decision of this Court in 1932 of importance to Crane & AWP companies in 2016. The answer lies in the fact that the UK Courts are arranged in a Hierarchical Pyramid, which means that previous decisions of Senior Courts such as The Supreme Court, HL and Court of Appeal are binding on all of the Crown Courts in the UK unless the facts of the case can be distinguished by the Defence Barrister. So the authoritative principle arising from Donoghue.v. Stevenson [1932] is just as valid today, as it was 84 yrs ago. Crane and AWP Owners need to take notice of this ?

Fast forward 42 years and the UK Parliament enrolled the primary legislation known as The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which incorporated this common Law principle in Sections 2(1) and 3(1). All of which requires UK Employers to protect Employees and Non-Employees from Fatal and/or Personal Injuries in the Workplace. So if the Employer is the Duty-Holder ( not the Employee), with BIG fines for Non-Compliance, for example £2.6 Million Fine on Balfour-Beatty Utility Solutions in May 2016; Why are we still seeing so many Crane and AWP Incidents ?

June 2016 was no exception with yet another Fourteen (14) Crane and AWP Incidents Worldwide, (one every 51 Hours) causing Five (5) Fatalities.
Vertikal Readers may know that I have now completed 8 yrs of Research into Crane Incidents and can confirm that 294 Men, Women and Children have now been Killed by Cranes, AWP’s and Lifting Operations since 1st January 2014.

So what is to be done about this ongoing Death Toll ?
In the absence of any other initiatives, may I suggest that all Crane and AWP companies...…

a.) Start a Safety Training Programme.
b.) CEO and all others to be Invited to attend.
c.) Call it “How to Avoid Crane & AWP Accidents”.

Because unless I have been Trained by my Employer, how could I possibly know the difference between the Crane Boom Angle, Boom Radius and Boom Deflection ?
Cranes and AWP's are uniquely different, as they are continuously attempting to Defeat Gravity. Moreover Safety Training is Highly Cost Effective, as the CEO of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions would confirm.

Finally and in closing, the BIG Benefit of Safety Training being that everyone gets to go home in one-piece at the end of the Day.

Worker Safety is important.

Kind Regards
Mike Ponsonby

Jul 6, 2016