United States
Crane Safety
A Safety Story from BCCI’s Safety Manager, Matty Kernen
Last fall, BCCI had a scheduled crane pick for a project in downtown San Francisco. Once the crane operator completed its set-up according to the pick plan, the project superintendent, Greg Hussey, and I held a safety meeting, where we questioned the operator on the swing of the materials. The operator then used his arm to demonstrate the swing of the crane. We stopped him right there, reviewed the plan, and informed him the building next to this facility is an occupied apartment complex. The path he demonstrated was not in accordance with the original pick plan and our safety protocols.
Greg and I regrouped with all personnel on-site and repositioned the crane pick and materials so they would not be hoisted near the residential building. The crane pick was successful, and all items were hoisted to the roof without damage, incident, injury, or concern. Immediate recognition of the hazard and quickly mitigating the risk prevented a potentially serious safety mishap.
Safety Tip: Always perform daily operator checks before using a crane.
Did You Know: There is a standard set of hand signals and protocols designed to communicate information with a crane operator during a lift. A qualified signal person must be present during a lift to inform the operator of the surrounding environment.