Sharing and learning
PROMOTING SAFETY IN THE CRANE INDUSTRY.
DECEMBER 2014
What’s new this month?
EDITORIAL Welcome to the December issue of Lifting Matters. Lifting Matters has continued to grow since our relaunch in June this year. Our readers unanimously believe and support our vision of industry wide sharing and learning, and we can’t wait to see what we have to share in 2015. We hope in 2015 to see a wider range of contributors to Lifting Matters. There is no shame in having safety incidents occurring on your site or within your business. We work in an industry which relies heavily on people providing a service, and human nature is that we sometimes make mistakes. What we can do is share these mistakes and help each other to avoid making the same ones. I encourage you to be open, honest and upfront about your safety incidents. The reality is, an excellent safety record is no longer a competitive advantage - it is a minimum requirement to successfully operate in this industry. Lifting Matters is about us collectively working together to help each other continually improve our safety performance, but most importantly to protect our most valuable asset - our people. In the meantime, this issue we focus on load restraints on trucks, particularly crane components, following a potentially serious incident that occurred in New Caledonia in early November. Inadequately secured trailer loads pose a huge risk to both truck drivers and other road users. We look at one particular incident that resulted in a fatality, and provide recommendations and
guidelines for preventing such an easily preventable accident. We also have a Case Study on a load restraint incident that occurred in a shipping vessel which was transporting a crawler crane from Australia to New Zealand. We have a great reminder from the Cancer Council about being sun smart in our largely outdoor jobs in the crane industry, an interesting discussion about mentorship for inexperienced crane drivers, riggers and dogman, and we revisit our focus on hand safety from last issue with some reader feedback. Please feel free to contact us at info@liftingmatters.com to provide feedback or insight into any of the articles you read in this issue. Visit our website to comment on our online blog at www.liftingskills.com.au/lifting-matters/blog. You can also download a pdf copy of the newsletter at www.liftingskills. com.au/lifting-matters/newsletter. We are happy to post out glossy colour hard copies of Lifting Matters for your smoko room, waiting areas, and crane cabs. Email us at info@ liftingskills.com.au with your postage address and the number of copies you require. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay vigilant, alert, and focused over the holiday season. Dashelle Bailey, Editor.
THANKS TO THIS EDITION’S CONTRIBUTORS
IN THIS ISSUE Editorial Feature Story - Load Restraints Incident Report Nouea Incident Report Oudtshoorn, Western Cape, South Africa Coronor urges review of trucking code Counterweight Trailers Incident Report Technical Article - Load Restraints Health and Well-being - Skin Cancer I’ve got my license...what now? Hand Safety PAGE 1 | LIFTING MATTERS | DECEMBER 2014
01 02 - 04 05 06 07 08 09 - 11 12 - 13 14 15 15
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FEATURE STORY 11
This issue of Lifting Matters is focusing on load restraint on trucks, and in particular crane components, prompted by a serious incident which occurred on 3 November 2014 in the Universal Cranes New Caledonia business (refer to page 5). In short, counterweights for an All-Terrain Crane were being transported on a subcontractor semi-trailer and were not sufficiently restrained. They broke loose in a sudden braking manoeuvre at traffic lights, slid forward on the trailer and did significant damage to the truck cabin. This truck load was an accident waiting to happen on the road. It was fortunate the incident occurred at low speed before the driver had left Noumea city and the vehicle reached higher speeds on the open highway, where it would almost certainly have been more serious and most likely a fatal accident. There have been an alarming number of these types of incidents over the years. A simple google search will bring up a multitude of pictures and videos, many of them fatal. We have selected some of these images to include in this issue, and the pictures do not need explanation on how devastating the incidents were. Being the most serious cases, these images most likely just represent the tip of the iceberg of incidents of this nature. There would be many other very near misses which are often not reported, and which could easily have been fatal. I am sure almost every reader of this Lifting Matters has a personal horror story experience to share with fellow readers to prove how often this simple failure to properly restrain loads occurs. Please tell your mates about your bad load restraint story to remind us all how serious this problem is. There is also a common false view that short, slow speed journeys to move counterweights around on site do not require proper load restraint. This is completely WRONG, and sheer laziness on behalf of anyone who tries this excuse! The load needs to be properly restrained no matter how short or slow the proposed journey is. Classic serious accidents have occurred on many sites due to poor or non-existent load restraint of crane components
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on trailers for short distance on site moves. This problem is always made worse by the steeper and changing grades on site roads which often add to the horizontal braking loads applied to the load restraint system. These cases raise several questions which should be common knowledge for every crane and rigging industry related worker. 1. What load restraint is required for heavy loads on trucks? 2. Is there a better, safer, and/or more efficient system? 3. Who is ultimately responsible for the load restraint of counterweights and other crane parts? Let’s discuss these questions in more detail. Question 1 - what restraint is required for heavy loads on trucks on the road? This question is answered simply in the load restraint article on page 12. The side restraint needs to have SWL perpendicular to the truck travel direction of 50% of the
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FEATURE STORY
Increased friction between the deck and the load can be used to improve the lateral resistance by adding a nonslip mat under the counterweight. Stoppers and edge rails and boards also help but these precautions need to be combined with good tie down, and with fixed bearing or lock against restraints to prevent movement and ensure that they are effective. Refer also to the note in the restraint article on friction matting (refer to page 12).
•
• There is always the temptation to use your standard counterweight trailer for other tasks and this results in the counterweights being loaded and unloaded in the yard regularly and unnecessarily. The holding capital, depreciation and running costs of specialized trailers will usually be less than the lost man and machine hours loading and unloading counterweight in the yard to free up trailers for general use. •
• Specialized trailers allow minimization of the trailer tare weight and maximization of the payload within the allowable trailer load limits. If these are properly designed for a large all terrain crane they can reduce the number of trailers required for each crane. • It is very important that heavy mass loads are positioned on trailers with the centre of gravity in the correct position so that trailer axle loads are correctly distributed. This weight distribution is also very important from a road safety perspective. Specialized dedicated counterweight trailers eliminate the risks of error in positioning loads, and reduce over axle load non-conformances. •
load. Restraint against forward movement needs to be 80% and against rear movement 60% of the weight. And remember to allow for the de-rating factor for the angle of the applied force relative to the angle of the tie? To visualize this, imagine the trailer suspended from the tow hitch or the rear number plate on a crane with the deck vertical. The load restraint needs to be almost the same (80%) as the rigging gear to stop the load sliding off the trailer. Next time you look at a load on a trailer think of the deck vertical and then consider the load restraint. Another easy way to visualize the size of this problem is to think of the loads on your seat belt when a 70kg man is restrained during a hard braking or in an impact accident. 20 tonnes of counterweight is the typical semitrailer load, so the equivalent restraint force = 20000kg / 70kg = almost 300 x the force on the seat belt!!!
Here, the answer is simple: YES. Many crane companies have specialized dedicated counterweight trailers with purpose built engineered restraint systems. These have several advantages including:
If your crane company does not have dedicated engineered counterweight trailers then we suggest that you look at this concept carefully. These are a selffunding safety initiative which will be welcomed by the
•
• The load restraint system will be especially engineered, and will make sure the loads do not move in an accident. •
• The system will usually be efficient and faster to use than conventional tie down chains and turnbuckles. The repeated saved time is great for productivity, especially the speed of rigging and de-rigging. This specialized trailer is a real labour saving feature and is especially important in our Australian high labour cost environment where every man hour is expensive.
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•
Question 2 - Is there a better way?
• It is also very easy to design dedicated counterweight trailers with good safe access, and with hand rails and other fall restraints which do not need flexibility, and which are safe, efficient, and do not interfere with the trailer load/unload process.
field crews, clients, and anybody with an interest in safety or efficiency. Note that the design of efficient counterweight trailer systems depends on your available crane configuration, your trailer tare weights, the order of need for crane components on arrival at a typical site, and the road rules regarding common trailer configurations in your location. There is no one size fits all solution. Please feel free to call Lifting Matters for advice on the design or sourcing of dedicated crane counterweight trailers for your crane fleet.
Question 3 - Who is responsible? Ultimate responsibility for the load restraint on a truck always rests with the driver. If he moves the vehicle with a load on it then he must accept responsibility that the load is properly restrained. This is exactly the same as lifting a load on a crane. The moment the crane driver pulls the lever to lift the load he is taking full responsibility for the safety of the lift including the capacity of the machine, the lift plan and the rigging. The crane or truck driver needs to understand his job, and understand, trust, and believe in the systems and people behind him. So when the load restraint on a truck is inadequate the truck driver is always responsible. But it does not stop with the truck driver. As with all health and safety matters everybody has a responsibility to identify and correct any shortcomings or risks in load restraint. If you walk past or see any load which is not properly restrained on a truck then you need to
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investigate further. Look at the load, assess the weight, and assess the lateral and longitudinal restraint against the basic percentages of the weight - 50% for lateral restraint, and 80% in the truck travel direction. Think of this rule every time you look at a load on a truck. Load restraint on trucks is a major risk for the crane industry and it is often treated secondary to the higher profile risks associated with cranes and lifting. All skilled crane industry people should be familiar with good practice on load restraint and on the theory and the forces which are involved. If your team are lacking knowledge in this area then please feel free to contact Lifting Skills for special short courses to upskill your people on this important, high risk, and historically dangerous area of our businesses. Albert Smith, Managing Director, Universal Cranes Group Board Member, Crane Industry Council of Australia.
November 3rd 2014
INCIDENT REPORT NOUMEA
Image from www.cdllife.com
Universal Cranes New Caledonia employees loaded up crane counterweights and hook blocks on a sub-contractor trailer in Noumea. Two trailers were loaded up for both an 80T crane and a 130T crane.
The counterweights needed to be repainted, a guide pin on one of the counterweights snapped off, and the 5 sheave hook block is out of order, leaving the 130T crane with only a 20T capacity hook block to complete lifts.
The two trailers returned to the sub-contractors yard about 15km away for the weekend, ready for transport on Monday 3rd of November to Koniambo, approximately 270km north of Noumea.
• Universal Cranes needs to provide a clear written instruction to the transport subcontractor on how loads should be restrained, including drawings of the type of restraint required, how many tie downs and attachment points.
On Monday morning, the subcontractor trucks left their yard with the trailers. As the truck was approaching a set of traffic lights, the set of lights changed to red and the driver of one of the trucks applied the brakes quite suddenly. All the counterweights and hook block cleared free from the restraint straps, slid on top of the trailer, and hit the front cab by the rear. Two counterweight slabs fell on the ground as well as the
• Universal Cranes needs to inspect all loads, fixing points and tie downs prior to departure.
130T crane’s 5 sheave hook. The driver of the truck is very lucky that he was not travelling at higher speed at the time of the accident as he would have suffered serious injury and maybe worse.
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•
•
A number of factors contributed to this incident occurring. There was inadequate load restraint for the load being transported. The counterweights and hook blocks were restrained with tie down straps only. The following Corrective Actions are required:
•
• All loads need to be restrained in accordance with National Transport Commission Load Restraint Guide (or local equivalent). In this example, chains and rubber matting should have been used to increase friction and provide direct restraint for the load. Charles Schlecht SHEQ Engineer – Smithbridge Group
2010
INCIDENT REPORT OUDTSHOORN, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
This incident (pictured above) highlights the importance of securing loads and the driver or operator stopping to check the security of the load after driving a few kilometers. The truck was taking pipes to a project nearby when an animal ran onto the road, requiring the driver to break suddenly to avoid the animal. The pipes slipped forward, crashed through the back of the cab, impaling the driver and killing him instantly. His body was found in two parts, the bottom half in his seat and the top half inside the pipe. The passenger was impaled by a second pipe, which forced him through the windscreen and flung him 15m in front of the truck. This incident was sadly easily avoidable, with a number of factors playing a part
Source: European Best Practice Guidelines on Cargo Securing for Road Transport
•
• The vehicle flat-bed trailer was not fitted with a headboard •
• Insufficient securing mechanisms were used for the weight and momentum of the load. There were no forward or backward restraints •
• Load security was not checked after commencement of the journey •
• It is understood the driver and co-driver did not use tension straps to save time as they were travelling a short distance. This incident is a grim reminder of the importance of having loading plans and these loading plans being followed. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure the load is secure prior to travelling, and to do a second check within the first 10km of the journey. Where possible, it is encouraged to have a trip checker at the security gate to double check departing plant and equipment. The vehicle cab/body should have a headboard that is able to withstand the force of an unsecured load.
Source: Load Restraint Guideline 2004, RTA
Adapted from a Safety Alert issued by Buildsafe South Africa The following pages show various incidents involving inadequate load restraint. These images require little explanation to understand how devastating these incidents were. PAGE 6 | LIFTING MATTERS | DECEMBER 2014
Source: Regupol Anti-Slip Mats Brochure
He said the reason the load spilled was the lack of restraints and poor loading of the pipes. In February the Palmerston North truckdriver, Henry Anthony Tawhai, in his 50s, was found guilty of criminal nuisance in the High Court in New Plymouth and sentenced to community work. The original charges of manslaughter and druggeddriving were dropped.
Source: www.fordforums.com.au
In yesterday’s ruling, Scott declined to make firm recommendations on the trucking code because he was not an expert. Instead he made “helpful suggestions only in the hope that people who have the ability to make changes - in particular New Zealand Transport Agency and various trucking organisations may take them on board and apply them”. Scott called for a revision of the Truck Loading Code to be given significant priority and for it to be simplified and include diagrams. The practice of “nesting” smaller diameter pipes within larger diameter pipes should stop, Scott said.
Source: www.daijiworld.com
He also suggested that examination of load restraints should not be left solely up to drivers and there should be a policy of regular inspection by a senior person within a trucking organisation. Drivers should be instructed to approach a supervisor if in doubt and a workplace culture must be developed whereby noone feels unable to do this, Scott said. Tawhai was an experienced truckdriver transporting heavy steel pipes for the first time.
Source: www.cdllife.com
September 2nd 2014
CORONER URGES REVIEW OF TRUCKING CODE A coroner is calling for a high-priority review of the trucking code after the deaths of Urenui couple Ern and Nancy Sutton. The Suttons, aged 83, died of multiple injuries when a 25.2 tonne load of steel pipes rolled off the back of a truck on May 28, 2012, on State Highway 3 at Motunui north of Waitara, and struck their car, coroner Tim Scott said in his findings released yesterday. PAGE 7 | LIFTING MATTERS | DECEMBER 2014
He arrived at Pipes New Zealand at Bell Block where two employees, Phillip Shewry and Barry Watson, helped him load the pipes, which were headed to Auckland. The Serious Crash Unit investigation found the maximum possible load restraint on the load was 30,400 kilograms, well under the two-times rule. At least nine chains should have been placed on the load. “To an extent the facts speak for themselves because the two front chains restraining the load broke while Mr Tawhai was going around a moderate bend very shortly after he left Pipes New Zealand.” The coroner said he found it “extremely surprising and worrying” that Tawhai’s supervisor lacked exact restraint knowledge and expected the drivers to check for wear. “Checking is far too significant to be left [solely] up to the drivers,” he said. Scott found Tawhai was probably not significantly impaired by cannabis. It was pleasing that he had never failed his employer’s random drug and alcohol checks, the coroner said. Lyn Humphreys, Taranaki Daily News
Health and Wellbeing
COUNTERWEIGHT TRAILERS The following pictures show specialized counterweight trailers used by Smith Cranes in Christchurch and by Auckland Cranes. Note the following features: 1. The pads and the specialized forklift are on the first trailer to arrive at site. It also carries timber blocks and lifting gear. 2. The trailers all have good stairs, access walkways and hand rails. 3. Trailers are usually adapted from Skeleton trailers and do not carry extra deck plate or unnecessary tare weight. 4. Note the tapered central restraint pin which provides for auto alignment without guidance from dogmen or tag lines
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June 2013
INCIDENT REPORT In June 2013, Universal Cranes shipped their Demag CC28001 Crawler Crane to New Zealand. The 600T Crane was being shipped with 102m of Boom Sections, 540T Counterweight, Crawler Tracks and Carbody/Superstructure. It was a fairly sizeable relocation requiring a significant amount of planning. With pressing project commitments, a 30 day window was scheduled to enable the crane to mobilise to site prior to Liquated Damages being enforceable on the next project. With this in mind, Universal Cranes believed they had every aspect of the relocation covered and well planned. In order to transport the crane, Universal Cranes went to the market in May 2013 to secure a shipping solution. Several options were reviewed with the most favourable being RollOn/Roll-Off (RORO) from Port Kembla in NSW. The Crane was to be demobilised from Canberra, so the Port Kembla location was ideal, and RORO would enable the crane components to be discharged prior to vessel arrival. Universal Cranes approached the Terminal Operator in Port Kembla, and via the Vessels Agent
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appropriate numbers of MAFI Trailers were made available for pre-loading. The crane was subsequently loaded, and departed on-time from Port Kembla. All components were stored on MAFI Trailers, including the 83T Carbody (house of the crane). Boom Sections were nested and placed atop of counterweights where possible. The shift was shaping up to be on-time, well planned and within the project budget. The crane components were delivered to Port in May 2013. Following departure from Port Kembla, and on route to Auckland the vessel, which was a fully enclosed RORO/Car Carrier, encountered extremely rough conditions and as a result components of the crane shifted within the ship’s hold. On June 7th 2013, Universal Cranes was advised within a few hours of the reported incident. Initial information was vague and unconfirmed, until a photograph of the carbody was received, showing it had rolled clear of the MAFI trailer. At the time, Universal Cranes knew the carbody was a solid unit, and they were initially more concerned about tow aspects, the recovery and the condition of the balance of the crane, with which we were under impression had been stored on the same deck within the vessel. After-all, if an 83T carbody shifted, what would happen if other components were also no longer secured? A recover plan had to be established, the crane needed to be recovered and repaired, there was the time frame to consider. Questions were raised such as will it be operational? What was the final extent of damage? What about the other components? No further information was obtainable from the shipping agent, so Universal Cranes had to commence planning for the
unknown, which posed a huge challenge. Once the vessel arrived in New Zealand, Universal Cranes was able to not only commence the recovery, but also inspect what was left of the lashings on the carbody; and what method of lashing had been adopted on the remaining components. What was discovered was quite disturbing to the crew. It appeared many items were lashed by nylon ratchet straps and were clearly under capacity. The damage was isolated to only the carbody, and as such the client was notified and a replacement crane/carbody ready to be shipped was lined up in Australia; at a significant cost to Universal Cranes and potential delivery concerns to the client in Auckland.
commenced across multiple shifts to strip down, assess and catalog parts. Upon initial strip down, it was apparent that further damage was evident, and a specialist repair engineer was sent from Terex Germany to assess. It was clear the damage could not be rectified within four weeks; and a replacement crane/carbody was definitely required. As discussed, Universal Cranes had identified a replacement option; having located a CC2800-1 machine in Australia operating on CANBUS that could be directly interchanged with the damaged carbody. Risks were reviewed, and aspects such as boom heel pin and track pins were measured and confirmed with Terex. Universal Cranes then planned on shipping a replacement carbody that would need to go to work directly with our existing components.
A system was devised that would enable the carbody to be rolled into the right orientation, therefore allowing access to transilifters for jacking clear of deck. Once on jacks, the MAFI could be repositioned for removal from the vessel. The numbers were calculated, and approval lodged to ships owners for welding to the deck, and the process began.
The replacement crane owners, Mammoet Wind, agreed to let Universal Cranes hire only the carbody and manage the mobilisation and shipment to New Zealand. Terex approvals on
Sand bags and hardwood mats were positioned, and the rigging arrangement was assembled, which involved a chain block pulling system, that would bring the crane to a point of balance and then be compensated for by the sand bags. This process was necessary due to the limited head height within the vessel.
Whilst load restraint in general is a straight forward process, Marine Lashing Requirements are subject to the pitch and roll of the vessel, and must typically be in accordance with IMO Codes and Guidelines. ‘This effectively means that in relative to the principle axis of the ship, the loads which must be designed for are:
The recovery was successful, and Universal Cranes was soon focused on the impending repair process. Initially, the crew focused on the task of repairing the crane within 4 weeks to enable delivery by July 15th 2013 to the Auckland based client. With consideration of available local services, it was decided to shift the crane to a Hamilton based workshop. Works
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the interchange were supplied to Mammoet Wind. It would be fair to say with the first shipment experience under their belt, a different approach was taken on the second shipment.
1.0 ‘g’ Vertically 0.8 ‘g’ Transverse 0.4 ‘g’ Longitudinally
Universal Cranes also reviewed the machine lashing materials. High grade load mating offering a friction coefficient of 0.8 was sourced and a lashing design was completed by Universal Cranes involving 48 lashing points on the machine. Whilst all of this preparation was completed, Universal Cranes was still to be at the peril of the shipping company and their engaged stevedores. Since the same carrier was being utilised, they were compassionate to the cause and therefore allowed Universal Cranes to provide guidance direction on the restraint. The following preparation was undertaken: A) Lashing Design and Procurement of Lashing Chain / Binders B) Procurement of High Grade Load Matting C) Engagement of Marine Surveyor to Certify Lashing Design & Certify Execution in Accordance with Design; whom would also have access to replacement carbody during loading to MAFI, and during securement within the cargo deck. In support of the lashing design, the shipper also allowed the translifters (support outriggers/jacks) to be extended and applied to the deck as additional lateral support. This was completed, and was seen as a significant sign of support by the shipping because the additional width it had an impact on their carrying capacity and subsequent cargo and income. A summary of the involved parties: A) Universal Cranes – Owner. B) Terminal Operator – Loaded MAFI Trailers. C) Shipping Agent – Managed Voyage. D) Shipping Line – Carried Cargo.
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Stevedores – Loaded and Lashed Cargo (Engaged by Shipping Line). A key aspect of learning that Universal Cranes can offer is: A) The Crane Owner should insist on inspection of the lashing, regardless of whether or not an operator or stevedore is rejecting access. If lashing doesn’t look right, then it likely isn’t. B) The Crane Owner should query available Lashing Equipment on the Vessel and confirm it is suitable for the task. Ask the shipper, does the vessel normally carry this cargo? C) Have your own engineers check the numbers if needed. Remember the forces applied to the load will exceed those experienced during normal load travel, so you would expect the lashings to also. D) Engage a Marine Surveyor to provide an independent account of the loading and securement. Nick Morris, Engineering and Sales Manager Universal Cranes If you would like more information or have any questions or feedback on this article, please contact us at info@liftingmatters.com.
Technical Article
LOAD RESTRAINTS LOAD RESTRAINT OVERVIEW
LASHING METHOD
The safe loading of vehicles and trailers is vitally important in preventing injury to people and damage to property. The Load Restraint Guideline (LRG) provides stakeholders with the basic principles that should be followed to ensure the safe carriage of loads. The information within the Guideline, and summarized here is based on proven engineering principles and the capability of load restraint equipment to apply the necessary restraint forces.
There are two key forms of Lashing Design; Direct and InDirect.
The actual Load Restraint Guideline is available for download online; and consists of two parts. Part 1 is an overview intended for Drivers and Operators and Part 2 steps into greater detail for Engineers and Designers, containing greater technical detail and information on how to test and certify a load restraint system.
FORCES APPLYING TO A LOAD During travel, a vehicle and its load are subjected to forces caused by changes in speed, direction or slope. Key factors in these forces are braking, acceleration, cornering, travelling on uneven surfaces and effects of wind and air flow. A load restraint design must take into account these forces in both selection and application of the equipment. To assist, the LRG provides a clear requirement in the Performance Standards stating the forces with which a designer must allow for on the load.
1. Direct Lashing Relies upon Blocking, Containing or Direct Lashings between Load & Vehicle. An example of Direct Lashing is a blocked frame whereby a counterweight is positioned within the frame, preventing movement. Another example is a Wheeled Crane Carrier, restrained by direct lashings between the crane and trailer. 2. In-Direct In-Direct (commonly referred to as Tie-Down) relies upon friction, whereby the load is tied down using lashings. An example of Tie-Down is where a clamping force is created; such as lashings direct over a counterweight biscuit positioned on load matting. Lashing Designs may also commonly use a combination of the above two techniques.
LASHING SYSTEM COMPONENTS Several components are utilised in Lashing Design. 1. Load / Friction Matting Load or Friction Matting is a product specifically developed to increase the friction force between a load and the support surface. The use of this matting, several of which are issued with design data, can greatly assist a Load Restraint Design in Tie-Down and Combination Design. It is important to note that without a Friction Mat the coefficient of friction can be unknown and therefore conservative assumptions are often utilised. Whereas, the friction coefficient on a load mat could be as high as 0.6. 2. Load Chain & Binders
Where W represents the Weight of the Load, this standard states the must be restrained to the following minimum standard:
Forward: 80% of the Load Weight Sideways: 50% of the Load Weight Reverse: 50% of the Load Weight Vertical: 20% of the Load Weight
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Within Australia, the industry will often refer to Grade 70 Transport Chain. This chain is inherently different to G80 and G100 Lifting Chain, and is also designed only on a 2:1 Safety Factor (whereby Lifting Chain is 4:1). Note that G80, G100 and beyond can be used in a Lashing Design to increase capacity, and some manufacturers are providing specialist products of this nature. However, Grade 70 Transport Chain / Components should never be used for Lifting.
Technical Article
LOAD RESTRAINTS
Design Capacities on Grade 70 is below: Grade 70 (2:1)
often complete their own testing to confirm they can achieve a pre-tension in excess of this figure. Grade 80 (2:1)
8mm
4t
10mm
6t
6.4t
13mm
9t
10.6t
16mm
16t
The chain however is only one component of the arrangement, and not usually the limiting factor. Special attention must be paid to the Load Binder itself, whereby a Standard 10mm Load Binder has a capacity of 6t, and 13mm of 9t. Hence there is often no advantage in up-sizing the chain capacity without having available binders to match. 3. Lashing Pre-Tension Lashing Pre-Tension refers to the force within a lashing provided by a mechanical means, such as a load binder. The LRG states as a guideline that approximate pretension in a Load Binder 7mm and above is 1000kg; however several organisations will
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The available pre-tension becomes an important factor in a Tie-Down Lashing Design. 4. Tie-Down Force. The tie-down force is the sum of the tensions on each side of a load, taking into account the angular effect. That is, multiple Load Binders can be used on one Lashing, provided the overall Lashing Capacity is not exceeded. The angular effect adopts the same principles of rigging design, whereby if a tie-down lashing is not vertical then its effectiveness will reduce below 100%. Nick Morris, Universal
Engineering
and
Sales
Manager Cranes
If you need assistance, additional information, or have some recommendations about load restraints, please contact us at info@liftingmatters.com.
Health and Well-being
OUTDOOR WORKERS IT’S TIME TO SLIP, SLOP, SLAP!
Queensland has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world – and it’s up to us to change that! Around 133,000 non-melanoma and 3000 melanoma skin cancers are diagnosed across the state each year, making it vital for Queenslanders to remain vigilant about staying SunSmart. Skin cancer is one of the most preventable cancers – yet it accounts for up to 80 per cent of all new cancers diagnosed in Australia each year. As outdoor workers are often outside during peak UV periods, it is essential that they are adequately protected by wearing SunSmart clothing, broad-brimmed hats, using SPF30 or above broad-spectrum, water resistant sunscreen, wearing wraparound sunnies and utilising shade as much as possible. Cancer Council Queensland spokesperson Katie Clift said outdoor workers taking proper sun protection was vital. “Queensland has shockingly high skin cancer rates - and outdoor workers are some of the most at risk,” Ms Clift said. “It’s crucial that anyone working outdoors regularly in Queensland gives themselves the best possible protection against skin cancer. “Implementing SunSmart policies and procedures and modelling behaviours to reduce skin cancer risk in outdoor workers is a
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shared responsibility between workplaces and their workers. “Remember to always Slip on protective clothing, Slop on minimum SPF30 broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen, Slap on a broad-brimmed hat, Seek shade and Slide on wraparound sunnies for best protection against skin cancer when working outdoors.” Research from Cancer Council Queensland, QUT and Curtin University shows the majority of outdoor workers in Queensland say a skin cancer diagnosis is inevitable. Around 70 per cent of all outdoor workers surveyed believed it was likely they would develop skin cancer in the future. About 42 per cent had already had a skin cancer, mole or other spot removed or treated. “Not only is it imperative that outdoor workers take care of their skin, they also need to get to know their own skin,” Ms Clift said. “If Queenslanders notice a new spot or lesion, or a spot or lesion change in shape, colour, thickness or elevation – they should visit their GP immediately.” Sun protection is required when the UV Index is 3 and above. In Queensland, the UV Index is 3 and above all year round, so Cancer Council Queensland encourages sun protection through every season. For information about staying SunSmart every day, contact Cancer Council on 13 11 20 or visit www.cancerqld.org.au.
Learning and Development
I’VE GOT MY LICENCE... WHAT NOW? So you or your employees have gone to a course, attained a licence, and you’re now ready to work…or are you?
trialling a traineeship program in NSW, and I encourage all employers to support these types of programs as they are trialled in other states. Matt Shuker, General Manager Lifting Skills Safety Article
REVIEW ON FOCUS ON HAND SAFETY.
An increasing issue in Australia is the lack of support posttraining for people that hold High Risk Work licences. In previous years, employers would team up experienced doggers, riggers and crane operators with new employees, or those looking at upgrading their licences. So why is this no longer occurring when subsidised programs exist for so many other trades? As an active member of the training industry, it is unnerving to see the pressure that keeps being applied to training organisations to ‘fast-track’ people through courses, simply because they cannot get time off work, and many sites across Australia do not allow High Risk Work trainees to operate under a log book system. This issue is more prevalent in certain states, for example Western Australia, where High Risk Work licences are not effectively regulated, allowing people to go from having no licences to becoming advanced riggers and scaffolders in a few weeks.
We received some great feedback from our September issue on the Focus on Hand Safety. There was consensus across the board that hand injuries account for majority of First Aid Incidents and Medically Treated Incidents.Universal Cranes provided a breakdown of their FAIs and MTIs over the past 12 months, showing almost half of injuries occurred to the hands. FAT AND MTI BODILY LOACTION
In contrast, a chef is required to train under supervision for three years, in a profession which is not subject to the volume and magnitude of risks we are in the crane industry. In the crane industry you can get a doggers licence, get a job, and start working with a crane the next day on your own, where people can and do die from incidents on a regular basis. Even more frequent are the incidents where thousands or millions of dollars of damage occurs due to lack of experience, and we accept these as a normal part of working in the industry. Holding a licence should only be seen as a ticket to start training. In the limited timeframes given to train people at training organisations, you can only expect people to receive foundational knowledge at best. Becoming experienced takes years, and can only be done under guidance of other experienced people. So who is accountable? The people trying to get a licence to start working in the industry, the training organisations that offer the best course they can within the budgets people are willing to spend, the regulators, or the employers that can’t afford to give employees time off and train them on the job? There is no short term solution, but it is way overdue that the crane industry is seen as a trade, and is treated as such by all involved. We encourage employers to ensure newly ticketed or unexperienced team members are paired up with more experienced personnel wherever possible. It is also important that we support training providers and industry initiatives that ensure people are trained the right way. CICA is currently PAGE 15 | LIFTING MATTERS | DECEMBER 2014
We also received some feedback on different tools that have been utilized to remove hands from the line of fire. In the September issue we looked at an incident where a person lost his finger due to the boom dropping while driving a pin out of a connection and catching his finger between the pin and the butt hole. A Lifting Matters reader told of us another incident he had witnessed, where a team would rebuild crusher mainshafts using a large solid steel bar hanging from the hook of a franna. On the head nut, a boilermaker would weld a large ‘tab’ for the bar to impact on, and two people would push this bar to hit the tab and tighten the head nut. On one occasion, a fitters hand slipped and was crushed by the steel bar, resulting in the loss of his finger. Following this incident, the team purchased a tool called an RME Thunderbolt Hammer to eliminate the exposure of hands to crushing. The Thunderbolt is a recoilless hammer, which delivers high energy, high momentum recoilless blows, putting the operators out of harm’s way and providing a much safer method for tightening the head nut.
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