The State Industrial Supervision Department inspected construction sites

In October 2015, the Minsk City Department of Gospromnadzor conducted inspections of 58 construction sites in Minsk, where 86 tower cranes were operated. Following the inspections, the operation of 8 cranes was suspended (including 6 cranes that were re-admitted to operation after prior suspension). One specialist was held administratively liable, and 11 individuals were sent for unscheduled knowledge assessment.

The inspections revealed that a recurring issue is the failure by general contractors (subcontractors) and owners of lifting cranes (hereinafter – the owner) to comply with labour safety requirements stipulated in the organizational and technological documentation (POS, PPR) of construction sites.

For instance, on 06.10.2015, during an inspection of tower cranes at the construction site "Residential Area Kamennaya Gorka. Microdistrict Kamennaya Gorka-3. Kindergarten for 230 places No. 59 according to the master plan" in Minsk (contractor – branch SU No. 34 of OJSC "Stroytrust No. 7", owner – OJSC "UM No. 79"), the following violations of technical regulatory legal acts were identified:

the crane track was constructed adjacent to an unreinforced excavation, on filled ground, violating the permissible distances from the crane track to the slope of the excavation;
the territory of the operational kindergarten No. 108 of Frunzensky District falls within the hazardous zone near the areas where loads are moved by the crane. However, the design and estimate documentation does not include specific measures to ensure the safe operation of the tower crane in confined conditions, particularly, it does not identify hazardous production factors related to the technology and conditions of work, nor does it define and indicate the zone of their impact;
a work execution project for cranes for the construction of the underground part of the building (zero cycle) has not been developed.

Similar violations occurred at the construction sites: "Secondary School No. 35 in Masukovschina microdistrict" (contractor – branch SU No. 16 of OJSC "Stroytrust No. 1", owner – OJSC "UM No. 79"):

acts of acceptance of the formation of the subgrade for the installation of the track superstructure, and acceptance of the track into operation do not contain all the necessary information on the compliance of the crane track with the requirements of technical regulatory legal acts, and leveling of the transverse and longitudinal profiles of the track has not been performed;
defective removable lifting devices are used at the work site, and periodic inspection of removable lifting devices is not carried out;
boundaries of hazardous zones are not designated, and the project for work execution does not specify the size of the hazardous zone around the perimeter of the building under construction;
methods for slinging and hooking loads moved by the crane (columns, stair flights, pads for column installation, etc.) have not been developed.

In order to respond promptly for the prevention and warning of accidents and injuries during the operation of tower cranes at construction sites, the Minsk City Department of Gosgortekhnadzor has sent an informational letter to the heads of 14 supervised economic entities (owners) on the need to implement a set of measures to ensure the safe operation of cranes. Special attention has been drawn to the heads and specialists on the compliance of crane installation with the requirements of organizational and technological documentation, the technical condition of crane tracks, and the serviceability of safety devices, namely, it has been required to:

conduct an unscheduled briefing for tower crane operators;
conduct an inspection of the serviceability of crane tracks, paying special attention to the correctness and reliability of the installation of buffer stops in accordance with the requirements of the organizational and technological documentation and the operational and technical documentation of the tower crane manufacturers;
conduct an inspection of the serviceability and functional operability of the limit switches of the tower crane travel mechanism.

Crane owners have carried out the specified priority measures, about which the Minsk City Department of Gosgortekhnadzor has been notified.

In order to tighten the requirements and control over the organization and maintenance of construction sites in terms of ensuring safe work with the use of lifting cranes, the Minsk City Department conducted inspections of 103 construction sites in Minsk over 9 months of 2015, where 156 lifting cranes are operated.

During inspections and technical (technological, verification) measures, 248 violations of the requirements of technical regulatory legal acts were identified. As a result of the inspections, 12 officials were brought to administrative responsibility, and 32 specialists were sent for unscheduled knowledge testing.

The characteristic violations include:

unsatisfactory engineering preparation for the execution of construction and installation works using lifting cranes. The installation of a crane track on an unreinforced pit, on fill soil, without relevant calculations of the stability of the soil mass at the base of the rail tracks;
work production projects do not fully contain the requirements of safety rules for the operation of lifting cranes, specific safety measures are not developed, and hazardous production factors related to the technology and conditions of work execution are not identified. Often, project and estimate documentation does not provide specific measures to ensure the safe execution of work by tower cranes in confined spaces, when operational civil buildings and structures, pedestrian roads, and other places where people may be located fall within the hazardous zones near the areas of crane load movement;
work supervisors do not prepare sites for crane installation and cargo storage, and access roads, including loading and unloading areas, in a timely manner. Practically everywhere, cargo is stored in hazardous zones, reinforcement fabrication areas are set up, and construction machinery is installed, which does not exclude the presence of workers in hazardous zones;
due to the low production discipline of certain specialists and workers, the technology of construction processes is grossly violated, and there are cases of admitting workers untrained in the rigger profession to rig loads. This is due to the lack of proper control and supervision by the heads of contracting organizations and crane owners over the compliance of responsible specialists with the requirements of technical regulatory legal acts, and by the personnel servicing lifting cranes, with production instructions.