Commentary : It’s Time to Get Serious About Construction Crane Safety

By Sam Iler

Three disastrous crane accidents in as many months have claimed the lives of 11 construction workers in New York and Florida. Then, two weeks ago at the huge City Center project in Las Vegas, an operator was crushed to death while oiling the counterweight track system of a 35-ton hammerhead tower crane.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that as many as 82 fatalities each year are associated with cranes and acknowledges that more uniform and up-to-date standards would help stop the carnage.

States, counties and cities have squabbled very publicly over jurisdiction and responsibility with respect to the issue of crane safety standards while the federal government appears to have simply dragged its feet. In many places, the impetus has fallen to employer and insurance groups to push for reforms and lobby for strong, uniform standards. OSHA’s existing rules for workers who operate cranes have not been updated since 1971, and there is clearly an urgent need for nationwide safety standards.

National standards should be stringent and uniform and should include: regular crane inspections; thorough training for crane operators, riggers and signal persons; and rigorous certification requirements for operators of both tower and mobile cranes.

Among the states, California is out in front on the issue of crane safety, with a blueprint in place to greatly reduce the risks associated with the operation of both mobile and tower cranes. However, some other states are seriously negligent in both policy and enforcement.

• Crane inspections. California law currently requires inspection of all newly assembled cranes by a specially trained Cal/OSHA enforcement inspector and a factory representative. California regulations also call for re-inspection of tower cranes after six months of operation, following a jump or climb, and upon disassembly of a crane. These are steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, it took the deaths of five individuals in a tower crane jump to initiate a specialized crane inspection program for towers.

• Operator certification. Certification should be mandatory for both tower and mobile crane operators and should be offered either through state programs or from accredited professional groups. This regulatory requirement is relatively new for California, but most tower operators in the state have already been certified.

• Training and certification of riggers and signal persons. There are significant safety issues associated with all lifting devices, both for operators and workers in near proximity. All site workers—especially riggers and signal persons—should undergo comprehensive crane training. Many proactive contractors are already implementing training programs on rigging and signaling for their workers. Cal/OSHA, which has demonstrated leadership in other aspects, has yet to address this critical issue. If and when OSHA gets around to some sort of national reform, training and certification of riggers and signal persons should be made mandatory.

Inspection, training and certification standards cannot guarantee a future without crane accidents; however, these measures will result in safer, more productive work environments. The steps that Cal/OSHA has taken have changed the way cranes are operated in California and the way contractors approach the management of cranes onsite. Other states need to step up to the plate before more lives are lost. Reputable contractors are actively managing their risks with respect to cranes, and they, as well as contractors’ organizations, including the local Associated General Contractors chapters, and labor groups favor stricter regulatory requirements for cranes and hoisting equipment.

A loud public outcry in the wake of the recent tragedies in New York, Florida and Nevada may finally provide enough of an incentive to overcome the bureaucratic inertia and political roadblocks that have stymied crane safety reforms in the past. We need to put some teeth into the OSHA regulations for crane safety as well as enforce the policies currently on the books. In the meantime, we did it here in California, and it can be done in other states without waiting on the Feds.

Old-timers in the crane industry used to observe wryly that hairdressers were required to complete more training and meet more stringent state requirements than crane operators—even though no one ever died from a bad haircut. There was a time, they said, when it took more effort to become licensed to drive a crane to a jobsite than it did to operate it once there.

But humor about crane safety isn’t funny any more. It’s time to take this issue seriously and address the need for better training and more aggressive enforcement of safety practices relating to the use of cranes and other hoisting equipment.

Sam Iler is president of SafeCon, a San Diego safety-solutions provider for the construction industry. Established in 2002, SafeCon offers safety, risk management and loss prevention services, including safety staffing, onsite safety training, OSHA representation, OCIP and CCIP support, and crane operator certification through the California Crane Works.