Mar 26, 2008 6:45 pm US/Eastern
Crane Safety Measures In Place In Maryland
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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A crane collapse in downtown Miami damaged nearby buildings on March 25, 2008.
CBS
There have been two construction crane accidents in less than two weeks. The latest was just Tuesday in Florida. Combined, they have claimed nine lives.
It's enough to make you look up in Baltimore, where several of the huge machines are working.
Alex DeMetrick has more on the safety measures in place.
The crane that fell in Florida smashed through the roof of a building below, killing two. Less than two weeks ago, a crane sliced through an apartment building in New York and smashed cars on the street, leaving seven dead.
"Those very things could happen here if you don't have people who are properly trained and educated in the proper working processes of the machine," said Wade Hamel with Operating Engineers Local 37.
Operating Engineers Local 37 works to make that happen. Their training facility in White Marsh includes a functional stand-alone construction crane. Before you're allowed to run it, you must complete three years of apprenticeship.
At Maryland construction sites, if you're in the union, you must be certified to run a crane.
Most cranes have computers, relaying what a load weighs as it clears the ground and how far out along its boom it can be safely carried. These are equations and limits an operator must work out if there is no computer.
There are states where it takes a license to operate construction cranes, not just a certificate. The operating engineers' union has been urging state legislators to institute licensing in Maryland.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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