A TapRooT® Instructor and Student were walking down a street in Halifax……
…. the student looked up and yelled STOP! Right above our heads was a load being lifted at the height of the load in the photo below. Here is what was different than the picture you are viewing:
1. No markers or barricade
2. It was night time
3. The flat load was being lifted with 2 slings
4. The crane operator was lifting the load over the blind side of the building (over the sidewalk that we were walking on)
So what did I and the student do? We walked up to the three guys hooking up two slings for the next load. Here is the conversation that transpired:
Us: “Who is in Charge?”
…. there was a pause as the two workers looked at each other and then they pointed to the guy on top of the flatbed (he was the one with the nice work outfit and pretty hard hat).
Foreman: “What do you want?”
Us: “Just wondering way we looked up to see a load being lifted directly over our heads?”
Foreman: ” Once it leaves the ground the crane operator is responsible!”
Us: “You get to be kidding!”
This conversion continued with the same resolve. So the thought was that if the material slipped out of the slings and landed on us, who would be in charge? Technically it would not be on the ground and not in the air. So I guess we would have then been the people in charge. Clinton from JD Irving, called the company the next day and reported the unsafe act to the crane company’s general manager.
So what would you have done?
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November 8th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
This response was from Mark Lovelace on LinkedIn:
I would get the foreman’s name, company, etc, and tell him I was going to report him to OSHA (or Canadian equivalent). Then I’d point out the error of his ways, and tell him I was going to contact his company’s safety program manager and report him, so he’d be wise to report this before me. Might even use my handy dandy cell phone camera to document the scene.
Posted by Mark Lovelace
November 10th, 2009 at 7:29 am
This observation does not surprize me in the least. I am the QHSE Manager for Atlantic Towing Limited and Clinton works with us. One of the proactive Safety Systems we have in place is Observation Cards so it is second nature to our people to observe not only unsafe acts but also safe acts. We receive approximately 60 cards per month in house and they are assessed and trended as part of the continuous improvement of our Safaty Management System. This observation will be included for November 2009.
Thank you and good job Clinton
December 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
After telling them I am a safety advisor, I would have asked the following questions:
Was there a risk assessment? If so, was it reviewed prior to doing the task?
Why was this lift at night?
Who is the principal contractor?
What are the qualifications of the riggers and crane operator?
I would make an effort to contact the principal contractor or business owner and the regulatory authorities.
(I have tried this in other cities while on vacation. Some good results, some not so good.)
December 12th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Thanks Sean,
It is nice to know that others would not have just walked by blindly too.
Chris