A trade unionist on Friday called for a review of guidelines covering tower crane inspections with a view towards including checks for structural fatigue.

The call came after a tower crane collapsed at a public housing buildings site in Kwai Chung on Thursday, killing the cab operator.

Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, said his preliminary assessment showed the issue may be related to overload or metal fatigue, but the actual cause will be determined by the outcome of an investigation by the Labour Department.

Chau said metal fatigue was not covered by current standard routine checks.

“A comprehensive examination was conducted just this month," he told an RTHK radio programme.

"Checks were also conducted at the site before the start of work every day.

"However, the so-called inspections are mostly visual checks and standard mechanical tests on the brakes, electrical system and cables.

“If metal fatigue was involved, it would not show up in current examinations.

"Checks for metal fatigue are only conducted before the crane leaves the factory.

"Labour Department guidelines also state that we only need to do a 10 percent [non-destructive test] on welded joints for tower cranes that are over 15 years old.”

In a statement, the department said it had issued a work suspension order to the contractor concerned, halting all tower crane operations at the site.

It also urged employers to take adequate precautionary measures before using a tower crane, conduct regular tests and ensure that safe working loads are not exceeded before lifting operations begin.

Speaking to reporters, labour chief Chris Sun on Friday said he was sad about the crane operator’s death and expressed condolences to the affected family.

He said authorities would seriously follow up on the incident and hold accountable any company, contractor, or person found to have breached the code.

"The Labour Department's investigation will focus on several aspects. First, we will assess whether the crane installation and design are problematic. We will check whether the crane was securely installed," he said.

"Based on the department’s guidelines, routine checks have to be conducted. We will evaluate whether those checks followed our requirements and check whether the safe working load was exceeded while lifting."



Edited by Tony Sabine