On August 14, 2008, one of the legs of a large gantry crane collapsed while the crane was being dismantled. The leg that fell weighed approximately 165 tons. The accident killed an iron worker, injured several other workers, damaged an adjacent building, and significantly delayed shipment of the crane.

1. An Goliath Accident Tells----Crane quality Counts Fisrt
On August 14, 2008, one of the legs of a
large gantry crane collapsed while the crane
was being dismantled. The leg that fell
weighed approximately 165 tons. The
accident killed an iron worker, injured
several other workers, damaged an adjacent
building, and significantly delayed shipment
of the crane.
The crane was being dismantled for purposes
of being delivered to a purchaser of the crane
located in Eastern Europe. The crane, which was placed into service in 1975, is a rail-mounted
gantry crane with a height of over 260 feet and length of over 400 feet that was used for ship
building, and was located in Quincy, MA.
Exponent was retained by attorneys for the deceased ironworker to determine the most likely
cause of the failure. The investigation included inspection of the welded hinge assembly, review of
the structural calculations for the hinges and their welds, review of the drawings, and review of the
planned and actual dismantling procedures. Exponent also prepared 3D digital models and
directed the making of demonstrative physical models for litigation.
The investigation showed that the contractor used an unusual procedure for dismantling the crane.
It involved the installation of a sophisticated
computer-controlled shoring system to support
the main cross member, removal of the legs, and
then lowering the main cross member to the
ground. For the leg that fell, the procedure
included the installation of a pair of large custom
hinges near the top of the leg, cutting the leg at
the hinge location, and then allowing the leg to
splay out along a rail while the cross member was
lowered. The hinges failed and the leg fell during
this operation.
Excerpt from Exponent,

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