08.11.2008

Crane boom pulled over the back

The lattice boom and jib of a crawler crane collapsed over the rear, narrowly missing nearby workers and another crane at Westar Energy’s Jeffrey Energy Center, in St.Marys Kansas last month,
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The boom went over the back hitting scaffolding behind

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It was lucky that no one was injured

The crane, a Sumitomo of a certain age, was operated by a union ironworker at the time and the accident has been blamed on him raising the boom against the stops and then continuing to luff-in, until it buckled at the point where it rests against the stops.

The boom was rigged with around 35 metres of main boom and 25 metres of jib, which was stowed alongside the boom at the time. Thankfully no one was hurt and the only damage to the plant appears to be to a scaffold tower.
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The boom had been over luffed

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The boom buckled after it came against the stops

While not confirmed it is likely that the operator was stowing or erecting the jib at the time of the accident.

The internal safety briefing suggested that safety interlocks on the boom stops might have been bypassed. The company which has an exemplary safety record and received a VPP Star recognition from OSHA last year, has issued a notice to all of its plants to double check any safety related interlocks on all equipment on its sites.
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The scaffold was damaged but not extensively

The Jeffrey Energy Center is a sub-bituminous coal-fired power plant commissioned in 1970’s following the oil crisis of the time. It is the largest of Westar’s 12 power stations. The cranes are involved in an upgrade to the plant in order to reduce environmental emissions.