1994: A 320 foot crane at the Riverside Hotel in Laughlin, Nevada, lifts a 35,000 pound load. The load proves to be too much for the crane, which topples into the parking lot. Three people dead.

1999: A 420 foot crane being used to construct Miller Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, collapses while lifting a section of the park’s retractable roof. Three people dead.

Crane safety is essential.

Billy Hale, one of Nevada’s top crane and rigging safety experts, presented a seminar on the subject for Nevada Contractors Insurance at the offices of Risk Services-West on March 14. Hale is safety director for Jake’s Crane, Rigging & Transport.

The course was designed for anyone who works with, or around, cranes. Foremen, supervisors, lead men and safety directors attended.

Operator qualifications, capacity ratings, inspection requirements, operational characteristics, load staging, signaling and staging were the main topics. Hale brought a wealth of experience and insight to the discussion, and answered questions on loads, rigging and signals.

One issue that Hale addressed was the type of clamp used in crane rigging.

"Your rigging is only as good as the clamps holding it together," he said. "If you’re a superintendent, you need to know about rigging."

Hale went over the requirements for rigging, and made it clear that any and all job-fabricated rigging must be designed and certified by a qualified engineer and field tested at 125 percent of rated safe working load.

In any kind of lift, rigging that uses forged clamps is necessary. Hale cited a case in which malleable clamps had been used. The clamps broke and allowed the load to fall. It crushed one worker and injured another. Although no criminal intent was charged nor even suspected, it is tragic that a person died to save the difference between $1.94 a clamp and $7.93. Furthermore, the OSHA fines and subsequent lawsuits made it clear that those kind of "savings" will prove to be incredibly expensive.

Rigging must be inspected prior to the beginning of each shift. Daily inspections must be recorded in a log book and kept for reference. There are no excuses for equipment failure from rigging that should have been recognized as defective or worn. Any and all defective or worn rigging must be immediately removed from service.

The cranes themselves must be inspected, although the frequency is based on the manufacturer’s requirements. Hale went over the inspection procedure and requirements.

The role of the crane operator is one that must be understood by everyone on the job site. "The crane operator is the ultimate authority on all lift decisions," Hale said. "He is a qualified, designated individual trained to operate these delicate pieces of equipment."

Common OSHA citations involving cranes:

Not having annual inspection records on hand;

Not performing, or having no records of performing, daily inspections by the competent person;

Having the crane work next to power lines;

Instances where the operator or the competent person supervising the lift cannot read or does not know the crane capacity, rigging capacity or weight of the load.