Rail worker seriously injured after crane snaps

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This article was published 08/01/2019 (2619 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A Winnipeg rail worker was ejected nearly four metres from a truck-mounted crane, in part because nobody bothered to inspect the operator’s seatbelt, the federal transport-safety watchdog determined.

“The operator was thrown from the basket onto the track, about 12 feet below, sustaining serious injuries,” states a report the Transportation Safety Board made public Tuesday.

The TSB, an independent agency that probes safety practices but doesn’t ascribe fault, has concluded its investigation into a Sept. 2, 2017 incident that occurred on the east side of Brandon.

The worker was sitting in the metal basket attached to a crane he was operating, which was mounted onto a railroad truck. When he used the crane to magnetically grab a heavy amount of metal plates, the welded part of the crane’s base snapped under pressure, ejecting the worker, whose seatbelt lacked a buckle and whose chair wasn’t locked into the basket.

CP updated its safety protocols after the 2017 incident, and the TSB did not suggest any further changes in its Tuesday report, which cited numerous issues.

The crane operator had wrapped a seatbelt around his hips and thighs, but the TSB said that was pointless because there was no buckle.

“Dust or dirt was present on the seatbelt assembly, suggesting that the buckle had been missing for some time,” the report reads.

In any case, TSB noted the seat wasn’t secured to its basket.

“The seat-locking mechanism had missing parts, was inoperative, and was covered in dirt, suggesting that the locking mechanism had been inoperative for some time.”

Had the lock mechanism worked without the seatbelt, the worker likely would have been pushed in toward the control panel “which would have also likely caused serious injuries.”

The TSB said part of the problem was that neither CP workers nor its contracted Winnipeg firm, Axis Inspection Group Ltd., had examined the basket, as both deemed it to not be part of the crane. Axis did not respond to a Tuesday request for comment.

The safety watchdog also said the truck’s collision with a train two years prior may have contributed to issues with the crane.

In March 18, 2015, a crew had left the railbed crane-truck parked on the rails overnight near Menteith, 60 kilometres southwest of Brandon. Around 4 a.m., a westbound train came up to a switch that was lined perpendicular to the train tracks; the train wasn’t able to stop and ended up hitting the crane truck at about 22.5 kilometres per hour.

The truck and crane required repairs, and CP Rail recertified both in June 2015, returning them to service.

The TSB said the base of the crane was likely worn down from rubbing, with pressure and heat weakening the welded sides.

Teamsters spokesman Christopher Monette said the worker involved has made a full recovery and is back on the job. He said local union officials had described the incident as “a freak accident” but that they would review the TSB report and raise any concerns with CP.

The TSB said CP inspected all its 635 boom cranes “immediately following the occurrence” and updated its inspections procedures to include the operator’s seat in daily and annual inspections, as well as cracks and corrosion in quarterly examinations.

“CP has received and reviewed the TSB report on this incident. The report makes no specific recommendations to CP requiring action,” wrote spokeswoman Salem Woodrow.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

TSB report on Brandon worker injury in September 2017