Fatal Construction Hoist Accident

See SHK's film about the hoist accident in Ursvik External link. (only in Swedish)

Summary in English

On 11 December, 2023, five people were fatally injured when a construction hoist collapsed. The accident occurred at a construction site in Ursvik, Sundbyberg municipality, Sweden. The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority has investigated the accident.

An apartment building was under construction and was planned to reach a height of 14 floors. The developer had engaged a general contractor, Andersson Company, for the work. The general contractor had commissioned a construction hoist from a rental company that was to be used during the construction period. The hoist was of the type Scando 650 FC.

The hoist was assembled and on 24 August, an inspection was carried out by an accredited inspector. The hoist was approved and was thereafter used on the construction site. As the construction progressed, the hoist mast was extended. The last extension before the accident was carried out on 5 December and from then on, the hoist could reach floor 9.

On 11 December, between 09:41 AM and 09:42 AM the construction hoist car collapsed from floor 9. Five workers were on board the car. Three workers that had boarded earlier and two workers that had boarded on floor 9. All five on board were fatally injured.

The investigation shows that five of the screw and nut assemblies required to hold the mast sections together, were missing. Between two of the sections all four screw and nut assemblies were missing and the mast was only held together by the friction in the joints between the mast tubes and the support from secondary structure. The accident occurred when the load on the mast, where the four screw and nut assemblies where missing, became greater than the structure could hold, leading to the mast sections separating and the hoist car falling to the ground. It is likely that the screw and nut assemblies were already missing when a mast extension was performed on 1 November. However, this was not discovered in connection with the assembly, nor in the inspections and service measures taken after the assembly.

Causes of the accident

The accident was caused by omission to perform relevant safety inspections of the hoist assembly. This prevented the detection of the missing screw and nut assemblies.

At system level, a causal factor was that the current requirements for safety measures in connection with the assembly of construction hoists are insufficient to ensure adequate safety for its users.

Safety recommendations

Involved parties have taken a number of safety measures aimed at strengthening safety and reducing the risk of similar accidents. In these cases, SHK does not issue any recommendations.

SHK submits the following recommendations:

The Work Environment Authority is recommended to:

• Investigate how safety measures applied in the assembly process of construction hoists can be improved.
• Within the framework of its supervision of the systematic work environment management system, investigate how risks involving construction hoists are managed.

Andersson Company Byggnads AB is recommended to:

• Integrate risks relating to construction hoists assembly in its systematic work environment safety management.

ABC Bygghissar och Byggmaskiner AB is recommended to:

• Improve routines for inspections and service activities with the goal to reduce the risk for assembly errors.
• Take measures to ensure that established safety routines are followed and that deviations are reported and addressed.