This article was first published in Marine Construction® Magazine, and is republished here with permission of the authors. © 2018 Marine Construction Magazine and J.J. Smith & Company Inc.
The project supervisor shall obtain daily weather forecasts before beginning work and as frequently thereafter as required to monitor any potential weather problems.
General Safety Considerations for the Marine Contractor
When pile driving over water or performing any type of marine construction, there are numerous safety precautions one should consider. While the following is only a brief synopsis of some of the more common areas of concern, anyone performing such work should always proceed with caution.
Environmental Considerations
- The project supervisor shall obtain daily weather forecasts before beginning work and as frequently thereafter as required to monitor any potential weather problems.
- When a local weather storm warning exists, consideration shall be given to the recommendations of the manufacturer for securing the crane.
- Work shall be halted when environmental conditions exceed those delineated on the load chart.
- Truck- and crawler-cranes shall be attached to the barge or pontoon by means of a tie-down system with some slack.
- Movement during lift operations is not permitted.
- When loads approach the maximum rating of the crane or derrick, the person responsible for the job shall ascertain that the weight of the load has been determined within +/- 10% before it is lifted.
- Means shall be provided for the operator to visually determine the list and trim of the barge or pontoon, as well as machinery list and trim in rotating crane cabs.
- Principal walking surfaces shall be of a skid-resistant type.
- Boom stops shall be provided to resist the boom fall backwards.
- A boom angle indicator readable from the operator’s station shall be provided on all floating cranes.
- All floating cranes/derricks and shipboard auxiliary cranes shall be fitted with load limiting devices (LLDs) or load indicating devices (LID).
- Duty cycle operations are exempt from these requirements.
- Duty cycle cranes performing occasional non-critical lifts shall comply with the following:
- Total weight of load and rigging is known or calculated;
- Load chart is reviewed for weight and planned radius;
- Informal pre-lift meeting is held between all personnel directly involved (operator, rigger, etc.) to review the conditions present for that lift (environmental, configuration, etc.)
- All floating cranes/derricks and crane barges shall be equipped with wind speed and direction indicating devices within clear view of the operator’s station.
(Image Source: Marine Construction® Magazine, Jeff L. Yates © 2018)
About Marine Construction® Magazine
The publishers of Marine Construction® Magazine have been in the Marine Construction Industry for over 35 years. From the design and construction of residential Docks and Seawalls on up to and including Deep Water Cofferdams, Bridge Fendering Systems, 54″ Concrete Cylinder Piling for 18 Mile Bridge Tunnel Structures, to Trestle Systems, Port Facilities, Floating & Fixed Breakwaters, Bridge Piers, Piling Restoration and more! With over 30,000 readers, we pride ourselves on covering what we believe to be topics of “actual usefulness” to our readers. More specifically, not your typical job story. We like to publish information relative to actual Construction Methods, Safety, Legal Issues, the latest in Equipment, Materials and Services. We may be a little unorthodox, but heh, we aren’t just a “publisher”, we actually have knowledge of and understand…the Marine Construction Industry.
Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, WeatherBuild® offers a suite of decision support solutions that empower contractors, owners and operators to improve situational awareness and make better-informed decisions about weather events, schedule impacts, safety risks and probable outcomes.
Follow WeatherBuild on Twitter at https://twitter.com/weatherbuild!
Increase productivity. Enhance safety. Manage risk.™
Download WeatherBuild Mobile on the App Store and rate us 5 stars!
© 2018 Weather Build, Inc. All rights reserved.
“WeatherBuild®”, “Weather Controls®”, and “Decision Support Solutions for the Construction Industry and Built Environment®” are registered trademarks of Weather Build, Inc.
The WeatherBuild “W” logo and app icon, “WeatherBuild Solutions™”, “WeatherBuild Basic™”, “WeatherBuild Pro™”, “WeatherBuild API™”, and “Increase productivity. Enhance safety. Manage risk.™”, and “Weather Risk-Adjusted Scheduling™” are trademarks of Weather Build, Inc.
***