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June 15, 2002: Edinburgh, Scotland — Crane climbing youth sparks security alert Huh!

June 22, 2001 — Michael D. Kelly, 23, commandeered large construction crane in Atlanta hangs himself after daylong standoff | Dead Link | | Cache Copy N/A | June 21, 2001 — Man commandeers crane in Atlanta, Georgia Who do you think is responsible for securing a job-site against unauthorized access after work hours or at any other time? Should the general public be allowed to enter at will, at any time they please? According to MARTA spokeswoman Steen Miles, this incident is costing Hardin Construction $15,000 per hour and negotiations may go well into the evening.

Suggestions for securing tower cranes against unauthorized access. Install a movement sensor about 20 feet up the access ladder. The operator would activate it via a hidden switch on decent. Any unauthorized person ascending the ladder would trip the sensor, thus setting off a loud alarm and/or lights. A simple solution, inexpensive, available at any builders supply and can be installed in a few hours. Some very hi-tech units are available that will send out a prerecorded message over a public address system and also trip an alert at your local police station. We have them on almost everything else we own, why not install them on tower cranes?