Why did this load
SPOTCHECKSAFETY
tip over? – part 2
In part 1 of this article,
published in the last issue of
HLPFI, safety expert Richard
Krabbendam described the
cause of an accident in
August 1988 and the legal
consequences it had for the
parties involved. In the final
T
part, he reviews the technical
and legal judgements.
o summarise the whole incident
under investigation, party ‘A’ had
subcontracted the transportation of
a 203-tonne reactor from
Immingham Docks, UK, to a
nearby refinery. The travelling distance was
only 7.8 km, but a short distance from the
docks as the trailer negotiated a long curve
with a camber of 2.8°, the transport
combination tipped over and the reactor
landed in a ditch next to the road.
The cost of the salvage operation and the
damage repair to the reactor were covered by
the transport insurance arranged at the
client’s request by party ‘A’, which claimed
that the cause of the accident was the
negligence of the trailer operator. Party ‘B’
(the trailer operator) denied this claim.
It took eight years to obtain a judgement
in March 2013. After presenting all the
evidence at the High Court in London, the
judge rejected the allegations of party ‘B’ and
found it solely responsible for the accident
and its financial consequences.
Prior to the accident, the project manager
of party ‘A’ had visited the transport
combination just before it entered a long
curve in the road (see picture 1) and where,
approximately 200 m further on, it tipped
over . He spoke with the transport
supervisor and asked whether everything
was going fine. The supervisor of party ‘B’
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Picture 1: The transport
combination shortly
before it tipped over.
acknowledged that the planned 7.6 km
journey was proceeding to plan and the
project manager of party ‘A’ then left for the
refinery to open the gate and prepare the site
for the offloading of the reactor.
After about 10 minutes, when the
transport combination did not show up, he
drove back 6 km along the planned route
and found the reactor lying on its back in a
ditch next to the road while the 12-axle line
trailer was still on the road and standing on
its tyres (see pictures 2 and 3).
Accident scene
When the project manager arrived at the
accident scene, he immediately investigated
the condition of the trailer for hydraulic
hose ruptures or other possible causes. He
also noticed that the trailer was standing at
the same camber as the road – and this was
recorded by measuring the height of the
Picture 2: The reactor lying by the road.
trailer deck above the road surface at each
corner.
It proved that the trailer height at the
right and left rear end was 112 cm above the
road and at the front right side 108.5 cm and
front left side 110 cm. These measurements,
as well as the pictures taken directly after the
accident, were presented in an official
accident report.
According to the police escort, which
drove behind the transport combination, the
trailer tilted slightly to the lower side of the
curve, tilted a bit more and suddenly the
whole combination tipped over. The lashing
chains broke loose, the reactor landed in the
ditch at the lower side of the curve next to
the road and the trailer fell back on its tyres
on the road.
In the opinion of project manager ‘A’, the
tipping of the trailer was caused by not
compensating the trailer to a horizontal level
when negotiating the curve, which had a 2.8°
camber. When project manager ‘A’ arrived at
the accident he had asked the operating crew
where the spirit level was and they replied
that they had left it in the driver’s cabin of
the tractor unit as the road was in good
condition. They had obviously misjudged
the camber of this long curve.
The opinions of the operating crew of
party ‘B’ were not as clear as the statement
and accident report of project manager ‘A’.
September/October 2013 67
SPOTCHECKSAFETY
The court case
During a three-day court case all witnesses
and technical experts of party ‘A’ and party
‘B’ were given the opportunity to state their
case. It soon became clear that if you end up
in court, make sure you really have a case
and that you are very secure in your
understanding of what had really happened,
as the lawyers of each party will keep asking
questions until they receive a satisfactory
answer.
The legal enquiry went back to the phase
when party ‘A’ had asked party ‘B’ to quote
for the transport job. To the advantage of
party ‘A’, the lawyers had clearly asked what
kind of service had been required from party
‘B’. They had even enclosed a transportation
drawing and preliminary planning schedule
with the enquiry.
To the disadvantage of party ‘A’, the
company had quoted the job by means of a
handwritten fax with no conditions of work
mentioned whatsoever in the document. It
had enclosed a stability calculation for a
separate project load for which the company
had quoted stating that it would prefer a
wider trailer configuration for the load, due
to critical stability. No remarks or questions
had been asked about stability and trailer
type selection for the reactor, which had
obviously been accepted by party ‘B’. Party
‘A’ had then confirmed the transport order to
party ‘B’.
68 September/October 2013
Choice of suspension system
During the court case, party ‘B’ kept
insisting that party ‘A’ had made a mistake by
setting the trailer on a four-point suspension
system and had therefore caused the trailer
to tip as it could not be controlled.
Party ‘A’ proved in court by means of a
scale model that a three-point suspension
system is less stable then a four-point
suspension system. It can be compared with
a table on three legs or four legs. If one
crosses with the centre of gravity (CoG)
over one of the lines which connects the legs
of the table, the table will tip over.
A comparison of the advantages and
disadvantages of a three and four-point
suspension system are summarised below:
Advantages of three-point
suspension
l Easier operational control for levelling,
which is therefore less labour intensive.
l It limits the risk of overloading the trailer
spine beam and platform supports as well
as the risk of axle overload.
l It is less subject to dynamic effects as the
load always rests on three points, thus
eliminating ‘rocking’.
The diagram above shows a drawing of
the symmetrical three-point suspension
system for the actual load in question.
Disadvantages of three-point
suspension
l Smaller area of stability.
l Less suitable for high CoG loads.
Advantages of four-point
suspension
l Greater area of stability.
l More suitable for high CoG loads.
Disadvantages of four-point
suspension
l More difficult to control and therefore
more labour intensive.
l Higher risk of overloading axles and
trailer structure.
l Preferably used only on good roads as
otherwise trailer ‘rocking’ can occur.
If we look at all the above points, the
project manager of party ‘A’ stated that
although a four-point suspension would be
more likely to overload the axles, he still
preferred to use a four-point suspension, as
opposed to a three-point suspension system,
as the CoG of the load was in his opinion
rather high. Therefore he selected the “best
option of the worst” and instructed the
operators of party ‘B’ to set the trailer to a
four-point suspension mode.
It was the opinion of party ‘A’ that the
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Picture 3: After the accident the 12-axle line trailer was still on the road and standing on its tyres.
issue has never been whether a three or
four-point suspension was right or wrong.
The cause of the accident was that the trailer
operators did not compensate the trailer any
further after it had stopped just before the
curve where the accident happened.
Although one operator confirmed that the
trailer was compensated, the evidence, as
well as the statement of another operator of
party ‘B’, proved that they did not further
compensate the trailer after they started to
negotiate the curve.
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What have we learnt?
Make sure that any orders for transport or
erection work received are confirmed in
writing and that they clearly state the
conditions under which the work will be
executed.
Furthermore, a checklist of critical points
should be made and checked before
transport or erection work is executed and
ensure that these points are adhered to and
that clear instructions (in writing) are given
to operating personnel.
building
b u i l d i n g for
SPOTCHECKSAFETY
It is important to prepare a detailed
manual of the works that need to be
executed, outlining the scope of work, lifting
and transport plans, stowage plans, stability
calculations and so on.
Always ensure that if an accident occurs,
immediately see to it that injured persons
receive medical treatment and thereafter
report clearly in writing what has happened,
HLPFI
illustrated with pictures if possible.
Please note, this article is intended for
guidance only. Whilst every care has been
taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents,
no responsibility will be accepted by the
publishers for any errors.
Richard Krabbendam was a heavy lift specialist
during his whole working career, after which he formed
Krabbendam Advisory Service. A Master of Mechanical
Engineering from Delft University of Technology, he has
worked with BigLift and Mammoet, and was a co-founder of
ITREC. He helped to set up Jumbo Offshore and was involved
in the development of its super heavy lift carrier fleet, the
J-Class, which uses two 900-tonne mast cranes for subsea
installation works. Since his retirement from Jumbo he has
been working as a freelance trainer/engineering consultant.
www.jumbo-offshore.com www.heavyliftspecialist.com
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t h e heaviest
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duties
uties
September/October 2013 71
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