An Overhead Crane accident resulting in one fatality happened on Sunday April 25, 2004 at the Port of Morrow, Oregon. Dead was a Technician from Vancouver, Canada, who was testing a new crane at the moment of the accident. He was an employee of the company Kaverit Steel and Crane based in Edmonton, Alberta. Kaverit is owned and operated by Morris Material Handling Inc. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.



Kaverit Steel and Crane, Edmonton, Canada.
The fatality was Mile Obradovic, one of the two Technicians performing the tests on the crane. After more than five days pinned in a broken crane too dangerous to access, the body of a worker killed at the Port of Morrow was removed Friday. The damaged crane has been pulled from the dock and safety inspections are expected to take place this weekend. Kaverit Steel and Crane, owner of the crane, did not release details of how the body was removed Friday morning. Mile Obradovic of Vancouver, British Columbia, was testing the crane when it buckled at about 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Obradovic and other workers from the Kaverit Steel and Crane Company of Vancouver were testing the newly installed crane, designed to lift trailer containers on and off barges at the port.
The new crane was replacing a heavy lifting crane that had been in operation at the port since the early 1980s. The port paid $651,000 for the new one. Because of the accident, barge shipments through the port are not expected to resume until next week. reported kgw.com of Oregon.

It was also reported that Lorne Nakonechny, the Morris branch general manager, says " it’s the first such accident in the company's 28 year history. "
As reprorted by 580 CFRA radio from Ottawa, Nakonechny says 48-year-old Mile Obradovic “was a top tech”. ``It is a terrible loss; those are the only words that come to mind.''

Nakonechy has been in charge of Kaverit (Morris P&H for western Canada) only a few months. In reporting the hiring, a press release from Morris Materials Handling head office said: “Mr. Nakonechny served as the President of FCX Newman Hattersley, a valve manufacturer and distributor in Edmonton. Previously, Mr. Nakonechny served as President of Autotech Rebuilders and Distributors, Ltd. in Calgary. Mr. Nakonechny studied at the University of Alberta, Edmonton where he obtained a BA in Political Science.”
Kaverit, the same as most of the Morris organization has experienced radical personnel changes during the last 24 months.
An Investigation is underway to determine the cause and responsibility of the accident.

Arnold Cohin