CraneRelated Deaths and Injuries in Construction, 1992 2006

1
Crane-Related Deaths and Injuries in
Construction, 1992 - 2006
Michael McCann, PhD, CIH Janie Gittleman, PhD,
MRP Mary Watters
2
Regulatory Overview

• On July 9, 2004, the Federal Advisory Committee
  on cranes and derricks (C-DAC) reached a
  consensus for a new crane and derricks standard.
• In May 2008, as part of its semiannual regulatory
  agenda, OSHA mentioned plans to publish a notice
  of proposed rulemaking on cranes and derricks in
  the August 2008 Federal Register.

3
Selected Fatal Crane Incidents

• Crane lifting bucket of cement collapsed onto
  scaffold inside cooling tower. Willow Island, WV.
  4/27/78
• 51 construction workers died
• Tower crane fell 16 stories while being jumped.
  San Francisco, CA. 11/29/89
• 4 construction workers died
• 1 bystander died
• 22 bystanders injured

4
Selected Fatal Crane Incidents (cont.)
Big Blue mobile crane collapsed hitting 3
workers in crane basket. Winds 25-30 mph.
Milwaukee, WI. 11/14/99 3
construction workers died
4-ton chunk of steel fell from crane crushing a
taxi. New York, NY. 9/29/06 5 bystanders
injured
5
Selected Fatal Crane Incidents (cont.)
Crane collapsed on a condo. Bellevue, WA.
11/16/06 1 bystander died 1 construction
worker injured
Tower crane collapsed while being jumped,
damaging several buildings. New York, NY.
3/15/08 6 construction workers died 1
bystander died 13 construction workers
injured 11 first responders injured
6
Selected Fatal Crane Incidents (cont.)
20-foot section crane fell 30 stories while
jumping the crane. Miami, FL. 3/25/08 2
construction workers died 5 construction
workers injured
Crane cab, boom, and machine deck separated from
the tower mast and collapsed onto the street. New
York, NY. 5/30/08 2 construction workers died
1 construction worker injured 1 bystander
injured
7
Crane-Related Deaths in Construction, 1992-2006

• 323 crane-related deaths from 307 incidents in
  construction from 1992-2006
• 12 multiple-death incidents involving a total of
• 28 deaths
• Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census
  of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File

8
Crane-Related Deaths in Construction by Year,
1992-2006
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File
9
Causes of Crane-Related Deaths in Construction,
1992-2006
102
68
59
24
Total deaths 323
21
18
31
52 of 59 struck by booms/jibs were due to
falling booms/jibs Other causes includes 14
struck by other crane parts and 9 highway
incidents. Source U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries
Research File
10
Types of Cranes Involved in Fatalities

• Mobile cranes
• Tower cranes
• Floating or barge cranes
• Overhead cranes

11
Mobile Cranes
Types of Cranes Involved

• 71 of all crane-related incidents involved
  mobile cranes

• Mobile cranes were involved in
• 80 of 95 (84) of overhead power line incidents
• 37 of 59 (63) of crane collapses
• 35 of 59 (60) of struck by boom/jib incidents

12
Tower Cranes
Types of Cranes Involved

• Tower cranes were
• involved in
• 16 of 306 (5) of all crane related incidents
• 5 of 24 (21) of struck by crane load incidents
• 5 of 59 (8) of struck by boom/jib deaths

13
Other/unspecified cranes
Types of Cranes Involved

• Other/unspecified cranes were involved in 24 of
  all crane related incidents, including
• 13 floating or barge crane incidents
• 12 overhead crane incidents

14
Main Causes of Worker Deaths, by Frequency

• Electrocutions from overhead power lines
• Crane collapse
• Struck by falling boom/jib
• Struck by crane load

15
Overhead Power Line Electrocutions
Why Workers Died
1992 - 2006
Number of Deaths 102
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File
16
Crane Collapses
Why Workers Died
1992 - 2006
Number of Collapses 61 Number of Deaths 68
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File
17
Struck by Falling Booms/Jibs
Why Workers Died
1992 - 2006
Number of Deaths 52
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File
18
Struck By Crane Loads
Why Workers Died
1992 - 2006
Number of Deaths 24
Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census
of Fatal Occupational Injuries Research File
19
Trades of Workers Who Died
Crane-Related Deaths in Construction, 1992-2006
Construction laborers Heavy equipment
operators Supervisors/ Managers/
Admin Ironworkers Mechanics Other trades
Total Deaths 323
Includes 50 crane and tower operators and
14 operating engineers Includes 14 carpenters,
11 electrical workers, 8 truck drivers, and 7
welders and cutters. Source U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries Research File
20
Recommendations

• Crane operators should be certified.
• Presently only 15 states and a few cities
  (including New York City and Chicago) require
  certification.
• Crane riggers and signalpersons should be
  certified.
• Crane inspectors should be certified.
• OSHA only requires that they be competent persons

21
Recommendations (cont.)

• Cranes should be inspected after assembly or
  modification.
• Only trained workers under the supervision of a
  qualified person and competent person should
  assemble or disassemble cranes.
• Crane loads should not be allowed to pass over
  street traffic.

22
Recommendations (cont.)

• OSHA should conduct more thorough investigations
  of crane-related fatalities and capture more
  complete data in its reporting system.
• OSHA should immediately take action on the
  proposed consensus crane and derrick standard for
  construction and include recommendations from
  this report.

23
For Further Information

• Mike McCann mmccann_at_cpwr.com
• Janie Gittleman jgittleman_at_cpwr.com
• Mary Watters mwatters_at_cpwr.com
• Electronic Library of Construction Safety and
  Health (eLCOSH) www.elcosh.org
• CPWR The Center for Construction Research and
  Training www.cpwr.com

CPWR The Center for Construction Research and
Training is the research arm of the Building
and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO. This
research was funded as part of a grant with CPWR
from the National Institute for occupational
Safety and Health, NIOSH (NIOSH Grant 1
U54OH008307). The research is solely the
responsibility of the authors and does not
necessarily represent the official views of
NIOSH.