Crane topples backward
Picture: Matthew Mirabelli.
Updated) - A crane operator jumped to safety from his cabin this evening when a crane toppled backwards on the bastion opposite the Central Bank of Malta in Valletta.
The crane's mobile base ended up with its front part pointing skywards and the arm hanging in a precarious position over the bastion.
No one was injured. The incident happened at about 8.15 p.m.
The crane was being used to erect scaffolding. It was removed using another crane.
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35 Comments
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E. Azzopardi
Aug 22nd 2012, 11:31
With all our boasting of Health and Safety this is happening regularly. Honestly, I do not think we are up to it and not only in this respect. We have become too inefficient.
Regretfully, we now have to wait for the next crane to topple, but this time perhaps forward not backwards!!! With our enforcement or rather non enforcement, it is inevitable. Sad but true.
You do not have to be everywhere all the time for effective enforcement. This thinking is stupid.
Hope that the contractor will be made to pay for all damages!!
C Muscat
Aug 22nd 2012, 11:24
Unfortunately all the remarks come from people like me that do not have any idea what happened.
Yes a crane hase to be inspected and a signed certificate by a qualified engineer is required by law and in many cases the people from OHSA come and ask for these (at least in all my projects; this is not mine and do not know anything about it); the operator needs to be qualified (otherwise the contractor will have problems with the insurance company and with local authorities);
Why I am saying this? One has to note that accidents do happen everywhere and what is not necessary is neligenceor carelessness. So we should leave the local authorities to investigate. We have to note also, the amount of cranes being in use daily on so many sites.
Wishing all a speedy recovery.
paul camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 14:58
so what are you saying Mr Muscat? just because there is a lot of cranes about one must accept accidents in happenning?
why not say the truth if the crane operator is employed by a company then that operator cannot tell his boss that the crane is not up to specs to be operational for what every reason because if he did you probably fire him on the spot!!!!
paul camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 15:31
Mr Muscat. so are we to expect that according to you because there is a lot of cranes being in use daily we are expected to have accidents? on the contrary i tell you if one observes all safty procedures both on the crane they operate and load and distance for that load to be dropped of swung around ten no accidents of this sort would happen. now i put to you these questions since you seem to be well advsed in such matters.
if you had a crane or more and an employee came up to you and told you look there is something wrong with the crane what would you tell that employee.
1: ok get it fixed and i will cancell the days work.
2; dont worry get it at the sight and i will send a mechanic.
3. just go and do your job or your fired???
i would say number 3 and why because i was fired when i complained that the truck i drove is unfit to be driven!!!
so this brings us to the question why was this crane operating its cable down the height of the bastions and what was is weight and who gave him the order to do it???
C Muscat
Aug 23rd 2012, 09:20
@ Paul Camilleri
I am saying that in all my projects, with the support of the few OHSA site visits all H & S procedures is followed (whether I work for the client or for the contractor). With all the H & S in place there is no guarantee of no acidents because the construction has its own risks and with al the risk assessments and with all the attention and care an accident can happen.
I am fully against negligence and lack of H & S.
Let us see if it was something of the kind or just an accident such as when the surface of the road just caved in(Just one example).
I conclude that again I am fully against negligence and lack of H & S.
Joe Buttigieg
Aug 22nd 2012, 10:46
also how can let such a heavy vehicle near the bastion? Also, I wonder if any damage was caused to the bastions!?
Timothy Cachia
Aug 22nd 2012, 11:06
From the photo it seems that there was damage to the bastions.
James Tyrrell
Aug 22nd 2012, 14:12
Yes a portion of the bastions was smashed.
Anthony Camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 10:06
Mr.Coleiro,
I agree with you that the regulator cannot be everywhere but who is responsible for the fact the the rules are not being implemented and obeyed?
There should be hefty fines for people causing damages and increasing the danger for others. It seems that the regulator is not enforcing the penalties or there are no enforcement at all or it is being very lenient.
One incident that comes to my mind is the Marsa bridge. Can someone tells me what happened, and who paid for the damages and the inconvenience caused to us?
Louis Coleiro
Aug 22nd 2012, 11:28
This is not a question of penalties and hefty fines because these are already there but seems that the short cuts were taken and continue to be taken. Its time further investment in OHS education is made and like other EU countries licences are issued after strict exams are made especially when it comes to operating heavy equipment. these are revieved periodically and if necessary revoked then will see what happens and what the reaction will be.
Anthony Camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:58
Mr.Coleiro,
I agree with you that the regulator cannot be everywhere but who is responsible for the fact the rules are not being implemented and obeyed?
There should be hefty fines for people causing damages and increasing the danger for others. It seems that the regulator is not enforcing the penalties or there are no enforcement at all or it is being very lenient.
One incident that comes to my mind is the Marsa bridge. Can someone tells me what happened, and who paid for the damages and the inconvenience caused to us?
C Magri
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:52
The whole issue of Health & Safety in Malta is a joke. There is just no enforcement and no professionals present on construction sites. It is common sight to see workers not supplied with hard hats, boots, proper scaffolding etc. and the use of these cranes is done so in the normal flouting of rules and regulations. More often than not, the work is carried out in very public areas (the scaffold falling on the foreign girl in Gzira being an example) with total disregard.
Interesting that the only site with noticably good health and safety in the city gate project in valletta. A British company, Bovis!!!
Paul Ellul
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:48
Really nice oil stain we now have on the most looked at bastion in Valletta.
For all the authorities and administrative agencies that our taxes have to sustain, ours is a Country of total
anarchy.
Does this Country require a crane operator to have a qualified certificate that he has been taught the basic laws of physics, levers & weight and how gravity acts? It doesn't seem like it?
Does a crane operator need to possess a licence to operate the crane? It doesn't seem like it.
It is a human trait that if one is not educated and taught how to go about on'e life in a community, then it becomes a free for all.
And a free for all it is! This is about the 6th crane accident we have had this year alone. And despite TM (Transport Malta) and the OHSA (Occupational Health & Safety Agency) guzzling millions of €'s in tax payers money, cranes and their operators go about with impunity, killing, maiming or destroying third party and public property.
Can someone explain why 40,000 civil servants (that's 10% of the population), all paid to do a specific job and ensure that our community is administered & managed properly, are totally oblivious of the situation we are in?
I can suggest one answer. Accountability. We don't have any. Ours is a culture where Ministers run their areas like it was club. And the tax payers money is there for the taking.
Paul Cassar
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:17
AS USUAL ..........................REGULATORS ASLEEP................................. ON OUR MONEY
WHO CERTIFIED THE CRANE SET UP SAFE FOR USE ???????????????
Louis Coleiro
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:35
If the crane was on the road it was inspected and certified suitable for use by a mechanical engineer. In this particular case the responsibility is that of the crane operator who shall see that the crane is on solid level ground and the weight that is being handled is within the cranes capabilities. The crane is supposed to be equipped with a load indicator which will trigger if the swl is exceeded.
The regulators cannot be everywhere
Joe A. Borg
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:57
@ Louis,
As you rightly said..... supposed!
Also, the regulator is also supposed to be everywhere.
Peter Murray
Aug 22nd 2012, 10:07
Really Louis -how can you be so sure ?Who is ensuring such basic regulations and you suppose an awful lot and the regulators indeed cannot be everywhere -for indeed they are nowhere.
Paul Cassar
Aug 22nd 2012, 14:32
@ louis
but who checks that what you are saying is there .................is it not the regulator ? BUT WHERE IS ' HE ' ???
C Cassar
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:04
Why do Maltese companies use such old and unsafe equipment? If you go to any other part of Europe you won't see equipment of this age in use. The same goes for mobile cranes, most are wrecks leaking oil etc. The government should bring in legislation that nothing over 10 years old should be in use on any commercial project.
paul camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:38
sir
it is a mircle that the operstor did not die in this accident.
but a few questions do come to mind.
1: was the crane inspected by the health and safty board before it began operations?
2: did the crane pass its inspection?
3: is the operator qualified and licensed to operate a crane of this type?
4 if the crane was inspected and found to be ok why did the operator ignore its warning bells.
5 if 4 is the case then the operator should be accounted responsable and have his operators licence cancelled
6 if bells were not working then how did the machine pass its inspection in this case the inspector should be held responsable and fired.
7 if crane was not errected correctly this also merits the health and safty inspector who inspected the crane before opperation accountable and should be fired.
Anthony Camilleri
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:37
ONLY IN MALTA. Nice picture. We never learn. Now, I tell you what will happen. An investigation will take place, first Health and safety officers will try to see what happened, than we wait for the report to be complied, the police will also investigate and a magistrate will commence an inquiry and it keeps going on and on and on.
First class third world country. Well done.
Claire Busuttil
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:18
this accident could have had more seriuos implications-it was only a matter of luck it did not.
so he is responsabile??
Claire Busuttil
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:17
too many accidents of this sort on this island. It looks like the health and saftey dept. is not doing well it`s job.
A. Schembri
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:04
so a car skids into an electricity pole, the driver has to pay for the damaged pole, who will pay for the damages to the bastions?
Joseph Ellul
Aug 22nd 2012, 08:04
I have seen many toppled crane photos but not one like this. I have never seen a crane topple backwards. This must be one of those "ONLY in Malta" thing Eh !! Nice photo.
Neville Cutajar
Aug 22nd 2012, 09:26
Get your facts right., it is not only in Malta.
Accidents happen all over the world even more stupid accidents than this. There are rules but not everybody follows them.
We have to stop criticising everything Maltese if we want others to respect our country. If you criticise Malta and its people you are criticizing me, so please don't.
It is easier for a crane to topple backwards, due to the fact that its lifter is at the back. Also a crane will topple in the direction where the load is.
Just a quick search will reveal that.
James Tyrrell
Aug 22nd 2012, 14:10
@Neville Cutajar. Yes accidents do happen all over the world and not just in Malta but stupid unnecessary accidents like this seem to happen more in Malta and the reason for that is because Maltese contractors don't appear to give a damn about health and safety. Let's get the job done and get it done cheap seems to be the rule of thumb in Malta. For obvious reasons cranes are rated to lift certain loads safely and in the case of the crane in the photograph it should have had a strain alarm to alert the operator that the load was too great. No doubt it was either not working or disconnected, or worse still ignored.
David Falzon
Aug 22nd 2012, 07:16
Déjà vu anyone?
James Tyrrell
Aug 22nd 2012, 05:06
The crane was obviously being used to lift a load that it wasn't rated to lift! But hey don't worry, it's only health and safety.
Joseph Bajada
Aug 22nd 2012, 05:00
Oops..
Phil Zammit
Aug 22nd 2012, 04:58
Unless there was an unforeseen mechanical or structural failure, crane accidents are ALWAYS the result of an untrained, incompetent or callous operator!! If the latter is true, he/she should be cited and FINED.
Joe Fenech
Aug 22nd 2012, 00:15
Saaaaame old story!
Kenneth Borg
Aug 21st 2012, 23:04
Excerpts from FAA Press Release Friday May 29, 2009
"Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar is calling on politicians to “abandon their lofty rhetoric” and tackle under-regulated crane operations"
and "FAA said the situation was aggravated by the fact that no checks were made on whether the cranes were well assembled on site"
and "FAA said that existing regulations which referred to crane usage were not specific and assigned legal responsibilities to several players. This creates several loopholes which have left families of tragic victims such as those of the Cathedral Street house collapse nine years ago, still chasing proceedings in court, with no conclusion or closure in sight” .
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090529/local/faa-calls-for-crane-operations-to-be-regulated.258934
I have no further comments to make.
Mr Tony Gatt
Aug 21st 2012, 22:34
Health and Safety are alive and well and living in Malta!
Good job no-one was injured.
Alex Buds
Aug 21st 2012, 22:17
Good thing nobody was injured but judging from the picture looks like some serious damage to the bastion wall...
Please choose the reason of your report below: