Edited by Rowena Davis

Part I

Abstract

Controlling hazards inherent to cranes and aerial lifts requires the adoption of available technology, in addition to conventional processes of injury prevention such as safe work practices and personal protective equipment. Today’s construction and maintenance methods depend on very complex construction equipment. Focus on these machines reveals that they must be viewed as a system comprised of structural, mechanical, and electrical components that must all function safely for optimal use. The primary value of the family of machines encompassing cranes and aerial lifts is their great utility in the workplace, but their designers and supervisors often erroneously assume that user/operator performance will always be reliably uniform and without error. It is a fantasy to assume that the user/operator can reliably overcome error-provocative design defects. Therefore, these machines must be made safe for their intended use and foreseeable misuse. This paper expands upon the 1993 book Crane Hazards and their Prevention¹ to examine some of the major hazards on cranes and aerial lifts and evaluate methods of control using safety appliances and/or alternate safer design. Specific examples will show how the application of engineering principles can eliminate or minimize many inherent hazards.

¹ Crane Hazards and Their Prevention, MacCollum, first published by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), 1993. Updated edition published in 2005.

Implementation of engineering solutions to control crane and aerial lifts hazards requires a two-faceted approach. First, engineers must develop a methodology of hazard identification and control so engineering solutions can be incorporated into the design of equipment. The Five Principles of Inherently Safer Design^? is a method to identify hazards in a variety of contexts and design them out during the initial phase of product development. Product design must be examined for all potential hazards to maximize opportunity to add features that prevent injury.

Second, equipment designers, manufacturers, and rental agencies must collaborate with other interests in the construction industry. Multi-party discussion of requirements and potential uses of equipment leads to innovation in design and ideas for new technology. When this collaboration is applied to safety, relevant and cost-effective safer design and safety appliances on equipment can emerge. Examination and control of hazards in the design stage is an important component of “Progressive Project Delivery” (PPD), a construction method based on the collaboration of owners, designers, estimators, and construction managers during the initial stages of a project. This method makes decisions based on multiple sources of input and is usually more efficient and cost effective than traditional design-bid-build methods. PPD is more thoroughly examined in Part III.

^? Research Report: “Inherently Safer Design Principles for Construction, August 2005, completed by the Hazard Information Foundation, Inc (HIFI), funded by the Center to Protect Workers’ Rights (CPWR). It is now published in a desk reference entitled Construction Safety Engineering Principles: Designing and Managing Safer Job Sites by McGraw Hill, January 2007. To purchase or for more information visit www.mhprofessional.com under the construction heading.

Business concerns of a large portion of the construction industry must register an immediate gain by investing in the development or use of safety appliances and alternate safer design. When different interests within a construction project pool their knowledge to maximize individual gain, the result is usually a project with fewer costs and integrated safety solutions. Our American workforce should never be sacrificed due to use of dangerous equipment. Collaboration between parties on integration of safety into project design makes achievement of zero injuries possible.