crane lifting safety tips

Are Your Safety Practices Ready For Spring?

, , , , , , ,

Working at Height in the Spring: 10 Ways to Stay Safe
Written by: Jen Adams

Key Takeaway: Be prepared for unpredictable spring weather by keeping the job-site clean,
planning for the forecasted weather, using the right PPE, and taking thorough
safety precautions.

Temperatures may be rising, but spring brings its own set of risks (and borrows some from
winter) that need to be taken seriously. Keep these best practices in mind while you’re working
at height this season to stay safe while enjoying the breeze.

1. Always check the weather.

The only thing consistent about spring weather is that it changes consistently. Be prepared for
the heat or cold by checking the weather ahead of time and plan accordingly, and always be
prepared for sudden changes that could occur.

2. Complete thorough safety checks on all large equipment.

With inconsistent weather comes loose earth, mud that gets everywhere, and a higher risk
of rust when equipment is repeatedly soaked and left to dry. Always make sure to check
equipment and machinery before using it and stay up to date on safety regulations by
checking WorkSafeBC.com and using tools like Bigfoot’s Crane Academy.

3. Secure your materials.

High winds can pick up quickly in the spring and are often stronger the higher you work, as the
site is usually more exposed. Make sure the materials you are working with are secure at all
times to avoid injuries or falls from loose materials or objects blowing around.

4. Avoid using power tools in rainy or wet conditions.

Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. By using power tools in the rain or wet after a
rain, you not only run the risk of damaging your tools, but risk electric shock or electrocution if
any wires become exposed while you work. Play it safe and use hand tools where possible or
set up cover over your work area to keep the area dry.

5. Be wary of thunder and lightning storms.

Spring storms are especially dangerous to those working at heights, as lightning is drawn to
metal and tall structures. Monitor the weather report, be aware of your environment, and if the
weather looks dicey, don’t risk working in a storm.

6. Give yourself some traction.

Slipping is always a risk when working on the job-site but becomes even more so when working at
height on wet surfaces. Wear boots and gloves that fit well (make sure they are tight enough that
they can’t slip off, but not so tight as to cut off circulation) and have a lot of traction and grip to
prevent accidents.

7. Always wear appropriate fall PPE, even if working at a lower height.

Most fall-related accidents occur at 30 ft. or less because people view lower heights as less
dangerous, but it takes very little height for a fall to cause injury or even death. Height should be
treated seriously and with caution in any season, but mud and rain make it especially important
to utilize fall PPE in the spring.

8. Let your fall PPE dry naturally before its next use.

Drying equipment with an electric dryer or heater can weaken or melt the material, ruining the
equipment and putting its user at risk. Blot your equipment with towels and hang it up to dry
completely on its own whenever it gets wet, and always check it carefully before each use.

9. Dress warmly enough, and cool enough.

Spring weather may feel warm compared to winter, but its unpredictable nature means that
temperatures can drop to hazardous temperatures, especially when coupled with consistent
cold rains. Dress in layers to ensure you can always keep up with whatever cold or heat the day
throws at you.

10. Train staff to identify weather-based illnesses.

Heat and cold stress occur when the body either warms up faster than it can cool (resulting in
heat exhaustion or sunstroke) or cools down faster than it can warm up (resulting in frostbite
or hypothermia). While they happen more often in summer and winter, they can also strike in
temperatures that don’t seem very extreme. People working at heights can also be at a higher
risk as they tend to be more exposed to the elements. Make sure there are staff on site who are
trained to recognize and treat signs of heat and cold illnesses.

Click here to download: Working at Height in the Spring: 10 Ways to Stay Safe

/by
hoist operator training vancouver

Bigfoot Crane Company Inc. Now Approved for On & Off-Site Construction Hoist Operator Training

, , , , ,
Read more
/by

A Cut Above: Bigfoot Supplies Unique Man Basket to Diamond Mine

, ,

When the Dominion Diamond Corporation needed a newer, safer, and more efficient solution for an ongoing challenge in their mining operations, they called Bigfoot Crane Company.

Dominion Diamond Corporation is a Canadian mining company that has become a major supplier of rough diamonds to the world market. Their operation at the Ekati Diamond Mine near the Arctic Circle often requires specialized equipment that can withstand challenging work environments and harsh climates.

In order to bring rough diamonds to the surface, the company utilizes a team of skilled workers known as High Wall Scalers. This specialized crew works in the open pits to remove hazards, like large rocks and boulders, from the sheer, vertical walls of the mine, which can be as high as thirty meters.

“The High Wall Scalers are there to protect other crew members,” said Chantal Lavoie, Chief Operating Officer for Dominion Diamond Corporation. “They’ll scale down from the walls of the mine using a scaling bar to push or pry the rocks off or an airbag to loosen them. If the rock is too big to move, they’ll anchor it in place by installing ground support.”

It’s this last activity that necessitated the need for a rock-scaling basket. Lavoie noted that if there was a large area where ground support was needed, the basket let the team go in and install ground support materials in a more efficient manner. The company had used a similar piece of equipment years before but wanted something bigger and better.

Enter Bigfoot.

Working with the engineering team at Dominion Diamond Corporation, Bigfoot designed and built a customized rock scaling basket according to the company’s specific requirements.

Lavoie noted: “We wanted to make sure this was going to work for the crew, so one of the first things we did was reach out to them to see what kind of improvements would help them do their job.”

Bigfoot delivered a completely customized finished product that turned out to be, according to Lavoie, better than expected.

The new man basket is ergonomically designed, with adjustable wall supports, covered sides and a solid bottom to cut down on wind. Best of all, according to Lavoie, the new basket significantly improved crew safety and allowed workers to use a different type of drill that was more efficient for them.

“The customized basket has doubled high-wall scaler productivity,” said Lavoie. “The team is pleased with how fast and how efficiently it works. It also allowed us to extend our operating season.”

“This was a good investment for us,” Lavoie concluded. “The equipment works well in our specific operating environment and given our specific and unique requirements.”

To read the full case study, click here.

For more information about Boscaro man baskets, click here.

/by

Towering Above the Competition

, ,

Phoenix Fabricators and Erectors needed to cut a 100-foot water tank, add a 40-foot extension, then put the suspended piece back on. For a company with more than 30 years of experience in constructing, installing, renovating and rebuilding large above-ground water tanks across the US, the project should have been routine.

It was anything but. Call it a perfect storm combining hazards and challenges that most project engineers do their best to avoid. “We were limited by sight constraints,” says Kurt Fuller, Engineer of Record for Phoenix. “Our three large cranes had limited mobility and were set up on a very tight work site. On top of that, we were directly adjacent to a community high school.”

To read the full case study, click here.

For more information about the NAVIS Anemometer systems, click here.

/by
Windy smartphone anemometer

Lights, Camera, NAVIS!

, , , ,

Safety is paramount on any production set and in an industry where getting just the right shot can make all the difference, that safety is even more critical when people and equipment are being lifted high in the air.

To read the full case study, click here.

For more information about the NAVIS Anemometer systems, click here.

/by

Paradox Hotel in Downtown Vancouver

, ,

Raising the Roof Without Lowering Productivity

The Situation: The Paradox Hotel in downtown Vancouver needed a way to hoist all the pieces of the steel canopy at its podium up as high as seventy feet above street level. The crane had to stay in place for several months and operate within a narrow space between two existing high-rises, all without blocking the street and the sidewalk or interfering with a second crane on the same site.

Special Challenge 1: Busy street, busy sidewalk. Don’t block either. Ever.

The City of Vancouver would not allow a crane to block any part of West Georgia Street for long periods of time. The same went for the sidewalk. So, we engineered a twenty-foot stand over the sidewalk and set the self-erecting crane on top of that. People could easily pass underneath. One problem. We still needed City approval to block the street while the crane was lifted onto its stand. However, it turned out that we had another project at the Fortis Building just down the block which also needed a crane lifted onto the site. So, we waited several months for street closure approval, then piggybacked both jobs together on the same day, the Sunday between Christmas and New Year’s.

Special Challenge 2: Wide reach in a narrow space.

The steel for the building’s base canopy needed to be placed between two high-rises, which meant limited mobility for the crane. The Potain Self-Erecting Tower Crane features a hydraulic unfolding jib which allowed us to retract the jib throughout the project. When folded, the crane could swing out over the street to pick up steel from trucks and offload it onto the site. Once the steel was between the two buildings, the crane could fold its jib out to reach to all of the difficult places. By law, a self-erecting crane must be able to weathervane, slewing 360° when not in use. Since this crane couldn’t do this within the narrow space, we implemented an engineered tie-down to secure the jib when out of service.

Special Challenge 3: Choreograph a two-crane tango.

A tower crane was already working the site erecting the main structure tower, but it couldn’t be utilized to place the steel at the podium since it was working at capacity adding floors. We organized a safe work schedule and radio contact between both crane operators, allowing them to safely lift off different trucks in the same loading zone without interfering with each other.

The Solution in Summary: It was a tall logistical order, but we came up with an integrated plan that included:

  1. A 35-metre Potain HD40A Self-Erecting Tower Crane mounted on an engineered 20-foot stand set up over the sidewalk, allowing foot traffic to move freely underneath
  2. An innovative hydraulic jib allowed the crane to maneuver between the two high-rises
  3. Radio coordination between the two crane operators, which enabled smooth operations

To read the full case study, click here.

/by
Crane safety rules

How Overhead Crane Safety Can Prevent Accidents

Amid recent news of a terrifying double crane collapse on August 3, which crushed multiple homes and shops in Holland, the importance of overhead crane safety continues to show that it cannot be stressed enough. Cranes and hoists are necessary in many construction applications, such as the building of the bridge in Holland where this recent collapse occurred. Equipment failure and improper use of cranes cause accidents, property damage, injuries and fatalities every year. Implementing overhead crane safety that recognizes hazards and adheres to simple inspection and safety guidelines can reduce the likelihood of these unfortunate events.

Hazards You Should Look Out For

  • Electrical Hazards. Coming into contact with energized power lines can be deadly; the rule of thumb is to assume all lines are live. Although it usually harms the person in direct contact with the crane, there is a risk of others being injured. Pre-job safety planning can be instrumental in preventing electrical dangers. Local safety regulations will outline a safe distance between operators and power lines. Marking off the safe distance with tape and signs can be helpful for providing a visual aid to the crane operator.
  • Overloading. Common sense says that a crane should never be overloaded past its rated weight capacity; otherwise, you risk collapse of the crane toppling over. However, it does often occurs when an experienced operator decides to trust their instinct on what sort of load their crane can bear, instead of following safety procedures. Using load-measuring systems and other technologies can help prevent overloading.
  • Side pull. Cranes and hoists are designed to lift straight up and straight down according to the Hoist Manufacturers Institute and the Crane Manufacturers Association of America. A side pull can cause the wire rope to come out of its groove and damage itself by scraping against the drum or remaining rope. It’s not unheard of for the rope to jump the drum itself, causing it to tangle around the shaft and put additional stress on the rope.
  • Falling materials. There’s always a risk of falling materials at any construction site. Mechanical failure, slippage, visual impairment, and incompetency on behalf of the crane operator are all potential causes. It’s important for workers to wear their hardhats and engage in personal safety measures; however, that is often not enough to prevent injury or fatality when a load is dropped.
  • Braking issues. A contributing factor to the hazard of falling materials is reliance on second braking. Primary and secondary brakes are required for all hoists, and electric hoists will have a drum brake or fail-safe disc brake. These are to ensure that the crane will continue to hold its load if the power suddenly goes out.

Secondary Brakes are not Foolproof

There are two main types of secondary brakes, mechanical load brakes and regenerative brakes. Mechanical load brakes are rarely used because they are expensive and generate a lot of heat. Regenerative brakes are more common, but they are not designed to hold the load in the result of a primary brake failure, instead they will lower the load at the standard operating speed.

Keep in mind that no matter what kind of secondary brake a crane or hoist is using, it is unsafe to walk beneath a load. Whether the load takes a controlled fall or just drops, the results for anyone underneath the load could easily be fatal. Proper overhead crane safety assumes that the crane operator is not relying on the assistance of secondary brakes.

Overhead Crane Safety Calls for Daily Inspections

A simple safety check requires the operator to use their eyes and ears and keep record of what they find. A visual survey can often confirm whether the:

  • Area is clear
  • Crane looks operational
  • Crane might be in need of repair

It’s also important to check to make sure that the end stops are in place and functioning. Crane operators should make sure that the hoist is working in all directions, and that the buttons’ directions match its movement. Safety circuits will be disabled and all of the directional buttons will be wrong if the power phases happen to be reversed.

An experienced operator can tell a lot by listening to the crane as well, including unusual sounds when running up the hoist, or trolley and bridge movement. After examining the hoist and going through your inspection checklist, make sure to document any changes or anything unusual.

Although they only take a few minutes and are required by OSHA and most regulatory agencies worldwide, not everyone performs daily inspections on their cranes. The task doesn’t require any special maintenance personnel; all it needs is an operator checking a simple checklist. This one task is a simple step in overhead crane safety and is critical to preventing property damage and injuries.

Most if not all of the accidents associated with overhead crane use are easily preventable by paying attention to potential hazards, performing daily inspections and just using common sense.

photo via www.nickleelectrical.com

 

/by
Construction risk management

Strategies for Managing Construction Risk

, ,

A certain amount of risk is unavoidable. Whatever your business venture, some risk will remain. Construction projects are no exception to this reality.

However, it is important to focus on managing construction risk through proper preparation and a thorough review of contract documents at the beginning of a project. Allocating the responsibility for risk to the parties that are best able to manage them can minimize incidents and the cost of each risk. Keep these simple tips in mind when preparing for your next project.

Allocating Your Risk

A part of managing construction risks includes working together with all parties during contract preparation to anticipate potential risks and assign responsibility for them to the party best capable of handling them, if they should arise.

The owner would typically be best at managing flaws in design, placement and environment, while the contractor would be better at handling issues with personnel and performance. Management of indemnity and general insurance are key to managing construction risk in these scenarios.

Protection with Indemnity Policies and Provisions

Liability that arises from professional negligence is best managed through professional indemnity insurance. Most indemnity policies contain a contractual liability that is equivalent to professional negligence. Many professional consultants are required to carry such insurance. A proactive way of managing construction risk before beginning a project is to ensure that your coverage is up-to-date and will meet the needs of your particular project before beginning.

  • Product Liability Insurance – This coverage protects against liability for injury to people or damage to property that arises from products supplied by a business. Suppliers of equipment to a construction or engineering project, such as lifts or escalators, may be required to maintain such insurance. You may want to hire a consultant to ensure that the insurance carried by the supplier matches the needs of your project. Indemnity clauses regarding product liability should place responsibility squarely on the contractor.
  • Public Liability Insurance – Liability arising from death or personal injury to third parties and for damage to property belonging to third parties falls under this type of coverage. Normally you would provide adequate security to ensure that public liability remains at a low-risk during your construction project. However, by assigning responsibility through definitive clauses, you are ensuring that should the risk arise, it will be handled with the care that is required for such incidents.
  • Latent Defects Insurance – This insurance generally protects the owner against the cost of remedying the structure of a building due to unknown and unforeseeable defects. While an owner would typically cover this, individual provisions may be made for material placement and quality-of-work issues that revolve around the contractor’s intrinsic responsibility regarding these facets of the project.

Managing Construction Risk in Funding and Feasibility

Two other forms of risk that commonly have a negative impact on construction projects are funding risks and feasibility risks. These are often described as “invisible risks” because they are rarely evident until they arise. However, careful preparation and research can go a long way towards preventing them. Both require different strategies to manage, but both come from the same source – the reliability, solvency, and professionalism of the available contractors.

Feasibility risks arise from hidden weaknesses in the original business plan proposal. They can include (but are not limited to) environmental concerns, including:

  • Unforeseen factors in location
  • Issues with coding and zoning laws
  • Weather-based delays

A proper analysis of location, as well as a review by an expert in local zoning and coding is necessary to ensure that both the contractor and the owner are prepared for the hidden costs of feasibility defects before signing the contracts for your project.

Funding risks are inevitable but are rarely prepared for. They can include a multitude of situations such as:

  • Subcontractors refusing to abide by original quotes
  • Cost of potential fines
  • Expenses associated with extended service contracts

While it is impossible to entirely avoid funding risks, setting clear budgetary limits for contractors and the proper examination and mitigation of feasibility risks will go a long way towards preventing unexpected costs from derailing a project.

Risk Management Is “Management”

Realizing that managing construction risks is just that…managing, not preventing, is necessary for coping with the inevitable. Remember these three steps: “Research, prepare, assign.” This is considered an important mantra for any successful owner or contractor. Ensure that you have identified all the factors that may be potentially problematic before beginning a project by:

  • Consulting with experts and professionals
  • Preparing your proposal and budgetary restrictions
  • Ensuring that responsibility and its accompanying insurance and indemnity is appropriately assigned before finalizing your initial contracts
/by