There was another crane collapse in June: the jib of a Comedil tower crane on Haymills’ Altitude 25 site in Croydon, south London, collapsed while being extended.

Four workers had to be rescued from the accident, when the crane fell onto the roof of Croydon Park Hotel, injuring the driver. The crane belonged to Laing O’Rourke subsidiary Select Plant Hire.

This is the latest in a series of incidents involving tower cranes. In September 2006, two people died when a crane collapsed in Battersea, south London. In October a luffing jib fell from a crane in the City of London. And in January a worker died when a tower crane, also in London, collapsed on top of him.

The HSE says there have been 18 dangerous occurrences relating to tower cranes in the past two years, other than the fatal accidents. It has announced a number of measures to tackle the problem, including a new wave of inspections for smaller crane hire companies, producing a safety guide for operators and setting up an NVQ-based training scheme for on-site lifting operations, in addition to the Construction Plant Competence Scheme.

Source

Construction Manager