Deficiencies in the electrical systems of portable tower cranes at construction sites

Abstract

Tower cranes are a common fixture at any major construction site. The

assembly of tower cranes as well as their maintenance and operation

can be the source of important risks for the workers. However,

research work carried out in this field is mostly based on the analysis

of information from work accident reports, rather than the monitoring

of actual working conditions at operating construction sites.

• The objective of this research study is to identify and detect frequent

deficiencies in the electrical systems of portable tower cranes during

the implementation phase of construction work. The results will be

conducive to establishing a set of corrective measures that can be

implemented by project designers, installers, maintenance experts,

users, and government agencies. For this reason we inspected 110

portable tower cranes at various construction sites. The data was

collected and recorded on an ad hoc checklist. It was then analyzed

and statistically treated with the software application SPSS.13 for

Windows. The principal elements or variables where deficiencies were

most frequently detected were the following: (i) documents certifying

the existence of a maintenance contract, (ii) electric control box, (iii)

control pushbutton panel, (iv) ground lead. Any defect in these

elements is potentially the source of a high risk situation because of

the serious consequences that can ensue. The detection of such

defects at constructions sites signifies that the installations are

defective and thus unsafe. Ground leads along with non-conforming

differential switches are extremely dangerous, and constitute a high

risk factor that must be controlled and eradicated through the joint

efforts of all agents involved.