HSE issues warning to crane companies after major crane collapse

HSE/LON/309/2009 23 September 2009

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today warned tower crane suppliers to make sure staff are adequately trained when carrying out high risk operations.

The warning follows the prosecution of Select Plant Hire Company Ltd today at the Old Bailey after a crane driver suffered severe injuries in an incident in Croydon in June 2007.

The company, based in Dartford, Kent, pleaded guilty to a breaching regulation 9(2) (b); regulation 9(2) of the Provision and use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 and; section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.The company was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £33,196.45.

The court heard that on 2 June 2007, the jib of a tower crane owned and operated by Select Plant Hire toppled backwards and became detached from the mast. The jib together with the drivers cab fell through the air, crashing onto the roof of the Croydon Park Hotel.

The incident happened during a relatively rare operation to extend the height of the tower crane from 60m to 98m, using a piece of equipment known as a climbing frame.

The team employed to extend the height of the crane had not used the equipment before and had not had any specific training on its use.

The crane driver was trapped on the roof for over an hour before rescue services were able to get him down. He suffered extensive injuries, including three compression fractures of the spine, a fractured lumber vertebrae, two broken ribs and a fractured skull. Two years on, the driver has been unable to return to work and is still suffering from his injuries.

The court also heard how the crane collapse caused extensive damage to the hotel. At the time of the incident there were approximately 140 residents, customers and staff in the hotel. The crane narrowly missed a gas pipe in the plant room on the roof of the hotel. Fortunately, no one in the hotel was injured.

Amanda Huff, HSE Inspector, said: "This incident was avoidable and was caused by inadequate training of the team asked to extend the height of the crane. This is a high risk operation and it is essential that operators have the right type of training."

Notes to editors

1. Regulation 9(2)(b) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 states that: every employer shall ensure that, where the safety of lifting equipment depends on the installation conditions, it is thoroughly examined after assembly and before being put into service at a new site or in a new location.
2. Regulation 9(2) of the Provision and use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 states that: every employer shall ensure that any of his employees who supervises or manages the use of work equipment has received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.
3. Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 states that: it shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR (London and South East)