Crane Safety Research Articles

A qualitative analysis of crane safety incident causation in the Australian construction industry

Crane safety incidents in the construction industry are persistent and have serious consequences. The research explored causal and contributing factors to crane safety incidents in the Australian construction industry. Key informants were purposefully selected because of their industry experience and knowledge of crane operations in the Australian construction industry. Informants participated in focus groups or interviews, in which the factors that cause or contribute to crane safety incidents in construction were explored. Data was systematically analysed using the framework method of qualitative data analysis. A total of 77 causal/contributing factors were identified in the analysis, which were found to operate at multiple levels within the work system relating to the use of cranes in the construction industry. The analysis also revealed that these factors interact with each other in complex ways within and between levels in the work system. Understanding these interactions can inform the selection and implementation of ‘upstream’ prevention measures for crane safety incident in the construction industry.

A systematic review of scholarly works addressing crane safety requirements

The omnipresence of cranes in construction environments and the health and safety concerns associated with their operations have constantly been increasing as a global challenge. Subsequently, endeavors to improve safety of crane operations have gained notable interest among Construction Management scholars in the past two decades. Although identification and analysis of crane safety risk factors and accident causes have been targeted in some studies, a systematic review that reveals the status of current literature on crane safety issues and the extent to which solutions to crane risk factors have been addressed by existing scholarly works is missing. This paper aims to bridge this gap through conducting a systematic review of the available literature since the turn of the century. The systematic analysis of publications proposing crane safety solutions is conducted using the 59 risk factors comprising the Crane Operation Risk Directory (CORD) utilized in this review. In brief, this study attempts to contrast the risk factors that have predominantly been studied in the literature against those that received limited or no attention from scholars. Our results pinpoint eight overlooked areas within the crane safety body of knowledge that are critical to proper implementation of the crane management system prescribed by the AcciMap framework. Our survey of the literature informs the research community and the industry practitioners of the future directions to study the less understood elements of crane safety.

Cyber—physical systems development for construction applications

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are intended to facilitate the tight coupling of the cyber and physical worlds. Their potential for enhancing the delivery and management of constructed facilities is now becoming understood. In these systems, it is vital to ensure bidirectional consistency between construction components and their digital replicas. This paper introduces the key features of CPS and describes why they are ideally suited for addressing a number of problems in the delivery of construction projects. It draws on examples of research prototypes developed using surveys, field experiments, and prototyping methodologies, to outline the key features and benefits of CPS for construction applications and the approach to their development. In addition, it outlines the lessons learned from developing various systems for the design, construction and management of constructed facilities, which include building component placement and tracking, temporary structures monitoring, and mobile crane safety. The paper concludes that the construction industry stands to reap numerous benefits from the adoption of CPS. It states that the future direction of CPS in construction will be driven by technological developments and the extent to which CPS is deployed in new application areas.

Safety risk analysis and control of tower crane

Tower crane is one of the vertical transport machinery widely used in the construction at present. Due to its own structure and safety management defects, accidents often occur and have serious consequences [1]. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the safety accidents of tower crane. In this paper, through a large number of accident statistical analysis and expert interviews, from the analysis of the entire process of tower crane installation, use and disassembly stage, the accident tree with the tower crane safety incident as the top event is established. Through the qualitative analysis of the accident tree, the minimum cut (diameter) set is obtained, on this basis, the structural importance of all basic events is sorted, the main factors affecting the safety accident of the tower crane are determined, and the corresponding management and control are proposed, and provide a basis for preventing tower crane accidents and controlling tower crane risks.

Immersive Safe Oceans Technology: Developing Virtual Onboard Training Episodes for Maritime Safety

This paper introduces four safety training episodes and virtual training technology called Immersive Safe Oceans which can be used in further education of professionals in immersive training scenarios. These episodes were developed for maritime safety and are under testing. Immersive Safe Oceans Technology is a cost-effective, portable technology that can be used on board just in time or in maritime training centers. Four introduced episodes, namely, (1) command bridge, (2) machine room, (3) crane, and (4) fire safety, illustrate how Immersive Safe Oceans technology can be used in various professional training scenarios. These episodes also emphasize the growing need for virtual reality training in the shipping industry. As a result, next generation learning will happen onboard in sophisticated virtual training centers.

Crane safety standards: Problem analysis and safety assurance planning

This study examines crane-related current legislation in South Korea, extracting existing relevant safety standards, analyzing problems within the extracted safety standards, and proposing improvement measures for accident prevention. The present study consisted of a total of four stages: (1) relevant law collection and classification, (2) safety standards extraction, (3) problem analysis, and (4) improvement plan generation. Content analysis revealed that ten Acts contain crane-related provisions, of which 7 set out 288 safety standards. We analyzed the provisions for problems of duplication, inadequacy, and conflict and suggest ways to prevent accidents due to problems of safety standards. Problems associated with crane-related safety standards can be placed into three categories: insufficiency problems, contradiction problems, and ambiguity problems. This paper proposes three improvement measures to address these problems: (1) restoration of abolished safety standards or strengthening of relaxed spec requirements, (2) harmonization of safety standards among related government authorities to ensure consistency across standards, and (3) use of unambiguous expressions to avoid confusion. The results of this study provide a foundation for a future action plan and implementation of necessary measures to proactively prevent recurring crane accidents.

Wind-induced tower crane vibration and safety evaluation

The maximum wind load direction of tower crane is considered to be perpendicular to its jib. The interference effects of its different segments and across-wind loads are ignored in traditional crane safety evaluation. This study proposes a general scheme for the safety evaluation of tower cranes under fluctuating wind loads. The wind coefficients of a full-scale model of a tower crane were calculated by computational fluid dynamics, and then the time history of wind loads, simulated through the autoregressive method, were applied to the finite element model of a tower crane. The results reveal that the maximum along-wind load direction deflected 30°–60°, and the mean ratio of the absolute value of the across-wind coefficient to the along-wind coefficient of the tower crane was 8.56%, which indicated that the across-wind loads should be taken into account in wind-resistant design. Comparing the wind-induced responses of four typical wind directions, the maximum displacement, the bending stress and the axial stress of the tower crane occurred in the positive direction. Furthermore, the maximum acceleration of the cat-head was 0.028 m/s2, which met the comfort requirements of the operator. Although the tower crane met the strength and static stiffness requirements of design rules, the maximum bending stress at the junctions between the jib and the slewing platform, the counterweight and the counter-jib, exceeded the allowable stress, and the first modal of the tower crane was excited. These results warrant considering the effect of fluctuating wind loads in the safety evaluation of a tower crane.

CONTROL TECHNIQUE OF LOCAL AND GENERAL STABILITY OF THE LOADING CRANE’S TELESCOPIC BOOM

Introduction . The paper examines the overall and local stability of a telescopic boom (TS). Materials and methods . The author uses methods for analytical research of oscillatory systems with a finite number of degrees and methods of the Deformable Solid Mechanics, such as Material Resistance. Moreover, the author applies Solid Edge Simulation as finite element analysis program based on FEA Femap analysis technology and the NX Nastran solver. Results . As a result, the author develops a methodology for monitoring the overall and local stability of the vehicle. The usage of the calculation for the overall stability of the vehicle allows to determine the load-height characteristics, parameters of the working equipment that ensure the steady state of the system, and also to track the overall steady state of the vehicle as a function of the vehicle characteristics. In addition, the usage of local stability calculation allows to track the maximum stress state of the vehicle, which is a criterion of local stability and provides the ability to monitor the stability of the most loaded shelves and walls. The proposed method for calculating the stress state takes into account the combined effect of external and local horizontal and vertical loads. Discussion and conclusions . The usage of methods of monitoring the overall and local stability of the vehicle allows to set automatically the most optimal characteristics of the working equipment, including the developed method in the crane safety system, and to increase the level of safe operation of load- lifting cranes equipped with vehicles.

A cyber–physical system (CPS) for planning and monitoring mobile cranes on construction sites

Various ways of improving mobile crane safety on construction sites have been introduced and adopted, such as visualisation of mobile crane operations, algorithm-based lift planning and spatial conflict identification. However, these focus only on either planning or monitoring aspects – there is no effective method for planning and monitoring mobile crane operations consistently with real-time control feedback. Developments in information technology, notably cyber–physical systems, are changing the way that planning and monitoring can be done. This paper explores the applicability of such systems to mobile cranes on construction sites. A five-layer system architecture is proposed, and the key components and the enabling technologies in each layer are investigated. The potential benefits and barriers in the implementation of the proposed system are also highlighted. By enabling bidirectional communication and coordination between physical components and their virtual representations, the system offers advantages in managing mobile cranes in such a way as to facilitate effective planning, proactively monitor crane operations, provide rich multimodal feedback to crane operators and, ultimately, avoid mobile crane failures and mobile-crane-related accidents.

Stability Analysis of Tower Crane During Rotational Motion and Influence of Wind

This research deals with the stability of tower cranes operating with full load under the influence of wind in order to determine dynamic loading. The case of crane motion is rotation around vertical axes. The method of analysis is the calculation of the stability conditions, getting results through modeling and simulations and experimental measurements. Rotational motion is usually followed by heavy oscillations mainly caused by load swinging, which acts on boom, mast and other parts. When crane works in an open place, it undergoes additional aerodynamic forces caused by wind that have variable intensity and direction. This occurrence can create problems with stability, load drop or crane overturning. Based on wind force, simulations will be applied in order to find the nature of oscillations, form and extent of forces that can cause instability, and to calculate parameters for stability conditions. Analysis will be done using modeling and simulations with computer application SimWise 4d. Results gained will be used to get conclusions about dynamic behavior, extent of oscillations, design of crane stability and safety during work. They will be presented in graphical form.

Vision-based load sway monitoring to improve crane safety in blind lifts

ABSTRACTBlind lifts on congested offshore platform (OP) environments are inherently dangerous because of the substantial presence of spatial conflicts in the crane workspace and the operator’s limited visibility to the load. This research aims to improve operators’ spatial awareness in blind lifts in the OP environment through real-time crane states sensing and visualization. A technical framework is proposed that consists of two sensing modules (i.e., crane motion monitoring and load sway monitoring) and a visualization module. To augment the robustness of the inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based method, a computer vision (CV)-based approach was introduced to track load positions for load sway monitoring. A prototype system was built and tested in an offshore platform to validate the crane motion monitoring and visualization modules. A series of lab and field experiments were conducted to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of CV-based load sway monitoring in control and real-world scenarios. The results from the field and lab tests indicate the proposed framework and methods were able to accurately monitor and visualize the crane states in real-time and thus provide the operator with adequate assistance to identify and mitigate unsafe conditions during blind lifts.

AN INVESTIGATION INTO CRANE AND SCAFFOLD SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The aim of this study is to determine whether construction sites involving cranes and scaffold in Australian large construction sites have been in compliance with the existing Work Health and Safety (WHS) requirements. The research comprises three case studies which investigated the causes of crane and scaffold safety incidents that occurred in New South Wales. The results of the case study on a number of separate sites in Sydney, NSW have shown that without stringent safety procedures in place to abide by the WHS Act and Regulations, major accidents can occur and can cause serious injury and could cause potential fatalities while working with cranes and scaffold. Results also found that a number of limiting factors including communication skill, regular maintenance, safety checks, safety culture and safety investments could contribute to the severity of the incidents.

Tower crane safety on construction sites: A complex sociotechnical system perspective

Tower crane is the lifeline of the construction industry, but tower crane accidents are still too frequent. Despite the significant progress in tower crane safety research, system thinking-based approaches are lacking. The aim of this paper is to analyze tower crane safety from a complex sociotechnical system perspective through implementing both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Characteristics of five tower crane safety system components are summarized with a new framework comprised of five system-based levels based on Rasmussen’s risk management theory. Fifty-six contributing factors of tower crane safety were identified. The AcciMap technique was applied to qualitatively build a generic model for tower crane safety, which comprehensively presents the systems levels and casual paths of the contributing factors. A survey was conducted to quantitatively research the tower crane safety system. Nine main dimensions and 25 critical factors were found pertaining to the tower crane safety system. These results provide a new lens for tower crane safety and contribute new systems thinking applications in tower crane safety management.

Quay Crane Scheduling with Vessel Stability

This paper studies the Quay Crane Scheduling Problem (QCSP) that aims to find an optimized schedule for Quay Cranes (QCs) to load and unload containers onto and off of vessels. The resulting schedule has to satisfy certain technical requirements including crane safety margin and non-crossing constraint as well as vessel stability. We propose a two-stage solution method. In the first stage, we solve the problem without the vessel stability constraint using column generation method, and in the second stage, we adjust the obtained schedule when necessary, so that vessel stability is satisfied. A computational study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Analysis of load monitoring system in hydraulic mobile cranes

Load moment limiters or safe load control systems or are very important in crane safety. The system detects the moment of lifting load and compares this actual moment with the rated moment. The system uses multiple sensors such as boom angle sensor, boom length sensor for telescopic booms, pressure transducers for measuring the load, anti-two block switch and roller switches. The system works both on rubber and on outriggers. The sensors measure the boom extension, boom angle and load to give as inputs to the central processing, which calculate the safe working load range for that particular configuration of the crane and compare it with the predetermined safe load. If the load exceeds the safe load, actions will be taken which will reduce the load moment, which is boom telescopic retraction and boom lifting. Anti-two block switch is used to prevent the two blocking condition. The system is calibrated and load tested for at most precision.

Crane Safety Assessment Method Based on Entropy and Cumulative Prospect Theory

Assessing the safety status of cranes is an important problem. To overcome the inaccuracies and misjudgments in such assessments, this work describes a safety assessment method for cranes that combines entropy and cumulative prospect theory. Firstly, the proposed method transforms the set of evaluation indices into an evaluation vector. Secondly, a decision matrix is then constructed from the evaluation vectors and evaluation standards, and an entropy-based technique is applied to calculate the index weights. Thirdly, positive and negative prospect value matrices are established from reference points based on the positive and negative ideal solutions. Thus, this enables the crane safety grade to be determined according to the ranked comprehensive prospect values. Finally, the safety status of four general overhead traveling crane samples is evaluated to verify the rationality and feasibility of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the method described in this paper can precisely and reasonably reflect the safety status of a crane.

An Improved Model of Variable Fuzzy Sets with Normal Membership Function for Crane Safety Evaluation

Crane safety evaluation is significant for reducing the casualties and economic losses. Various evaluation methods have been applied to evaluate crane safety. However, when index standard with respect to every level is described in terms of intervals, existing crane safety evaluation models are not ideal. Although variable fuzzy sets (VFS) method has successfully solved similar problems, its evaluation processes are rather complex complicated and tedious. In this paper, we provided an improved VFS evaluation method with normal membership function for solving crane safety problem, in which the evaluation criteria are described in terms of intervals. To demonstrate our presented method, the improved variable fuzzy sets (IVFS) method was applied to two numerical cases including an application to crane safety assessment. It is shown that our proposed method possesses the merit to simplify assessment processes of traditional VFS and can be applied to assess crane safety when criteria values are defined as interval numbers.

Prilog poboljšanju uslova za bezbedan rad sa dizalicama

Cranes are machines with increased hazards during operation so that employers are obliged to examine their proper functioning and perform preventive and periodic inspections and tests for the purpose of safe operation of cranes. The application of technical regulations from the field of occupational safety in the operation of cranes which provide the basis for definition and implementation of requirements for crane safety refers particularly to accomplishing safe and healthy working conditions for the operation of cranes, which should reduce injuries in the workplace and occupational diseases during the use of cranes. Hence, continuous improvement of the field of occupational safety in the operation of cranes through providing full support to the regulations in the field of machine safety, common work of employers, employees and professionals dealing with occupational safety in the operation of cranes on the improvement of this field, raising awareness in this field as well as improvement of knowledge and skills in the operation of cranes. The application and implementation of regulations defining the occupational safety in the operation of cranes considerably influences the development and improvement of the culture of prevention in the operation of cranes. A special role in raising awareness of the culture of prevention in this field should be given to the education system by increasing the level of education and expertise of employees as well as by developing students' awareness of the importance of health and occupational safety in the operation of cranes.

Scheduling Multiple Yard Cranes with Crane Interference and Safety Distance Requirement

Container terminals require robust scheduling algorithms for yard cranes to optimally determine the sequence of storage and retrieval operations in yard blocks for higher container terminal performance. This paper investigates the multiple yard crane scheduling problem within a generic yard block and considers the operational restrictions such as the crane noncrossing constraint and models the crane travel time realistically. Further, the fact that any two adjacent cranes must keep an operational safety distance is also taken into consideration. These physical constraints limit the mobility of yard cranes and greatly render the scheduling difficulty for such pieces of equipment. This paper proposes a clustering-reassigning approach, which fully considers all of the operational constraints in practice. The complexity of the approach is o(n3), where n is the number of container moves to be scheduled, making it suitable for real-time scheduling. Numerical experiments and benchmark with a continuous time-based mixed-integer linear programming model indicate that the clustering-reassigning approach can provide satisfactory near optimal solutions for different sets of test cases in a real-time scheduling context.

The Wireless Monitoring System of Shipbuilding Gantry Cranes Based on S3C6410

For the insufficient of the present monitoring and control system of the crane in communication mode, monitoring data and data is stored; the system of gantry crane safety monitoring and control based on S3c6410 ARM11 is designed in this paper. The Zigbee wireless networking is used to collect and deal with the distributed sensor monitoring, and it can find the problems and to control in the shortest time. To realize the "black box" record function, the SQLite3.0 embedded database is transplanted to real-time storage the Critical data. It is confirmed that the system operation is stable and reliable that can guarantee the monitoring and control system operation security and improving work efficiency, and it has a good application prospect.