Construction Cranes Will Not Be Upgraded

There was much to-do about the construction cranes that dotted the landscape in Miami prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma. I hear several experts state pre-hurricane, that the cranes were very secure and that the tops would swivel in the wind like a weather vane does.

Well, two cranes did fail (10 percent? of the cranes in Miami) during the storm, see Construction Cranes in Miami Become Multi-Ton Threats During Irma. Already there is push back from construction companies and developers about any new requirements to make these cranes more "disaster resilient." Bottom line is the money and that it would cost too much. After all, no one died!

Which brings to the quote I've used before from a fire marshal, "Eric, you need to recognize that every line in the fire code is written in blood." By that, he meant that someone needs to die before action is taken for new requirements to be put in place. 

Given the above assumption about codes and deaths, it would appear to me that there will be no changes to Miami's building/construction codes as it applies to these types of large construction cranes.

For change to happen, someone must die. This is one of the things that makes us so "exceptional."