Title: Forensic investigation on crane accidents

Authors: George Y.H. Yu

Addresses: Universal Technology Centre, Anson Road, #10-11, International Plaza, Singapore 079903, Singapore

Abstract: Crane accidents often result in the significant loss of assets and human lives. Forensic investigation on crane accidents is necessary to determine the root causes of the accidents and relevant liabilities of parties involved, and to recommend effective measures to prevent recurrence of similar accidents. Forensic investigation should meet the requirements of high professional standards in providing technical support to all kinds of litigations. This article reviews common failure modes and root causes of crane accidents, and presents investigation methodologies. Some typical crane accident cases (mobile crane toppling, hoist wire rope breakage and boom/jib collapse of tower crane) are studied and discussed to demonstrate the investigation practice.

Keywords: accidents; corrosion; crane; failure analysis; fatigue; forensic investigation; fracture; stability; structural integrity; welding; wire rope.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFE.2017.087671

International Journal of Forensic Engineering, 2017 Vol.3 No.4, pp.319 - 341

Received: 09 Jan 2017
Accepted: 12 May 2017
Published online: 30 Oct 2017 *

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