Company fined £100,000 after Croydon crane accident leaves driver crippled

One of the country’s largest plant hire companies have been fined £100,000 after admitting flouting health and safety rules which left a crane driver with crippling injuries. At NAHETS Safety is our primary concern.

John Young suffered severe spinal injuries after the cab of the crane fell through the air and crashed onto the roof of the Croydon Park Hotel on June 2, 2007.

He has been left unable to return to work more than two years after the tragedy.

Passers-by reported watching the crane’s arm topple backwards 200 feet in the air and break free from its base before crashing onto the roof of the neighbouring hotel.

Firefighters who helped rescue the injured driver from the wreckage described it as “one of the biggest disasters in Croydon since the Second World War.”

The crane was building the Altitude 25 apartment block for Howard Holdings when the accident happened at around 2.20pm.

Three other workers were left stranded on the top of the crane’s base for five hours as firefighters from Croydon fire station launched a massive rescue operation.

Select Plant Hire Company Ltd, based in Dartford, Kent, admitted breaching regulation 9(2) (b) and 8(1) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998; regulation 9(2) of the Provision and use of work Equipment Regulations 1998 and; section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

As well as the fine, the company was ordered £15 victim surcharge and the costs were £33,196.

Judge Anthony Morris said: “The defendant company created a very significant risk of an accident occurring. In addition when part of a crane falls to the ground, the possibility of death or serious injury is extremely high.”

18 Year Old Crashes Backhoe Into Police Car

Redding police say an 18 year old male from Redding, CA, Trevor Traphagan, allegedly stole a backhoe construction tractor and drove it erratically down Oasis Road near Lake Boulevard around 10:20 p.m. Police officers tried to stop the giant machine, but Traphagan ignored all of their attempts. The officers then placed spikes on the road in front of the tractor, which were once again ignored and just driven over. One police officer reported that Trevor ignored all police lights and sirens.

Traphagan then turned onto Santa Rosa Drive and drove the backhoe into a parked police car while the officer was laying down the spike strips, police said. After tuning onto Dara Court, a dead-end street, he stopped the backhoe struggled against the officers but was eventually taken into custody, polices said.

Traphagan was booked into the Shasta County Jail for suspicion of driving under the influence, resisting arrest, evading a police officer, reckless driving, assault on a police officer and stealing a motor vehicle. Unfortunately all of these charges could have been avoided if Traphagan had enrolled to become a certified heavy equipment operator through one of NAHETS member schools. Instead of driving backhoes into police cars, he would be driving them into the future.

John Deer Smackdown: Hill Climb

John Deer goes at it with other companies such as CAT, New Holland, and Bobcat to find out who’s the best.

Parents Honor Son Killed in Crane Accident

A large crane lies in the middle of a large New York City intersection.

Ramadan Kurtaj was remembered yesterday at the spot where a construction accident took his life. His parents, Uke and Reyve Kurtaj, were granted a visa from Kosovo, and traveled to New York for the anniversary of their sons death. A picture of Ramadan was placed in honor of him at the construction site.

“It’s a big loss for me, it’s hard for me. I lost my son, 27 years old, it’s very hard,” said Uke Kurtaj through a translator. Ramadan wished to bring his parents to New York, but not because of his own death.

“They would never believe that they’d be coming to the United States under these circumstances,” said Xhevahire Sinanaj, Kurtaj’s cousin. “Their dream was different way, to be with their son. And now that they’re here and he is gone, it’s very hard for them. They’re very sad.”

Uke and Reyve Kurtaj mourn their sons death

Construction workers Ramadan Kurtaj (27) and Donald Leo (30) were killed last May 30 when the top part of a 200-foot crane crashed down on a Manhattan residential neighborhood. Their deaths followed an similar crash on May 15, 2008, where seven died in a crane accident.

Investigators have said a bad weld failed in the collapse. The workers’ families have sued the crane makers and prosecutors have launched a criminal probe. Their lawyers say the crane was put into service despite a history of poor maintenance and botched repairs.

Economic Stimulus Plan for Construction & Heavy Equipment Industry

President Obama’s recovery plan, including construction-related projects, is on its way through the House for approval. Although its not the “solve all” solution for the recession, it is designed to shave off the worst . Industry professionals say the funds allocated to construction-related projects are not even close to filling all of the needs, but the funds will create jobs and help complete much needed construction projects  across the country.

Engineering News-Record has calculated $159 billion for construction-related spending, broken down by project type. National Ready Mixed Concrete Association estimated that every $5 billion spent in infrastructure would result in 1 million yards of concrete and 150,000 jobs.

Some are skeptical that the plan will not be sufficient to provide the relief needed, but many are also impressed with the plan and feel it will be a good start to improving the current situation.

Complete sources/articles:

(1) Wall Street Journal

(2) Associated Press

(3) Engineering News Record

(4) Business Weekly, Fort Wayne

Case Construction Launches New Website

Case Construction recently launched its new website, aiming to better suit the needs of its global audience. The site has been reconstructed into a more efficient customer tool and resource, featuring new looks, content, streamlined navigation, and more. The new website will provide support for all customer types. Paula Inda, responsible for global communications, stated, “Our goal has been to support all customers throughout their entire experience with our products, regardless of their equipment use or fleet size.” Click below to enter the site.

Case Construction New Website

Sources:

(1) Equipment Trader Insider Blog

NAHETS Visits Ukraine

Last October, NAHETS Executive Director, Mike Martens was invited, by Ukrainian businessman Igor Kotovoy, to Kyiv (Kiev), the capital city of Ukraine, to meet with representatives from a cross section of Ukrainian construction materials and road construction companies.  In addition he also was offered the opportunity to present the NAHETS OPCAT (OPerator Certification Assessment Test) program to Ukrainian government officials.

As a result of that invitation Mike flew to Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine, on October 25 and was met by Mr. Kotovoy.  After a quick auto and foot tour of Kyiv, (photos 1 & 2) Mike and Igor met with Mr. Karl-Heinz Kasch, Technical Director – Dyckerhoff Ukraine, for a discussion of the state of operator training in their Ukrainian and Russian quarry operations.  Mr. Kasch was interested in having Mike visit the Dykerhoff cement operations in Mykolayiv during his visit to Ukraine.

For the final event on Saturday Mike, Igor and Igor’s fiancé Katya took in the Swan Lake Ballet at the Ukraine State Opera House.

Monday began early with a drive to Mykolayiv and a visit to the Dyckerhoff Cement- South Operation.  After meeting with Vladimir Vegerinskiy, General Director, Mike and Igor were given an extensive tour of the quarry operations (photo 3) accompanied by Dimitry Artamonov, Head of Technical Services.  Much of the discussion during the tour focused on safety concerns, equipment operational costs and operational efficiencies required to maintain the 1 million ton-per-year production requirement.  Mr. Artamonov mentioned that they would be taking delivery of three Caterpillar 385 hydraulic shovels and would need to train the sixteen operators needed to man the three shift mining process.

Approximately 200 km south of Kyiv is the city of Uman.  Just outside of Uman the Ukrainian government is adding an eight km stretch of the newly emerging Ukrainian national freeway system.  This stretch of roadway is being built by Umanavtodor, a large Ukrainian contractor managed by Ruslan Guba, who is second from the right in photo 4.

When asked about availability of equipment operators, Mr. Guba explained that, due to a lack of vocational training schools, Umanavtodor has an internal training activity but would appreciate a source of well-trained entry-level operators that can then be oriented to the procedures and equipment unique to Umanavtodor.

Igor, and Mr. Guba also discussed the possibility of establishing a contractor’s group organized along the lines of the U.S. AGC or ABC.

Wednesday was the culmination of the Ukrainian trip as Mike and Igor met with Ms. Larysa Losiuk, Head of the State Committee of Ukraine for Technical Regulation and Consumer Policy.  Ms. Losiuk, who reports directly to Ukrainian President Victor Yushenko, and her staff were interested in discussing the details of NAHETS’ Operator Certification Assessment Test (OPCAT) as it might be utilized in Ukraine.  In addition to examination of OPCAT, Ms. Losiuk and her staff asked for an overview of the NAHETS Yellow Metal Boot Camp (YMBC) training program as Ukraine does not have, at the present time, an adult vocational training program for heavy equipment operators.  This was of particular interest as Ukraine is investing heavily in upgrading several thousand kilometers of it’s highway system country-wide and, in particular, a ring road complex around the capital city of Kyiv.  At the end of the session Mike presented Ms. Losiuk, and her staff, with a Yellow Metal Boot Camp training guide and an iPod loaded with the YMBC skidsteer video training series. (Photo 5)

The meeting concluded with a request that NAHETS return to Ukraine with the objective of discussing, in more detail, the possibility of assisting the government with a heavy equipment operator vocational training program and with helping to advise the government with developing a Ukranian system of construction equipment operator certification.

Case Construction Produces Armored Heavy Equipment for Military

Case Construction Equipment has produced the first 50 armored backhoe loaders for the U.S. Army, with another 150 in production. In addition to the armor, the backhoes feature interchangeable exterior cab panels, cooling systems for hot climates, as well as the Visibility Improvement Package, which includes 4 external cameras and 3 internal monitors to provide ground level vision for the operator.

Having provided service to the U.S. military for over 150 years, Case is the first heavy equipment manufacturer to incorporate armor and install camera systems to machines during production. Case has also reached contracts to provide skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, wheel loaders, and forklifts for the U.S. military.

Sources:

(1) Equipment Trader Blog

(2) Case Construction Equipment

Man and Machine Dance

People operate heavy equipment everyday; but its not everyday that you see someone dance with heavy equipment. French dancer, Philippe Priasso, performs an experimental dance number with a Komatsu digger (excavator)…yes, you heard correctly. The piece is entitled, “Transports Exceptionnels,” and was created by the French dance group, Compagnie Beau Geste…(click on the image for video and complete article)

Man dances with construction equipment

The Transports Exceptionnels have performed roughly 3,000 shows in public areas around the world!

NAHETS in ‘Mining Magazine’

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) appeared in the September edition of Mining Magazine. The article focuses on the use of various training simulators in the mining and heavy equipment industries; e.g., computer-based training, visualization, and advanced equipment simulators. These simulators improve safety and operating skills by successfully representing the characteristics and behaviors of various equipment types.  Vista Training, Inc. and its cooperative, Simlog, are leading providers of the various simulators. All of the NAHETS campuses use simulators as part of their heavy equipment training programs. You can view the article in Mining Magazine…(pp.94-97).