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In the wake of crane collapses in Manhattan and Miami, officials are scrambling to shore up crane operations and improve public safety.
Today, the New York City buildings commissioner, Patricia J. Lancaster, announced changes to the Buildings Department’s inspection protocol for tower cranes, the type of crane involved in the accident at 303 East 51st Street on March 15, which killed seven people and injured dozens of others. “Until further notice,” the Buildings Department announced today, a city inspector must be present on a construction site whenever a tower crane is raised or lowered.
Starting today, before giving approval to raise or lower a tower crane, the Buildings Department will require the engineer of record to conduct a full inspection of the crane and certify to the Buildings Department that it is built according to the approved plans and to provide a written protocol for workers to “jump,” or raise, the crane. The written protocol must incorporate the manufacturing guidelines and site-specific details of installation. The department will also require the general contractor to convene a safety meeting that will include the licensed rigger, the crane operator and the jumping crew.
“Until further notice, a buildings inspector must attend these safety coordination meetings to ensure that all safety measures are being taken,” Ms. Lancaster announced.
Meanwhile, seven Buildings Department inspectors are continuing an urgent review of about 30 tower cranes in New York City, a process that began on March 20 and is to be completed by April 15. Afterward, the department will focus on about 220 other cranes currently in operation across the city; that larger review is scheduled to last until the end of May.
The department has come under fire since the deadly collapse for not having enough inspectors amid the recent construction boom. More troublesome still, on Thursday, a Buildings Department inspector, Edward J. Marquette, was arrested and charged with falsely claiming that he had inspected the very crane that collapsed two weeks earlier, on March 4.

cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com

Crane survivor search…Dalai Lama wants Tibet probe…Cheney to Mideast
NEW YORK (AP) Rescue crews in New York City have worked through the night, scouring the rubble left behind following yesterday’s crane collapse in an effort to locate potential survivors. Four people were killed and ten more hurt when the 19-story crane came down.
ATLANTA (AP) National Weather Service officials will be in rural northwest Georgia today to determine if a Tornado hit there yesterday. Two people were killed by severe storms that rolled through the area a day after a tornado hit downtown Atlanta Friday.
DHARMSALA, India (AP) The Dalai Lama is pushing for an international investigation into China’s ongoing crackdown against protesters in Tibet. Chinese police and soldiers are patrolling the streets of Tibet’s capital city two days after deadly riots against Chinese rule.
Washington (AP) Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to leave today on a 10-day trip to the Middle East. Fears of Iran’s rising influence in the region is expected to be a key topic during his stops in four countries and the Palestinian territories.
international space station (AP) Astronauts aboard the international space station have completed a successful spacewalk to attach a pair of 11-foot arms to the station’s new robot. It’s designed to help spacewalking astronauts once complete.

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MARCH 7, 2008–Workers examine an 85-ton construction crane that fell over about 4 a.m. Friday.
After being closed all day, Clayton Road reopened to traffic about 5:15 p.m. Friday, more than 13 hours after a giant crane — and the steel beam it was hoisting — toppled at the Highway 40 construction site near Warson Road.
No one was injured in the first major construction accident tied to the massive highway project.
Workers labored for most of the day to get the crane back on its wheels so it could be removed from the site. Clayton Road, which had been closed to do the work, remained closed after the 4 a.m. accident, forcing motorists to take alternate routes using Lindbergh Boulevard and Manchester Road.
Dan Galvin of Gateway Constructors said the beam fell across Clayton. The back end of the crane was also on the road.
On its way down, the crane struck a traffic signal at the east end of the bridge. The crane operator crawled out the window to safety. He was unhurt.
The accident occurred as three cranes were lowering the final bridge girder to the ground. The girder was about five feet from the street when a clamp broke, shifting the weight to the crane on the north side of Clayton Road, Galvin said. The weight caused the crane to topple over.

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