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Construction crews inspecting uptown cranes ahead of Hurricane Florence

NBC Charlotte is asking if the cranes pose a danger of falling with the strong winds expected.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Hurricane Florence is forcing construction crews to take major steps in Uptown, where cranes fill the sky.

NBC Charlotte is asking if the cranes pose a danger of falling with the strong winds expected. Crane operators say they are reviewing procedures and inspecting the structures ahead of the storm.

“I would be more concerned about the structure around it than the crane itself,” said Dennis Kenna, president of Heede Southeast.

Heede Southeast is one of the crane operators in Uptown. Kenna said crews have been notified about procedures this week and will be inspecting cranes, as well as cleaning them off.

“Anything that’s loose on the crane needs to be tied down or removed,” said Kenna.

State officials said crane operators are expected to know manufacturer guidelines and operate the products safely.

“They would have to be aware of what the predictive wind speeds are and the potential winds speeds, when they are installing the crane to make sure they meet that standard,” said Scott Mabry, assistant deputy commissioner for the North Carolina Department of Labor.

Mabry said crews can also unlock the crane’s arm to give it more flexibility in strong winds.

“So the boom spins with the wind, so that it acts more like a weather vane, so that it reduces the load on the structure itself,” said Mabry.

Kenna says his company does that procedure on a regular basis. Mecklenburg County officials released a statement saying in part, "we encourage all contractors to make necessary preparations to ensure equipment and worker safety in anticipation of heavy winds and significant rainfall due to the hurricane forecast”.

“We’ve been through Hurricane Hugo back in 89’, which was a big big impact on Charlotte, we had eight or nine cranes up working then, we had no problems at all then,” said Kenna.

Kenna said they will inspect the cranes before the storm and after to make sure they're working properly.

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