FACTS

COMMON CAUSES OF HOISTING EQUIPMENT ACCIDENTS

1. Improperly maintained and inspected hoisting equipment.
2. Human error that causes the hoisting equipment to malfunction or loads to fall.
3. Hoisting equipment that isn’t properly bolted, tied, or secured.
4. High winds that cause loads to fall or workers to fall into the path of the hoist.
5. Workers who aren’t properly trained in the safe use of hoisting equipment.
6. Workers who aren’t provided with proper safety gear.
7. Workers who aren’t provided with the right equipment for the load lift.
8. Hoisting equipment that is defective when acquired by the employer, contractor, or owner of the vessel or rig.
9. Poor mechanical design causing the hoist to break while in use or not be powerful enough for the rated load.
10. Poor workplace design.
11. Malfunction of the signaling system.
12. Hoisting equipment not used for the appropriate purpose or not used as designed.
13. Loads insecurely attached to the hoist.

STATS

• According to OHSA around seventy (70) deaths are reported each year from crane and hoisting accidents.
• The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) reported 297 total hoist-related deaths, an average of 42 per year over a 7-year period. Men accounted for 293 of the 297 fatal injuries involving hoists. White, non-Hispanic workers accounted for 72 % of fatal injuries involving hoists, while 15 % involved Hispanic and Latino workers.
• Just over half of all fatal hoists injuries involved the worker being struck by an object or equipment. About three-fifths of these cases (91 of 154) involved the worker being struck by a falling object or equipment; in 79 of these cases, the worker was struck by an object falling from or put in motion by a crane. Transportation incidents and falls to a lower level each made up about 13 and 14 % of the remaining fatal injuries involving cranes, respectively.
• The worker was operating a crane at the time of the fatal injury in 22 % of cases. The worker was engaged in construction, assembling, and dismantling activities in another 23 % of cases. Just over one-quarter of all fatal crane injuries (27%) occurred at a construction site (except road construction). 24 % occurred at a factory or plant, another 8 % occurred at a road construction site, and 6 % occurred at a dockyard.