PREFACE In January 1990, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Industrial Relations of the state of California (CalosHA) requested assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in their investigation of the collapse of a tower crane that ocourred on November 28, 1989, in San Francisco, California. The purpose of the assistance was to provide technical support in determining the cause of the collapse. This report presents the results of the analysis of the cause of the collapse conducted by the OSHA Office of Construction and Engineering. The OSHA analysis was conducted in cooperation with calosHA. Statements obtained from the witness interviews conducted by the Bureau of Investigation, Department of Industrial Relations and CaloSHA staff were provided to the OSHA investigation team. The OSHA team and CalOSHA staff worked together in collecting data on the collapsed structure and in planning the laboratory tests. Roy Berg, Ralph Allen, Jerry Lombardo, Cal0SHA staff and John Tennison, Regional Manager, CalOSHA made important contributions in the conduct of this investigation. ivEXECUTIVE SUMMARY on November 28, 1989, shortly after 8:00 a.m., a tower crane collapsed in the center of the financial district in San Francisco, California. Four construction workers engaged in the climbing operation of the crane and one person on the street below the crane were killed. Given the time of day and the location in a bucy urban setting, the catastrophic potential of this accident was substantial. At the request of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Department of Industrial Relations of the State of California (CalosHA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, participated in the investigation of the accident. The purpose ‘of the OSHA participation was to determine the cause of the accident. Evaluation of compliance with safety regulations and enforcement actions relating to the accident were the sole responsibility of Cal0sHA. The OSHA investigation began in early January 1990. The investigation included a detailed inspection of tne collapsed structure, a review of eyewitness accounts of the collapse, laboratory tests to determine the mechanical properties of the structure and computer analyses of the crane structure. This work was carried out in cooperation with CalosHA. At the time of the collapse, a climbing operation was underway which involved raising the superstructure or operating portion of the crane. The sensitivity of the structure to a variety of loading conditions that could have existed during this climbing operation was evaluated. The loading considered related to: (1) luffing of the boon, (2) loss of roller support of the climbing section and (3) rotation of the superstructure. The resuits of this evaluation together with physical evidence of the behavior of the structure in the collapse and eyewitness observations of the work underway at the tine of the collapse were used to determine the cause of the failure. Based on the results of the investigation, OSHA concludes that: 1. The likely cause of the failure was overloading of structural members in the tower due to rotation of the crane during the climbing operation. The rotation was likely due to adjustments being made to the climbing section that involved powered slewing of the crane. 2. A preexisting crack in a connection plate and a structural member and brittle behavior of the materials associated with welding details may have contributed to the failure. v =z —EThe climbing section was not correctly positioned with respect to tower section 15, particularly, in the third climbing step. The forces on certain rollers of the climbing section are very sensitive to rotations of the crane superstructure, Failure of the crane in terms of exceeding the load carrying capacity during the climbing operation occurs at a counterclockwise rotation of approximately 45 degrees. vi