Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Construction
At approximately 16:10 on Monday 15 January 2007 at a construction site at Colquitt Street, Liverpool city centre, a JASO J138PA Luffing jib crane on hire from Falcon Crane Hire Ltd collapsed.
As a result of the incident one worker was tragically killed and the driver of the crane was injured.
HSE Inspectors attended the site immediately upon being notified on the same day. A joint investigation into the incident commenced led by Merseyside Police in accordance with the ‘work related deaths protocol’. Primacy of the investigation was handed to HSE on 7 July 2008.
Principal contractors and crane operators should ensure that cranes are erected, operated, maintained and dismantled in accordance with the advice in the HSE safety alert [PDF 625kb] issued on 17 October 2006.
HSE has recently written to all GB crane hire and supply companies asking them to take forward certain actions which have arisen from the HSE investigation into the collapse of a luffing jib crane in Liverpool. The inquest into the worker's death on 8 July this year returned a verdict of accidental death.
HSE has also sent to these companies and its other key stakeholders a copy of an HSE technical report which sets out the most likely explanation for the collapse. This document 'Report on technical aspects of HSE's investigation into the collapse of a luffing tower crane at a Liverpool construction site on 15th January 2007'[PDF 119KB] is now available.