After the tragic crane collapse that occurred in New York City on February 5, Mayor Bill de Blasio put strict regulations in place, forcing crawler crane operations to stop any time winds are forecast to exceed 20 miles per hour or gusts reach 30 miles per hour. Under this mandate, cranes are to be secured down in safe mode the day before the 20 mile per hour winds are a possibility, stopping workers on a regular basis and putting stress on area construction companies.
A little over a month later, New York City has appointed a working group to review this temporary ruling in an attempt to come up with a solution that is both safe for city residents and fair to construction crews. This group has suggested lifting the current regulations and reverting to the city’s original rules, but has proposed two new safety measures to help improve overall safety:
- An operator must be on site for crawler cranes that are not in storage mode and are not designed to operate in 30-mph winds or stronger.
- Crawler cranes that cannot safety withstand 20-mph winds cannot be used in public areas.
With more than 350 crawler cranes active in New York City, reverting back to the city’s original regulations will greatly help construction firms and crane companies.
Here at AstroCrane, we would like to remind our readers just how important it is to pay close attention to the weather and to have an experienced crane operator on hand at all times.
For more information on our Massachusetts-based crane services and rentals, contact us at 800-696-2787.
http://therealdeal.com/2016/03/14/city-to-scale-back-plan-for-stricter-crane-rules/
