On Site Light Duty Crane and Picker Safety Training – Anywhere in Western Canada – Call or Text Us: (587) 209-2589
We recently posted an article as we do weekly, on LinkedIN and while we don’t like writing about someone dying on the job it seems to be one of a handful of ways left now to get anyone’s attention in the game.
This particular one while completely avoidable, took the life of a 40-year old Yonkers, NY man. He had a family, he had some of the best equipment in the industry insofar as knuckle boom cranes are concerned (HIAB is one of the top tier brands), and yet this incident reminds us of the need for a big push on tighter regulations in the crane industry in North America.
IN the USA, all operators of any crane must be put through the program as outlined by the NCCCO, who also has another division which places a greater emphasis on knuckle boom cranes, as they are a very different crane to be sure and need to be recognized as such here in Canada as they are in the USA.
The brief article I wrote can be read HERE, it’s a brief summary of the incident and how it could have been prevented.
It boggles my mind on the inherent dangers people place themselves in just for a front row seat. ALL operators need to be more aware of what is going on and have much better control of that same thing. When a knuckle boom crane stabilizer system is largely ignored by the operator, it’s really inviting an accident to happen. It’s not a matter of “IF”, it’s just a matter of “when”.
This video is a bit long to watch but the point is yes it could have been much worse, but it also could have been prevented entirely:
The “streetside stabilizer beam wasn’t even deployed, the drivers side was, just not fully, the forces of the crane in motion on the “d-side” were clearly enough to bring the crane over. Far too much boom, and not enough stability, this is always a recipe for disaster.
Palfinger Crayler, Moffett Mounty, Princeton, Donkey (yep that is the name), and others to name but a few. They provide an alternative to using a crane, which is limted to reach/capacity, whereby a truck carried forklift can move loads pretty much anywhere you want them to be, with operators that do not require any for of specific training (although we do provide TMF training), and can be a massive productivity increase machine.
If you have a TMF and are considering training, this is not the same as conventional forklift training we do, these as you can see only have 3-wheels, not 4, so the training needs to be specific to this type.
Most who instruct on standard forklift training, have NEVER operated this type of TMF and are instructing incorrectly.
So ill go into greater detail, but still in short form here so that that there is greater clarity. Because we specialize in light duty knuckle crane training, the information applies directly to that type of crane.
The one dimension load chart above shows the following information:
This 2-dimensional load chart has much more information for the operator to view such as:
How to read the darn chart now…well with other types of cranes, mainly stiff boom or hydraulically telescopic boom cranes, the load is show in 5′ increments (typically but not always), and with the knuckle boom crane it’s typically (but not always) shown at the end of each boom section, fully extended, so not every 5′.
The easiest way I tell folks we train is this: 1. KNOW HOW MUCH THE DARN ITEM weighs before you pick it up (if you are not sure, go HERE). 2. Once you know the weight of the item, lets say it’s a 2,000 pound tote. The first load chart on this page, shows you can lift to an effective distance of 47′ 11″ from the centre of the crane rotation system away. ON the bottom load chart, as it’s in metric, we need to convert either from or to, so in this case a 2,000 pound tote is 909 KG, your effective distance from the centre point of the crane rotation system is 9.95 metres away. We know that by the numbers we can go a bit further away, however I stress this that the stability of the crane truck may be compromised long before reaching the capacity/distance is.
As there is a lot of information given on a load chart, WE highly recommend you have your operators become very familiar with them and if they have been obliterated by the pressure washer, you do leave yourself liable if an operator has in incident and did not know any information necessary to perform a safe lift. It’s really not difficult to understand these charts, if there is any question feel free to contact us HERE
To watch a glass handling system on a crane work in a very tight space, check out the video below:
We can provide your company with these systems in Canada for your glass handling requirements. Do not hesitate to contact us by email at:
sales [at] knuckleboomtraining.ca
or call us at:
(877) 200-8715 for more details
Download our brochure on the unit by clicking HERE