OSHA Advises Stakeholders of Boom Failure Incident

A recent boom failure prompted OSHA to share a service bulletin and field advisory from Elliott Equipment Company via email on Nov. 1. According to Arlene L. Williams, director of OSHA’s Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs, the incident caused the basket of a crane to fall at least 10 feet while two workers were in the basket. No injuries or fatalities occurred, but Williams’ email explains that “many have put this fleet of cranes out of operation while this matter is being investigated.”

Elliott Equipment Company manufactures truck-mounted aerial work platforms and truck-mounted cranes, among other equipment. The company’s advisory (PDF), shared by OSHA, provides guidance for inspecting and verifying the torque of the telescope cylinder mounting bolts on its E-Series aerials; D86, D105 and D115 digger derricks; and all boom truck cranes.

“The purpose of this inspection is to identify loose, damaged, broken, or missing mounting hardware and verify that the telescope cylinder mounting bolts are properly secured,” the advisory states.

OSHA urges stakeholders to share this information, particularly within the construction industry and with those who may be operating cranes on their work sites.