02.02.2018

Walking the boom

Spotted by a reader in Kortrijk, Belgium, on Wednesday, a man walking the extended length of the horizontal boom of his LTR1100 telescopic crawler crane, wearing a full harness, but according to our correspondent he had not attempted to attach a lanyard to anything.
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Walking the slippery boom

The height is around 3.5 metres from the ground, the boom surface narrow - especially on the fly/top section – possibly greasy and or wet, with smooth rounded edges. As a result the chance of slipping is fairly high in these conditions. The site looks like it is well endowed with the famous Flanders mud so he might have had a soft landing if he had fell – as long as his head did not smack against the boom as he went down of course.
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A closer look

It goes to show that all is not as it seems from a distance and that as an employer you can go to great lengths to train staff and provide the right gear – but it is only of value if it is used properly. Still our man does have his hi viz coat on – that ought to protect him!

A Death Wish? The risk is probably not as high as most examples we receive, but IF he did fall and strike his head on the boom as he went down, and or landed on an item of equipment below, the site would be shut down. Those that had to help him get medical treatment could be traumatised, along with his relatives and work colleagues.

It is just not worth it!

Have a safe weekend.