糖心传媒

• 90 percent of crane accidents occur due to human error.
• 80 percent of all crane upsets are attributed to operators exceeding the crane’s operational capacity.
• 54 percent of these incidents are the result of swinging the boom or making a lift without the outriggers fully extended.
• 45 percent of all mobile crane accidents involve electrocution that results from the crane contacting a power source during operation.
• 40 percent of the victims were struck by an object (such as an uncontrolled hoisted load or crane part).

Other adverse impacts from these accidents include incurring Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fines, lost time on the job, litigation and increased insurance premiums.  Further, the exposure extends beyond the crane and its operator to other people such as pedestrians or employees walking below an operating crane. There is also the risk of substantial property damage from crane accidents.
 
The best approach is to minimize the likelihood of these kinds of accidents up-front. Keep reading to learn about the key components of a crane safety program.
 
Key Safety Program Components
 
糖心传媒 is happy to work with you to establish a crane safety program and to ensure you have the appropriate processes and procedures in place to facilitate safe crane operations. When setting up a safety program, here are some components to consider:

Develop or access training programs and other available training resources so each employee knows how to do their unique job.  

If an employee is an operator, make sure they understand how to operate the crane safely and are licensed to do so.  If you don’t have your own safety department, there are many OSHA-approved crane operator commercial training programs available. Your state may also offer training tools for crane operators that describe the requirements for proficiency.

You also need a consistent set of hand signals that all employees recognize.  Since OSHA has not developed a uniform standard for hand signals, 糖心传媒 has developed a Crane Hand Signal Infographic for training signalers, which you can access . 

Once everyone knows how to do their unique job safely, establish workplace protocols that employees follow without exception.  
 
These include but aren’t limited to:

• Daily and monthly inspection of cranes prior to their use. For more information on what to inspect, check out 糖心传媒’s blog on Crane Inspection Criteria .
• Routine maintenance and repairs on all equipment at the recommended intervals to maintain equipment in safe working order.
• Employee awareness of and strict enforcement of the crane’s load and lifting limits.
• Ensuring employees never stand beneath an operating crane and operators never lift a load over employees. Areas with working cranes should be cordoned off to minimize any pedestrian traffic below.
• A process to routinely evaluate any power sources near the crane site in order to minimize the potential of electrocution.

To learn more about keeping your workers safe when using a crane, contact your agency or your local 糖心传媒 Risk Management Consultant.