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After a decrease in the number of construction cranes in use across major cities in the U.S. and Canada, Rider Levett Bucknall’s Crane Index has found an increase in cranes to start 2021. — Construction Dive
Construction Drive reports that Toronto still leads the North American crane count with 208 (compared to 124 in 2020), while Washington D.C. boasted 45, followed by Seattle and Los Angeles with 43 cranes each. New York City was indexed with 10 cranes in Q1 2021. More details can be accessed in the... View full entry
For the first time since July 2017, the number of cranes in North American cities has decreased, according to Rider Levett Bucknall’s newest crane count. The biannual count dropped by 40 cranes, 455 to 415, from Q1 to Q3 2020. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, Toronto still holds the most cranes in a North American city, with 124. And of the 14 measured cities, only Phoenix, Seattle, Toronto and Washington, D.C., saw an increase in the number of cranes. Moreover, five of the 14 cities — Chicago, Denver, Las... View full entry
Whether you are a tower crane otaku, adrenaline junky, or simply keeping up to date with David Adjaye's first NYC tower: construction crews at the 130 William site in Manhattan posted a video and some photos of the recent crane dismantling. The journey of the tower crane dismantle at... View full entry
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) announced Thursday that it has cited and fined three contractors a total of $107,200 in relation to April's deadly tower crane collapse at a Google office project. in Seattle. The crash to the street below killed two workers and two people in cars. — Construction Dive
According to Construction Dive, the tragic event that occurred in April was due to the project "contractors and their workers [ignoring] the manufacturers instructions for dismantling the crane by removing almost all of the tower's pins and sleeves at the same time." It is reported that... View full entry
The quarterly Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index shows strong growth in the number of cranes in operation across North American cities, as new projects get underway and a number of large projects continue to march their way toward completion. The July 2019 survey summary explains... View full entry
Seattle’s construction frenzy turned deadly Saturday afternoon when a tower crane working on a new Google campus fell like a thunderbolt from the roof of a South Lake Union building, smashing into six cars and killing four people. — The Seattle Times
"The four-building, 607,000-square-foot project will house a new Google Seattle campus, and also include about 150 new apartments," reports The Seattle Times about the tragic incident at a South Lake Union site at Fairview Avenue and Mercer Street. "Construction began in 2017 and is set to be... View full entry
With industrial robotics forecast to be worth $71.72 billion by 2023, it’s no wonder entrepreneurs are turning their attention to increasingly lucrative sectors, like warehouse automation, order fulfillment, and manufacturing.
Tel Aviv-based Intsite is one of the latest examples. The startup today announced a $1.35 million pre-seed round led by Terra Venture Partners and the Israel Innovation Authority to fund what it claims is the world’s first autonomous crane technology.
— Venture Beat
Image: IntsiteAI-powered autonomous construction technology is poised to see enormous growth in the coming years, promising to significantly increase efficiency, cut costs & realization time, and reduce human errors as well as workplace-related injuries. "According to McKinsey, about... View full entry
In 2016, a Manhattan crane collapse in Tribeca killed one person, seriously injured two others and left another with minor injuries. Workers were trying to secure the crane against winds by lowering the boom when the crane collapsed to the ground. The accident was caused by a series of operator... View full entry
Ever wanted to spend a night in an industrial relic while not missing out on luxurious amenities? Then THE KRANE, a converted coal crane in Copenhagen's Nordhavn, is just your kind of thing. The multi-tiered structure sports a reception area on the ground floor (a designated concierge car meets... View full entry
The wildly swinging booms of three cranes at under-construction residential buildings in South Florida bent and collapsed in Hurricane Irma’s heavy winds Sunday. [...]
The cranes are a symbol of the luxury real estate development that drives South Florida’s economy, attracting millions of dollars in foreign investment, even as home prices soar out of reach for locals. The construction industry has fought against stricter regulation of the towering cranes.
— Miami Herald
While the whole extent of destruction that Hurricane Irma caused throughout Florida, Georgia, and various islands of the northern Caribbean in the past few days is still not entirely clear, the strength of the storm can be adumbrated by the three construction cranes that collapsed in the greater... View full entry
As cranes have grown in height and girth, the controls to operate them have intensified in number and complexity...the crane units in use these days have libraries of intricate manuals, packed with details...some operators may not have time to fully understand or read completely. Same goes for the maintenance team. When something does go wrong with such large machines...the 'mess and carnage' gets magnified. — Popular Mechanics
Crane safety experts give their thoughts on the leading causes of crane collapses, and why safety regulation is more complex than it seems.Previous news about collapses:Crane collapses in Manhattan, one dead and two seriously injuredMore than 50 dead after crane collapses on Mecca's Grand Mosque... View full entry
The Associated Press reported that the person killed was a Wall Street worker sitting in a parked car. [...]
The accident happened as workers were trying to secure the crane against winds around 20 mph by lowering the boom, which had been extended to as long as 565 feet the day before, officials said. Because the crane was being lowered, workers were directing pedestrians away from it on a street that otherwise would likely have been teeming with people.
— npr.org
A couple of nearby construction workers took video of the collapse on a cellphone – you can watch that here. View full entry
At least 52 people were killed when a crane crashed in Mecca’s Grand Mosque on Friday, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority said on its Twitter account.It said 30 people were injured.
The Muslim annual Haj pilgrimage is due later this month and Saudi authorities go to great lengths to be prepared for the millions of Muslims who converge on Mecca.
— theguardian.com
The cranes are going up all over universities. A new student village here, an extension to the business school there, airy atria everywhere, even a scattering of 'iconic' or 'signature' buildings aspiring to be on shortlists for architectural awards. Higher education is investing unprecedented amounts in infrastructure – for good and necessary reasons but maybe for bad ones too. — The Guardian
UCL Institute of Education professor Peter Scott comments on the rising trend of English universities leaning toward what he describes as "American habits" at a time when universities are investing greatly in campus construction. Scott lists promising reasons like the upgrading and preservation of... View full entry
While Renzo Piano's Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens (SNFCC) is still under construction, it didn't keep the first performance from being staged last Wednesday on the site. Based on Renzo Piano's own idea, the Greek National Orchestra scored a 15-minute "dance" performance... View full entry
