Fatal accident with lifting appliance

IMCA has received a reports on a fatal incident during a lifting operation. A provisions crane was loading pallets onto a vessel using a pallet fork. After landing a pallet on the deck, the pallet fork was pulled clear and the crane operator moved the crane outward to pick up the next load. During this operation, the crane winch wire snapped. The pallet fork fell onto the deck, landing on a member of the crew, who subsequently died of his injuries.

The company noted the following causes to the incident:

• a malfunctioning or missing upper limit switch’;
• the wire end at the hook side was terminated by means of three incorrectly-applied U-bolt clamps instead of a ferrule and swage (see figures overleaf).

The following lessons were drawn from the incident:

• Limit switches are important safety equipment that should be tested regularly to confirm their proper operation
• Winch wire end terminations should be correctly performed. . Cranes should be inspected before lifting operations, using an approved check-list . Procedures should be established to ensure personnel are properly informed of the hazards involved in crane operations, and do not stand underneath loads