Inspection Detail

Inspection: 504678.015 - Spancrete

Inspection Information - Office: Appleton Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 9:00 a.m. on July 5, 2012, Employee #1, a truck driver had delivered a precast bridge girder to the site. After the girder had been lifted off of his truck, the employee and three of his coworkers were preparing the truck and trailer to be moved off of the site. Employee #1 was hooking up the rear axle set of the trailer used to deliver precast girder to the construction site when the accident occurred. At the time of the accident, a tandem lift of a 122 long, 54 ton precast girder using two cranes mounted on barges was underway when one of the cranes overturned. Immediately before the lift, the two crane operators moved the south crane barge to a position that was not on the plan. The plan had directed the south crane to lift the girder off the truck at its maximum working radius and landing it on the pier at its closest working radius. By relocating the barge, the process was reversed and it is believed that a combination of factors caused the safe operating radius to be exceeded, causing the crane, a Terex HC110 Crawler, to overturn. The boom of the crane struck the bridge pier cap and collapsed causing it to strike the previously set girder and slide across it. As the crane boom slid across the girder it struck Employee #1's truck trailer, then Employee #1, before falling onto the other crane barge and into the water. The boom of the crane struck Employee #1 on the upper back and head, killing him. Employee #1 was working alongside three other workers when the crane overturned; however, the other three employees were able to move away in time to escape injury by the falling crane. Employee #2, the operator of the HC110 crane, was also injured when he fell to the deck of the barge as his crane overturned. The investigation determined that the employers involved, did not follow the crane manufacturer's prohibitions for use. The employers did not provide adequate training, and did not assign a Lift Director. The employers failed to follow OSHA requirements regarding the physical attachment of a crane to a barge, and had ineffective crane signal methods,.

Keywords: Crane, Falling Object, Material Handling, Struck By, Tandem Lift