Crane Accident

mapleshade

It's not like they were using a small crane.
Barry


Close call as crane topples

treevet

I don't see how they can call that a close call. They crashed the house. Must have been fun getting the unit on the ground. Looks like it could flop sideways on the building.

Eric Frei

I wonder if it was Nosack's crew?

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simo77

A disaster of biblical proportions!

Ace Master

Cranes and trees you have to be so careful with your weights.

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treevet

alot of it is feel. to dump it at 10 am in the morning says something about the job.

TreeDimensional

WOW! There are two VERY important thins to remember when using cranes to do trees. First, the crane operator MUST relay the maximum weight for each pick to the guy doing the cutting. Secondly the climber has to have a good head calculator (knowledge of the weight of the particular wood and leaves) to make sure he doesn't exceed the limits of the crane.

My crane guy and i work very well together, communication is the key. Once the cut is made, the crane MUST lift the piece OR it s a disaster. IMO there are NO little crane boo-boos with trees. They are ALL potential life threatening situations.

That all being said, cranes are a very valuable asset when used properly. Like anything being done at height, gravity is always the winner!

treevet

Different strokes for different folks TreeDimensional, I have never discussed weights with a crane operator. I get different equipment and sometimes different companies on jobs but most of them have done tree work and most of them many times with me. If they have no experience they will be sent home as I have neither the time or the inclination to train another company's personel. Also for non gigantic rems I have my own 14 ton 70 footer without the jib included and experience, experience, experience is the key. Ofcourse you must know the capabilities of the equipment. I am going to decide what gets taken out but crane op can veto. It is my liab that will be activated if an incident occurs. I ve been doing craners for over 3 decades and do multiple on a weekly basis.

I also disagree with "the crane operator must lift" opinion. At times even a huge limb will be dropped into the pick as butt heavy. Other times a huge leader may be made to fall into the notch/scarf when hooked tip heavy. Shock load must be accounted for and pick size be reevaluated. Some are picked when balanced and the piece is simply detached with no lift at all.
All these types of picks are made according to what the tree and targets/surroundings will allow with safety and NO (no) damage ensuing (even to other canopies) the main considerations.

I ve seen many pictures of cranes and boom truck units going over in the paper and on the news but it is usually sideways. This unit went over backwards where it should be the strongest/most stable. Would be interested to hear more about this story.

Eric Frei

When a crane went through a house at Cararra on the Gold Coast a few years back it happened coz the section the guy cut aloft was too heavy.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-05-2...cident/1981196
At the end of the day the court decided it was the crane drivers fault, regardless of how big a section the climber cuts.

I disagree but since when do shiny asses display common sense? Obviously the climber determines the weight of the lift by the amount he cuts off .... however the crane driver can decide not to lift it too.

So the outcome was that it was ultimately the crane drivers responsibility to check the size and weight of the load.

Outside of eye sight a dogger would have to see and confirm then relay that to the driver.

The driver knows how much stick, what angle and how much weight he can lift ... not the climber. The climber can ask and comply but ultimately it's the crane drivers responsibility.

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treevet

Wonder if that set precedence for future cases (and there will be cases) in your court system or already has been used. Not quite as simple as dumping a crane into a house while booming a jacuzzi over a roof (happened here recently) when there are many more variables in the tree application.

Don't recall seeing any cases in the 2 Arboriculture and the Law that I have that I have skimmed.

Eric Frei

Yeah, probably did set a precedent and made it bloody hard to get cranes for tree work for a while ... some still dont like it or do it.

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newguy18

This is why there are training programs out there.before i'd even consider doing a job with a crane i'd be getting trained first.

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old schooler