Collapse of Crane

On July 18, 2008, one of the largest land-based cranes in the world collapsed in a Houston, Texas refinery resulting in four fatalities, damage to an adjacent tank, and significant delays for a planned coker unit turnaround. The maximum lift capacity of this crane was 2,500 tons. The crane operators were in the process of aligning pendant lines from the crane mast for connection to the auxiliary counterweight platform. During this activity, the crane boom was raised too high vertically, allowing the boom to go into an overhaul condition which caused the boom to fall backwards. An overhaul condition results when the forces that keep the boom in a stable position are exceeded, resulting in negative forces that physically pull the boom backwards, resulting in a crane failure. Becht Engineering was selected to determine the critical boom angle and boom radius that would result in an overhaul condition based on: (a) a theoretical analysis of the physical crane force exerted on the boom, and (b) an evaluation of the security camera photographs which had captured pictures of the crane boom at the moment of the collapse. Charles Becht V was selected to conduct the theoretical physical evaluation and Chad Morris, PLS was selected to work with a Becht Engineering subcontractor for

the analysis of the security photographs. Harry Costner, PE was selected as the overall Project Manager for Becht Engineering. The theoretical analysis by Charles Becht V required the review and evaluation of over 100 crane drawings from the crane vendor. Several analytical methods were considered for this theoretical determination. The final method selected was to develop a free body diagram approach that modeled the crane mast, crane boom, main suspension system, and auxiliary suspension system. Due to the many variables involved with such an evaluation, a total of nine separate cases were analyzed. At the conclusion of this study, a single case was selected as the most likely case that would cause the overhaul condition. The results of this study predicted that the boom would reach a point of overhaul instability at a radius of 97.1 ft. and a resulting vertical angle measured from the horizontal of 77.4 degrees. The analysis of the security camera photographs was conducted with the utilization of laser surveying, 3D modeling, and Image Analysis technology software and hardware. Under the leadership of Chad Morris, PLS, a number of security camera images were evaluated to produce the final conclusions. This study concluded that the boom was starting to fall backwards when the vertical boom angle as measured from the horizontal was 77.6 degrees and the boom radius was 95.7 ft. The Becht Engineering team was highly pleased with the extremely close alignment between the theoretical calculations and the actual results from the security camera image calculation. The Client, who was the refinery operator, also expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the close alignment of the two independent study results. It is worth noting that the crane chart predicted the overhaul boom radius to be at 120 feet. The conclusion of this study highlights the significant analytical capabilities of the Becht Engineering technical staff and their ability to address very complex topics in a relatively short period of time. The Client was highly appreciative of Bechts efforts and has been giving specific credit, in public speaking engagements about the crane failure, to Becht Engineering for this work. Becht Engineering Co. has recognized the need to carefully review a detailed erection procedure for the critical processes in large crane assembly and knockdown. Ground bearing pressures and boom clearances for the assembly cranes need to be assessed. In many assemblies the large cranes computers must be manually overridden during the erection processes to accommodate mast erection or boom jib assembly initial lift-off and Becht wants to monitor these override situations and the cancellation of the override process. Backward or side stability must be studied to determine boom, mast or counterweight limits. Most crane manufacturers provide detailed assembly instructions in their parts and service manuals but rarely are these documents shared with the end user. Commonly, the vendors field erection personnel have access to these documents

but they are often reluctant to share massive manuals in whole or part with the end user. These manuals rarely specify recommended rigging for outlined tasks and weights must often be determined by consulting various documents and sources. It is Bechts belief that a reviewer must have full access to all documents from the manufacturer to fully assess a Safety Execution Plan (SEP) or Safety Action Plan (SAP). Becht Engineering Heavy Lift Operations Professionals are actively participating in reviewing critical assembly documents and are requesting first hand review of manufacturers documents to verify procedural integrity. We are running independent analysis of rigging requirements and soil mitigation matting plans. In critical phases Becht is questioning crane stability limitations and monitoring action plans to ensure safety. Support crane capacities are studied on assembly loads and multiple crane lifts (common in Mast and Super Lift assemblies) are studied to determine possible load transfers between cranes as booms and masts are jackknifed into working positions. Following assembly, with most floating super lift counterweights there is a critical balance point where too little counterweight results in dangerously critical high chart percentages and too much counterweight cannot be floated by the load and swinging is prevented. Becht Lift Experts are dedicated in finding the perfect balance between safety and efficiency in lifting and offering that advice to the customer.