Some Recent Tower Crane Accidents

and the Lessons to be Learned

Tim Watson
Tim Watson Consulting

Tower Crane Accident Survey

May 2000 July 2009

At least 46 Serious incidents

8 in the UK

1 in Israel

6 in China

1 in Malaysia

5 in the USA

1 in Philippines

4 in Russia

1 in Qatar

3 in South Africa

1 in Saudi Arabia

2 in Germany

1 in Spain

2 in Malta

1 in Singapore

2 in Switzerland

1 in South Korea

1 in Bahrain

1 in Taiwan

1 in Canada

1 in Tokyo

1 in Irish Republic

1 in Vietnam

Service Condition
Service Condition

Quantity

In-service

20

Climbing

Dismantling

Out-of-service

Erection

Not known

Under test

Failure Area
Failure Area

Quantity

Foundation/Base

Jib

Tower /Base

Slew section

Tower

Crane top and climbing frame

Falling tower section

Jib pendant & luffing ropes

Suddenly moving jib section

Tower tie

Not known

Canary Wharf May 2000

Canary Wharf
Crane was being climbed by a six
man crew
Collapse occurred as the last mast
section was being added on the
Sunday
Three men fatally injured as result of
the 120m fall
Debris over wide area of Canada
Square
Issues:

Training
Long hours of work
Inadequate planning
Faulty equipment
Manufacturers instructions not
being followed

Worthing February 2005

Two men killed

One seriously injured

Worthing February 2005

De-rigging prior to
dismantling
The two erectors fatally
injured working on the jib
removing hoist and trolley
ropes
Third Erector had de-torqued
tower bolts on one side of the
mast
Jib was slewed
Slackened bolts failed and
crane collapsed
Crane owner prosecuted and
fined 389,000
for not managing the
dismantling process
effectively
Issues

Training
Planning

Battersea September 2006

BPR 222 Crane
Crane had been in use for a
number of weeks
Joint below slew ring failed
Jib fell across site into an
adjacent road
Crane Driver + Member of
public killed
Slew ring bolts had been
replaced shortly after erection
Investigation concentrating
on method used to replace
bolts.
Issues:

Maintenance
Thorough Examination
Planning

Seattle November 2006

Seattle November 2006

Official enquiry
blamed inadequate
design of foundation
Fatigue failure
Lack of maintenance
and inspection
Issues:

Planning
Base design
Maintenance
Thorough examination

Liverpool - January 2007

JASO Luffer

3 years old
CE marked
DOC to EN 14439

Crane was in use

Light load
Close to minimum radius
Wind near maximum inservice limit

Jib fell backwards across

the site during a lifting
operation
1 Construction worker
killed

Liverpool Animation

Liverpool Investigation Findings

Jib at small angle to the vertical
Wind from the front held the jib up and caused the luffing
rope to go slack
Luffing rope jammed in the sheaves
Operator tried to lower off and paid out rope from the luffing
winch, which looped down the back of the crane
Luffing rope became free allowing the jib to drop until the
slack rope arrested its fall
Large dynamic load caused the jib to fail and the slewing
section and counter jib became detached from the top of the
tower at the slew ring
One of the counterweights fell on a construction worker
causing fatal injuries
Issues:

Crane design standard

Croydon June 2007

Croydon June 2007

Climbing team had not
used the equipment before
and had not had any
specific training on its use
Crane owner fined
100,000 + 33,196 costs
Issues

Training
Planning
Not following
manufacturers
instructions

New York March 2008

Favelle Favco Luffing Jib
Tower Crane
3 Fatalities
Being climbed
Fabric lifting sling failed,
causing tie to fall

Top of crane demolished

building two blocks away
Issues

Planning

Selection of equipment

Miami March 2008

Libeherr luffing jib

crane
Climbing operation
Tower section fell
2 Fatalities
Issues:

Planning
Selection of equipment

Miami March 2008

New York May 2008

Kodiak luffing tower crane
In-service but not lifting
2 Fatalities
Slew ring support failed

Said to be 24 years old

Same owner as March
incident
Issues:

Maintenance

Thorough examination

Liverpool July 2009

Wolff WK 500B
Lifting a light load at a
small radius
Witnesses reported
hearing two loud
bangs
Tower crane collapsed
onto an adjacent
apartment building
Investigation currently
taking place

Issues and Guidance on Dealing with

the Issues
Management of installation process

Planning and supervision BS 7121-5

Erector training NVQ and training programme
CPA Technical Information Notes

Design of Foundations

CIRIA Tower Crane Stability document

Management of use of tower cranes

Planning and supervision BS 7121-5

CPA Best Practice Guide Safe Use of Top Slew Tower Cranes
CPA Tower Crane Operators Handbook
CPA Technical Information Notes

Maintenance, Inspection and Thorough Examination

CPA/HSE Best Practice Guide Maintenance, Inspection and

Thorough Examination of Tower Cranes

Guidance

Guidance

Guidance

Guidance

All Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA)

Guidance Documents can be downloaded
free at
http://www.cpa.uk.net/p/Safety-Leaflets

Thank You