Sixteen certified crane operators performed several series of boom movements toward a segment of a typical power line using a 100-ton lifting capacity crane equipped with an 18-m boom, a single lifting cable, and a hard ball hook. The operators were instructed to stop the crane movement when the lifting cable reached the edge of the danger zone located 3 m from the power line. To achieve each maneuver, they evaluated the distance between the nearest wire and their crane using two methods: free sighting and the use of highly visible markers delineating the edge of the danger zone. The dependent measure was the distance between the lifting cable and the edge of the danger zone. Results showed that operators were generally unreliable when judging the distance between their crane and the power line when sighting the power line directly, but the use of markers proved to be much more precise and reliable in targeting the edge of the danger zone.

The list of 13 fabrication site hazardous activities has been derived from focusing on the areas where significant incidents or near misses with fatality potential have occurred, while also taking into account existing safety practices common within the industry. Analysis of 10 years of IOGP incident data validated the final selection of the recommended practices by the IOGP Task Force. The IOGP Fabrication Site Construction Safety (FSCS) Recommended Practices document will provide standardized minimum requirements for addressing safety risks associated with the 13 listed hazardous activities, as well as a general section that addresses site-wide requirements. The objective of the FSCS Recommended Practices is to support the use of fabrication site specific construction practices that meet or exceed the requirements of the IOGP Recommended Practices, independently of the customer. This paper uses the on-going development of the IOGP FSCS Recommended Practices as a case study on how to drive for greater industry consistency to achieve a safer work environment and to remove inefficiencies.

Performance of experienced crane operators in stopping rotational movements of a crane platform was compared with that of an automatic braking system. Sixteen certified crane operators performed boom movements towards a segment of a typical power line using a 100 tons lifting capacity crane equipped with a fixed-length 18 m long boom, a single lifting cable, and hard ball hook. The 18 m boom was later replaced with a 49 m boom to vary crane geometry and motion response. In all trials, a 1500 kg (3500 lb) load was hooked to the lifting cable. In critical operating conditions, the control input strategy used by the experienced crane operators could yield a stopping angle comparable to that of the automatic braking system. However, when compared with the automatic braking system, the operators had a better control on the oscillations of the load during the stopping maneuver. The data collected in this experiment were used to specify two key parameters in the design of a crane movement limiting device.