Manitowoc Cranes, Potain Tower Cranes- MD, MDT and MR Series

Potentially Faulty Spigots on K600 and K800 Mast Sections

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a safety alert in June 2010 about potentially faulty spigots for the above cranes .It is  aware of two crane mast failures in which such spigots were implicated.  The first of these incidents was in Chicago in February 2009.  The most recent incident involved a crane in London in April 2010.  Metallurgical tests undertaken on the London crane showed that the spigot failed catastrophically in brittle fracture from a small fatigue crack.  The tests have shown that the failed spigot did not meet the performance characteristics specified for the component.  It is believed that there was a flaw in the heat treatment process during the manufacture of the spigot.  Whilst investigations continue to isolate the cause of the problem, as a precaution all spigots manufactured between 1 November 2006 and 28 Feb 2007 are suspected of being substandard.

The HSE UK has issued a safety alert in regard to above which also includes contact details for Manitowoc, please see link below.

All affected components must be taken out of service or repaired as per Manitowoc’s advice. If you have any queries about this alert please contact us at 1890 289 389.

Link to HSE UK Safety Alert