Great post Steve.

i
On 2011-06-18, Steve B wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Jun 16, 11:18 pm, "Steve B" wrote:
wrote

The thing I saw said it was a computer malfunction. Don't remember
where I saw it.
Karl

What I saw was operator error, and I saw it in the video.

Steve, OSHA certified crane operator, land cranes and offshore drilling
platforms

Well that's what it looked like to me but I've never operated a crane.
Knowing you from this newsgroup I believe you over what they told the
owner. Aren't these things investigated to see who screwed up?
Found it:
"The crane company, Truck Crane Service, told the homeowner, who did
not want to be interviewed, that a computer error is to blame for the
mishap."
Here's the link:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=aed_1...913&comments=1
Karl

Yeah, and almost every fire is attributed to a weldor.

I ran cranes for quite a while. I have run a crane very similar to this
one, a Grove 12.5 ton. From what I know, what I can see, what I measured,
and my real life experiences, the crane was boomed down too far, and the
boom was extended too far, and the load was too heavy. If those things had
been correct, we wouldn't be talking about it right now. The boom could
have been raised, or the boom extended in, and it wouldn't have happened.
But they wouldn't have been able to place the load where necessary.

A good crane operator knows the weight of the object he is lifting, and the
furthest he can boom down and safely pick up that object. Most cranes do
not have any electronics to tell the operator that. Just a plate that's
usually not there, dirty, or abraded to the point it can't be read. In
this case, that didn't happen, or they would have known they were operating
out of parameters. When they say a "computer error", they may have been
talking about a faulty weight reading when test lifting the object. Other
than that, computers have little to do with the actual controlling of the
crane, except sensing for out of parameter input and coordinating movements
produced by using more than one control at a time.

The comment of "some sound" has not been expounded upon a lot. Perhaps
there was a jolt in the cable, even where it rolls over other coils on the
drum that gave the load enough moment to tip the balance for the slightest
time. The crane DID tip over slowly, indicating it was a very small error
on the side of the load, enough to tip the machine. Perhaps it hit
something enough to swing the load. I do not think all the evidence is in
yet, or hasn't been published.

You must also remember that these are reports by layman. Some sound.
Computer error. A loose frammit. That damned weldor.

I'd like to hear from a qualified person for the final evaluation. What we
have is the crane owner explaining to the homeowner that it was because of a
computer error. Too bad there wasn't a weldor there to blame it on. Do you
think they are going to say, "I'm sorry. We screwed up. We were not set up
correctly, were boomed down too far, and had the boom extended too far for
the weight of the load." Or, "We didn't get the weight of the load, and
didn't read the operating manual for load limits or look at the boom chart."

Can you say lawsuit?

What do you think the crane company is going to tell the homeowner? I
believe the insurance company will have some far more probing and exact
questions, and are not just going to sign off and pay off with a two word
explanation from the crane's owner.

Three measurements are needed, which can then be sent to the manufacturers
of the crane for evaluation. Weight of load (known), angle of boom relative
to level (known from the picture), and extension of boom (easily attainable
by simple tape measure). The math would be undeniable.

I believe that's what the insurance company is going to go by. A car crash
can be witnessed by four people on four different corners. Each will tell a
slightly different story due to their different angles of observation. And
some will include details that are not relevent to calculating the answer.
All we have here is witnesses who were so frightened, they were "shaking in
his boots", and were actually in an altered state of consciousness. And
some, obviously, were not even qualified enough to correctly evaluate the
accident, yet the press jumps on their testimony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered..._consciousness

Steve

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