Wind is the “invisible enemy” of crane operations!
In the recent American Cranes & Transport, AC&T, August 2017, Volume 13, Issue 8, Bill Smith “…discusses why wind is the “invisible enemy” of crane operators…” in the article entitled “Blowing in the wind.” A KHL publication, American Cranes & Transport is the magazine for the crane, lifting and transport industry. First, Smith starts by citing the Popular Mechanics story about “Why Cranes Keep Falling. In the wake of New York City’s latest disaster, crane safety experts weigh in on leading causes of crane collapses.” And second, Smith follows with the Wired magazine read “How Foul Weather and Physics Can Turn a Crane Into a Tragedy.”
Smith highlights how both Popular Mechanics and Wired magazine are mainstream publications for the general public, and not specialty publications for the construction industry and built environment. Further, Smith attributes the widespread media publicity about cranes, crane safety, and crane risk first, to the recent string of high-profile crane accidents, and second, to the increasing awareness of the “…awesome power of cranes…” Accordingly, an increasing number of cranes proliferate the cityscape and landscape, as a result of the market strength and growth of the construction industry.
Wind is the “invisible enemy” of crane operations, exclaims Smith, discussing its never-ending variability. Wind events at varying heights above ground level are critical for crane operations, given the broad spectrum of risks to life safety and workplace productivity due to wind. In crane operations, wind can destabilize loads during lifting and destabilize the equipment itself, threatening the structural stability and weakening the structural integrity of mobile cranes, tower cranes and derricks, and temporary hoists — and, leading to structural failures and catastrophic collapses!
More in the next blog post about weather, wind and crane operations…
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