A crane collapse in Houston has killed a 41-year-old man.

Police say the accident happened at a printing company.

Police say Cesar Barrios Gomez of Houston was dead at the scene.

Authorities say Gomez had been trying to maneuver the crane to another location when the base failed and the crane topped. The victim was pinned beneath the equipment Monday night.

Police told the Houston Chronicle that the crane had a maximum capacity of 1 ton and that Gomez allegedly overloaded it.

Nov 20th 2009

You know when you return from, like, Pizza Hut and a crane has split your house in two?

No? Michelle and Kevin McCarthy do. They returned to their house in Santa Rosa, California to see this.

The 90ft lifting machine had been trying to move a 150-year-old oak tree, but it was too heavy and the crane toppled backwards. Kevin said: "I think we’re just in shock right now."

One neighbour who saw the crane crash into the house said it seemed to happen in "slow motion". The hoist’s owner insisted the smash in Santa Rosa, California, was a freak accident. Check out a big image after the jump.

Man critical after industrial accident at Pennant Hills

19 Nov 09 @ 01:18pm

A man is in a critical but stable condition following a major accident on a construction site in Pennant Hills.

The accident accourred just after 9am on Wednesday.

The man sustained fractures to his right leg and ankle, lacerations to the head and serious internal injuries.

It is believed that the man was helping a crane driver on the site when the extendable flyer arm of the crane boom malfunctioned and struck him.

The injured man was rushed to Westmead Hospital where he underwent surgery before he was placed in a serious but stable condition.

The crane operator was also injured but only suffered bruising and swelling.

Details of the accident are still unclear but are being investigated by Police and WorkCover.

Nov 10, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One worker was killed and another injured Tuesday when a crane tipped over at the construction site of a Kansas City, Mo., performing arts center, police said.

The two men were in the bucket of the 100-foot-tall JLG Lift when it fell away from the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and landed across a platform of steel beams at about 1:40 p.m., officials said.

One of the men was pronounced dead at a hospital, said police spokesman Darin Snapp. The other was listed in serious but stable condition and was able to talk. Snapp said both men were in their 30s, but their identities were not immediately released.

Kansas City Missouri police officers look at a portable boom lift that fell at the construction site of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. One worker was killed and another injured Tuesday when a crane tipped over at the construction site, police said.

The men were installing steel panels on the building for Detroit-based subcontractor Midwest Steel, said Kyle McQuiston, spokesman for Kansas City-based general contractor JE Dunn Construction Group.

Construction on the 13-acre site began in 2006 and is scheduled to be finished in 2011. The $400 million center will be the home of the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Kansas City Ballet.

McQuiston said the construction site had no previous fatalities or injuries.

Workers were sent home for the day while investigators examined the site, said JE Dunn president Dan Euston.

"We have an onsite safety team down there and are working with investigators, both local and any federal agencies, to determine what caused this accident," Euston said. "We’re very deeply saddened by this event. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the families."

Crane accidents kill up to 82 construction workers each year in the United States, according to the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration. A crane at the construction site of a new federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also collapsed Tuesday, but police say no one was hurt.

A construction worker died last month after falling from a lift that toppled over and struck a downtown Philadelphia apartment building.

And two New York City crane collapses in 2 1/2 months during the spring of 2008 left nine people dead. Investigators have blamed faulty rigging of an 11,000-pound crane part in the first of those accidents, which killed seven people on March 15, 2008.

The story of Walter Clough is not a rare one for many students that attended one of NAHETS member schools. Walter graduated from the Oklahoma College of Construction and is working for APAC in Missouri making 35/hr. He is an operator, but also doing site plans and other duties. This isn’t Walter’s first HEO job since graduation, but it’s his first full time job. 35.00/hr is very impressive for anyone, however for Walter it’s…. well…you gotta know Walter. I asked him his secret to landing this job (Apac was one of his job leads in his original packet) almost a month ago. He walked onto the jobsite, filled out an application and was hired on the spot!!! That’s it! We always encourage our graduates to not be afraid to walk on a job site and speak with a foreman/site supervisor. These guys usually know what their immediate needs are before the corporate office does. Anyway, Walter has been encouraged to do this for quite some time….he finally did it and it’s finally paying off. Congratulations to Walter!

Suzanne just returned from agency conference in Missouri and the Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation recognized the Oklahoma College of Construction for the third year in a row for our outstanding contribution to their customers. Our customer assistance is something we value greatly here in Oklahoma. Many other schools were nominated for this award, but we were the only one to recieve it.

For the first time since 1971 the federal government is updating crane regulations. Triggered by various lethal crane accidents around the country this past year, the U.S. Department of Labor is set to release drafts of the new regulations, which focus mainly on crane operator standards.

New Standards

The new regulations will require crane operators to pass both written and practical tests in all 50 states and complete more training. Currently only 15 states and 6 cities require tests. Crane operators will have various options to become certified/qualified under the new rules:

• Certification through accredited third-party testing organizations
• Qualification through audited employer testing programs
• U.S. military-issued qualification
• Qualification by state/local licensing authorities

In addition to the certification and training of crane operators the new rules also hone in on inspecting ground conditions, crane assembly and disassembly, operating near power lines, and the use of safety devices and crane inspections.

It is expected that the final approval of all of the regulations will “likely take more than a year.”

Sources:

(1) Devlin, Barrett. The Associated Press. September 18, 2008.

NAHETS Crane Operator Training & Certification

Member schools of the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) across the country offer mobile crane operator training and certification programs. Each of the member schools are authorized to administer the NCCCO Mobile Crane Certification tests. They also offer training from instructors, all holding NCCCO Mobile Crane Operator Certifications, to prepare for the tests. Visit the NAHETS Crane Site for more information.

On August 1, 2008 Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC) elected to not renew its Accredited Training Sponsor and Accredited Training Unit status with the National Center on Construction Education and Research NCCER. In late August OCC notified NCCER of its intended actions regarding election to not renew its training entity status with NCCER; however, the value of the NCCER sponsored training curriculum; i.e., Contren Learning Series will remain an integral part of the OCC and all NAHETS member schools’ curriculum.

The Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC) was published in the May issue of the American Crane & Transport Magazine. Previously Wade Vakulick, director of industry relations and safety, contacted American Crane & Transport and invited them to visit the OCC campus to gather material for their upcoming May issue, which deals with crane operator safety and training. Although the site visit ended up not working out, American Crane & Transport called Wade and held a phone interview. The content of the interview is published in the article.

The article is entitled, “How safe is safe?” and focuses on crane safety and training . . .

]]> http://okcc.wordpress.com/2008/05/16/american-crane-transport-magazine-uses-occ-in-crane-article/feed/ 0 nahets Crane Safey & Training http://okcc.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/news9-covers-occ-crane-operator-training-program/ http://okcc.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/news9-covers-occ-crane-operator-training-program/#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 19:12:38 +0000 nahets http://okcc.wordpress.com/?p=88 ]]>

On May 12 Channel 9 News (News9) covered a story on the Oklahoma College of Construction (OCC) in response to the recent crane accidents that have been in national news . The coverage features an overview and demonstration of the OCC Crane Operator Training Program, which is designed to minimize crane accidents by providing the most skilled and experienced entry-level crane operators. You can visit www.ok-cc.com to see the video coverage or click on the image below for full coverage. Make sure to watch the video!

]]> http://okcc.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/news9-covers-occ-crane-operator-training-program/feed/ 1 nahets News9 Covers OCC Crane Operator Training Program