CINCINNATI – A camera closeup shows what happened when a mobile crane tipped over amid construction at The Banks on Tuesday.
The crane's boom crumpled, and it was leaning against the side of a parking garage, lifting all four wheels off the ground. One of the legs used to stabilize the crane also appeared to have buckled.
The boom of a mobile crane that tipped over at The Banks crumpled while extended to its maximum reach of 126 feet.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is leading the investigation into who's to blame.
The crane was picking up a bundle of steel reinforcing bars (rebar) when it "destabilized," City Manager Harry Black said in a memo to the mayor and city council. No injuries were reported, and work was suspended for the day, Black said.
The boom tipped over onto the third deck of the parking garage being built at the Race Street extension at 3 Freedom Way.
Crews managed to upright the crane Tuesday afternoon after spending several hours figuring out how to do it.
The boom tipped over onto the third deck of the parking garage being built at the Race Street extension at 3 Freedom Way.
“There’s an investigation underway to determine what caused the crane to tip over," Tom Butler, president of Monarch Construction, the prime contractor for the concrete work on the project, told WCPO shortly after noon. "It is fortunate no one was hurt, and they’re developing a plan to remove the crane. It will probably be several hours before anything happens.”
According to Black's memo, Monarch rented the crane from Maxium and Monarch provided the crane operator. Because it is mobile, the crane did not require a city permit.
Monarch has a nearly spotless record of crane operations since 2012. The only OHSA violation during that period involved missing paperwork, according to an OHSA rep. The company didn’t have documentation regarding operational standards for a "signal person" on the job site.
OSHA is heading the investigation because it regulates the operation and safety of cranes, Black said. The city sent representatives from the Department of Transportation and Engineering and the Department of Buildings and Inspections to assess the damage.
