May 2022 Accidents Report

A lack of operator training and equipment inspections are major causes of job-site accidents. Don’t let that happen to you and your employees.  Sign up for training or schedule your next inspection. But first, read on for the May 2022 accidents.

Fatal loader crane incident

We are reprinting this article from Vertikal.net originally published on May 12, 2022

attempted rescue of a man underneath an electrical transformer cabinet
Photo taken during the rescue

A loader crane operator died following incident in Ingolstadt, southern Germany, on Friday.

The man, 44, was loading a heavy electrical transformer cabinet onto his truck, when the concrete top broke away from the main structure and landed on him.
The one tonne top was lifted off of him by a loader crane owned by the local fire department, but it was clearly too late, and the man was declared dead at the scene.

Crane falls into water at port during demolition job in Fife

This article is reprinted from stvnews.tv, originally published May 12, 2022. A video showing the crane falling over can be found at the link provided.

a screenshot of an antique crane that fell over while being demolished
A screenshot from the video of the crane falling over.

An investigation is to be carried out after part of a crane fell into a dock yard in Fife whilst being demolished.

The topside element of the redundant crane – a legacy of the BiFab yard at Burntisland – crashed into the water in the West Dock of the port on Thursday morning.

No-one was injured as a result of the incident, the owner of the port has since confirmed.

One resident said it was a “sad end for an iconic piece of equipment from Burntisland’s industrial heyday”.

“The crane was made by Butters Bros & Co Ltd in Glasgow and dated back to the 50s – when there was still a shipyard in the town,” Sarah Price told STV News.

“More recently, before it shut down for good, the yard had been used by Bifab for oil and energy related fabrication contracts. The old crane was not used any more, but its great bulk was still a familiar feature on the town’s skyline, like a great rusting redundant bird.”

The specialist demolition contractor, Dem-Master Demolition Ltd, was in “full control” of the site and the operator at the time, owner Forth Ports added.

A spokesperson for Forth Ports described it as a “concerning incident”.

“We can confirm that the topside element of a redundant crane, that was in the process of being demolished by a specialist contractor at the Port of Burntisland in Fife, has fallen into the West Dock at the port,” they said.

“This is clearly a concerning incident and it is important to confirm that there are no reports of any injuries.

“A team from Forth Ports and the demolition contractor is on site and is currently assessing the best way to recover the structure from the dock.

“The specialist demolition contractor was in full control of the site and the operation at the time of the incident.  There will be a full investigation by both Forth Ports and the contractor as to the cause of the incident. 

“The West Dock of the port remains closed at this time.”

The spokesperson later provided an update to confirm that a “small amount” of gearbox oil had spilled into the water.

But, they indicated that there is “no risk” of any oil entering the Forth Estuary.

They said: “Importantly, we can now confirm that no-one was injured in the incident at the Port of Burntisland which occurred at 09.30 this morning on the site which was under the control of the specialist demolition contractor.

“A small amount of gearbox oil has spilled into the water. However, because the West Dock at Burntisland is an enclosed dock, there is no risk of any oil entering the Forth Estuary.

“Our specialist oil recovery contractor is on site and will contain and recover the oil.”

Forklift crashes through roof of Cary townhome with owner inside

This article is reprinted from WRAL.com, written by Eric Miller, on May 19, 2022.

a construction forklift fallen on a house

CARY, N.C. — A forklift crashed through the roof of a townhouse on Wednesday with the homeowner inside.

According to the Town of Cary, the incident occurred just before noon at a home on Stonebend Loop off Ten Ten Road.

Cary officials said a roofing company replacing shingles on the townhomes overloaded the machine. The hydraulic line failed and the forklift tipped over, going through the roof.

No one was injured, and the homeowner, Clark Murphy, was able to stay in his home.

Murphy told WRAL News he was home at the time of the accident.

“It’s kind of like when you first see something and you’re not really sure what you just saw,” Murphy said. “But it was standing on its end. The operator was still at the wheel and they had to send the ladder up to get him out.”

It took crews more than six hours to remove the forklift.

If you see an accident report you’d like us to feature in the blog, like the ones shown here in the June 2022 Accidents Reports, let us know. Contact heather@cranes101.com with the information.

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