Health and Safety Audit Blames Hydraulic Crane Manual
A hydraulic crane killed two men even though the machine was repaired two weeks before. Two bolts were replaced on the crane just two weeks before the tragic accident. The inquest into the incident was heard on March 5, 2012. Jonathan Cloke, 37 at the time of the incident, was operating the crane at a construction development. He died along with Michael Alexa, who was nearby the site fixing his car.
The machine was the property of Falcon Cranes. An incorrect manual was used stating that the crane could handle 12 tonnes of concrete, but it was actually fitted for eight. Upon health and safety audits, the HSE was able to determine that the extra weight created too much exertion on the new bolts. There were 24 bolts in the crane ring. These were replaced earlier when several of them broke on a different site.
The manual is slated to be the culprit for the issue, though ultimately, Falcon will have to account for the missing pages, mixed up pages, and the lack of training the crane driver had concerning health and safety courses on the crane. If the operator and staff members used the correct manual with the right pages and no missing pages, they would have been aware of the eight tonne limit. Furthermore, had risk assessments on the manual been performed such as checking the pages, the issue would have been resolved without death. Since it was an inquest to determine a court case no fines or rulings have been made.
