Why Cranes Collapse

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As a retired crane operator of 37 years I would like to say nicely done. I usually watch videos like this for a couple of minutes and pick them apart with all the miss information, not here. Looks like you did your research. I would say cranes are hazardous.......they only become dangerous when they are used outside of the manufactures guidelines or in most cases have incompetent humans involved.

Removing the pins definitely sped up the disassembly of that crane...

In Germany, we have a meme going on for crane operators: "Kranplätze müssen verdichtet sein!" which translates to "Crane locations have to be compacted!"

Really enjoyed this one

Looking at most cranes I'm always amazed how they DON'T collapse.

My career has included operating cranes as hefty as 240 tons and when this video started I was hoping to maintain the same respect for Grady which he's earned in other videos. Well, I respect him even more now. Every point was correct and explained so a newbie could understand it. This video alone could replace several training videos for new crane operators and make their workplace safer. Thanks Grady.

I have been a crane Inspector and Test Director for over 15 years. I find that in the early days, cranes were over built do to a lack of knowledge (engineering) and an abundance of labor and material. Today, cranes are engineered right to the edge. The benefit to the crane manufactures is that they can sell a higher capacity crane at the lowest possible expense. The problem this creates, however, is that there is literally no room for error. The slightest miscalculation is now catastrophic were it might have been absorbed by an older crane with an inherently larger safety factor. Additionally, profit of a project is inevitably tied to the speed work can be done and often has an inverse relationship with safety. Methods to "speed up the job" are often implemented at the cost of doing it as safely as possible. The willingness (known or unknown) to cut corners coupled with cranes built to the edge is a recipe for disaster.

Lost my brother on a "crane accident" on Aug 31 2011, while working on the FN building in Copenhagen, there were a supposeded procedure to move the lifts when they needed to be raised, the workers used them to install insulation. Apparently in the year 2011, we don't have remote controlled lifts, he had to control it from the inside while standing half way into the container it was going into. Well, the lift wedged on the edges, which resulted in an overbalance on the container, soon after both the lift and my brother was dropped a couple meters down to the concrete floor below, the several ton lift landed ontop of him. . . Still trying to cope with it, still angry that safety and equipment weren't and probably still aren't up to date, especially on a globalistic prestige projects like that..

Let me guess: you bought a bunch of construction toys, and then you realized you needed to justified your purchase, so you thought up this series, right?

Including the "X people died and Y people were injured" after every example of a fall was very powerful. The near ubiquity of a non-zero casualty rate after each collapse really hammered in how consequential each lesson was. Sobering, dramatic, and respectful.

Nobody: YouTube: Here, learn about cranes. Me, a web developer: Ah yes, this is how I unwind today.

I spent 35 years in Ship Repair after coming out of the Forces. In that time I saw 5 crane failure's which resulted in 3 deaths. 4 of the failure's were due to overloading for the radius the jibs were at, the other one was high wind. It's a horrible feeling watching a Crane go over and knowing there is nothing you can do. I am 78 now and must say that the vast improvement in Health and Safety in the Western World has contributed to workers safety but we know that accidents still happen!

There's a crane right above my apartment. Love how this starts with "Let's walk through some of the biggest crane disasters in history" 😂

After a 10 year career in crane engineering, I know how easy it is to get even basic crane content dangerously wrong. I started this video fully expecting to be ranting afterward. But, you did an incredible job and has me sending this video to our training people. Bravo.

I won't put 95% of what I learn from these videos into real world applications but I love watching them. Learning something new is always neat.

I was a first year student at the law school located at the site of the 2016 crawler crane collapse in Manhattan. Honestly even before it collapsed, we would have to walk underneath the crane to cross the street and it NEVER felt safe, and always gave a bad feeling. When it actually collapsed I sadly wasn’t even surprised. Condolences to all the victims in these accidents, it’s a shame their safety and life and well being wasn’t considered until it was too late. Thank you for an informative video!

My father passed away in a crane accident due to negligence and vertical deformation. I appreciate your video bringing more awareness to the preventable danger of cranes

"Bah, engineers always overdesign stuff. She'll hold twice that much, easy." -Construction Guys

There is a memorable german phrase. "Kranplätze müssen verdichtet sein." It roughly translates to "crane places must be compacted".