Collective Participation Changes the Paradigm in Crane Safety

Crane Risk Improvement

Arecent construction industry report published by Construction Dive indicates that “despite OSHA’s efforts, the construction death rate hasn’t budged in over 10 years.” BLS Data shows that approximately 10 per 10,000 construction workers continue to be fatally injured each year.

In crane operations, the largest number of those fatalities involve people other than crane operators and riggers. Speaking to attendees at the SEAA Convention in March in St. Augustine, Fla., Dr. Jim Wiethorn, P.E., founder of Crane Risk Logic and ICC Forensics, said: “Thirty-two percent of the people killed on the job when a crane incident occurs are field personnel.”

No improvement in the construction death rate is unacceptable and change is needed. There are many contributing factors driving these dismal results, but when we know better… we do better. Today, there are new risk solutions that tap the power of data to measurably improve the factors that contribute to serious crane accidents and fatalities. To have the greatest impact, it will take collective industry participation.

Data Science Risk Solutions

There is a growing interest among trades such as steel erection in the US, Canada and Europe, which regularly use cranes, to utilize shared risk intelligence data platforms for more precise, directional risk improvement information.

The Crane Safety Research Lab (CSRL) at Texas A&M University (TAMU), administered by Crane Risk Logic (CRL), is one such platform. The goal is to reduce and mitigate crane risks through an innovative information exchange between crane designers, manufacturers, and owners, and organizations that transport, erect, and dismantle cranes, as well as site supervisors and safety managers of crane operations.

This digitally intensive crane risk services platform, composed of a collaboratory of diverse organizations, is supported by a cyberinfrastructure built upon extensive technology resources. It will enable a continuous flow of data and related information from, between and among Crane Risk Logic Federation members for direct data engagement with the CSRL at TAMU, as illustrated below. The Federation is a joint venture project administered by CRL with the Crane Safety Research Lab at Texas A&M University on behalf of trade groups,

Trade Group & Industry Leader Support

The Steel Erectors Association of America is one of several crane-user trade groups interested in tapping this powerful data as a new service for its members. In March,

Annual Cumulative % Operator Responsible & Trend

Annual Cumulative % Lift Director Responsible & Trend

A study analyzing level of responsibility from 701 crane accidents compared 11 different entities, such as crane manufacturer, crane operator, lift director, rigger, etc. While the crane operator was identified most often (23.8% of the time) and the lift director was second most cited (19.8% of the time), the findings tell a very different story when put on a timeline. Since 1990, the annual cumulative percentage of operators responsible for a crane accident has steadily declined. The opposite trend has occurred for lift directors. This data helps to inform employers of the importance of training for individuals who serve in the role of lift director on the job site as a way to reduce future risk.

October 12, 2023

Board Meeting, Peer Group, and Meet & Greet

Raleigh, NC

October 13, 2023

Golf Tournament

Lonnie Poole Golf Course

North Carolina State University

Registration Opens May 1, 2023 at SEAA.net the SEAA Board of Directors entered an agreement to collaborate with Crane Risk Logic (CRL) and the Lab at Texas A&M. The purpose is to work together to create user-friendly methods for dealing with data, increasing efficiency and reducing risk in crane operations typical of steel erection activities.

“SEAA is pleased to support a strategic alignment with Crane Risk Logic (CRL) to access the resources at the Crane Safety Research Lab at Texas A&M University. Our intention is to evaluate data science-based crane risk improvement methods to bring new levels of information to enhance SEAA Member safety and risk management programs,” said David Deem, President of SEAA.

Historical data provided by Dr. Wiethorn provides just a glimpse into the relevance for steel erectors. Ironworkers, specifically the person working as the Connector, are the third most frequently injured and fatally injured worker on a job site when crane accidents occur. Other trade groups and leading crane owners are entering into similar agreements.

“We, at Bragg Companies, are pleased to support Crane Risk Logic’s efforts in providing new technological advancements involving accident data in our industry. The subject matter expertise by CRL in crane engineering and risk management coupled with vast opportunity to learn from real time proven risk factors through digital learning hub platforms at the Crane Safety Research Lab is of keen interest to us,” said Ian Johnson, P.E., Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bragg Companies, a national full-service crane, rigging, and heavy haul company based in Long Beach, Calif. “CRL’s advanced computing combined with secure data sharing in an interactive forum with other owners has all the ingredients to change the paradigm in crane safety,” he said.

With the assistance of Bragg Companies leadership, CRL is working to develop collaborations with the Mobile Crane Owners Group (MCOG - Southern California) and the Crane Owners Association (COA – Northern California), to mutually align interests in similar fashion to the SEAA agreement. We will begin collaborating between SEAA and each of these groups and their respective memberships this summer.

A Life’s Work for the Ages

Dr. Jim Wiethorn, P.E., had the foresight more than 35 years ago to manually catalog crane accident causation metrics from his forensic engineering assignments. Overtime, this raw information became extensively refined into a spreadsheet format, from which he further dissected accident facts in comparison to OSHA and ASME standards. This one-of-a-kind database is the foundation on which future crane risk factors will be identified to measurably improve the stagnant construction fatality results mentioned previously.

According to Dr. Wiethorn: “The time has come to bring established safety-related procedures, based on an actionable accident data base, that will continue to grow and improve safety for both national and international crane users. Thanks to Texas A&M for believing in the crane safety program. The Crane Safety Research Lab is the realization of my dream to give back to an industry that has done so much for me.” •