SAFETY
work and/orpassunder the
load?
Common industrypractice
answershundreds of times
eachday that no, these loads
areno longer considered
suspended. For that reason, in
certain situations, operators
can and frequently should for
their own safety– for example
in theoilfield industrywhere
blow-outs canhappen–
temporarily leave the cab.And
finally, inmany cases, essential
personnel canworkaround
these still-attachedbut no
longer suspended loads as it
is theonly time to accomplish
the task(s) at hand.
I have also seen anopposing
view. In speakingwith
complianceofficers from
different agencies, inmany
cases these same instances
mentioned areviewed as
citableoffenses and the
loads are considered tobe
suspended. I haveheardof
numerous citations issued in
these cases. Several facilities
that regularly relyon cranes
take theview that if a crane is
attached the load is considered
21
JUNE 2014
ACT
the cabwith a load suspended,
(unless certain requirements
aremet).
■
Employees shall notwork
under a suspended load, (also
unless certain requirements
aremet).
In agreatmany cases,
these statements are easy
to interpret.What becomes
tricky to ascertain is thepoint
atwhich these standardsno
longer apply. Inotherwords
whendoes a load cease tobe
suspended?
Best practices
Consider for amoment
the following examples:
tower crane erection, bridge
construction, installationof
roof trusses, steel erection
processes, communication
tower construction,wind
turbine constructionor oilfield
rig construction. In eachof
these instances, common
industrypracticedictates that
a crane remainhooked to a
load for aperiodof time, in
some cases for several hours
up tomultiple shifts,while
work is beingdoneon the
load and even after initial
connections aremade securing
the load to a structure. In
several examples, a series of
bolts are tightened securing
the load to a structure,welds
aremade, and/or guywires
areplaced and secured to
theground.A crane is left
attached to the load as an extra
level of security toprevent
accidental displacement from
highwinds, process-induced
vibration, etc. Is this load still
considered suspended? Is it
still tobe considered a load?
Could anoperator leave the
cabwhile these sometimes
day-longprocesses are
performed?Canpersonnel
THEAUTHOR
Daniel Erwin,
director of safety
for Houston-
based TNT
Crane &Rigging,
recently published his
first novel,
Honey
,
which is available at
Amazon.com.
Daniel Erwin
discusses
suspended load
safety.
tobe suspended, regardless
ofwhether it is on a solid
structure, bolteddown, etc.
Answers needed
Does thepotential for citation
issuance for apractice that
was initiated to increase safety
in the industry change an
acceptedpractice?How can
essentialwork such as bolting
up, connecting, torqueingor
wire lineworkbe conducted
if the load isdeemed tobe
suspended andpersonnel
cannotwork in the area?How
do crane companies adapt
to24-plushourperiods in
which a crane and rigging
is required tobe connected
but not hoisting as the load
is securedviabolts andguy
wires on anoil field job to
prevent unnecessary sway, or
vibration.Canoperator(s)not
leave the cab?
Itwill be interesting to
seehow thesequestions get
answered.Hopefully, the
endgoal of creating safer
workplaces can always be
accomplished aswe address
these issues together.
■
Hanging
around
W
ith the
increasing
amount of
clarificationon the rules and
regulations that governour
industry there are a few areas
inwhichdefinitions and
compliancemethods are still
a little “up in the air.” (Please
pardon the liftingpun.)One
of these is that of suspended
loads.Dowe trulyunderstand
when a load is suspended
orwhen a load ceases to
be suspended?Are there
differences of opinionon this
topic?
Ifwe come across awordor
phrase in regulatory language
wedon’t fullyunderstand,
wehavebeen conditioned to
refer to thedefinitions section
commonly found at the
beginningof each standard.
Aglance reveals that the
term ‘suspended load’ isnot
contained in these sections.A
deeper look confirms that this
term isnot clearlydefined in
manydifferent sources.Why
is this?Whywould a term that
spawns several fine-inducing
regulatory standardsnot have
a cleardefinition?
Themost common
references in regulatory
standards on suspended loads
canbeparaphrased through
the following statements:
■
Anoperator shall not leave
Dowe truly understandwhen a load is suspended orwhen a load
ceases to be suspended? (See our Site Report Rigging on page 56 for
more information about the project featured in this photo.)
