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UER Forum > UE Main > Chasing Cranes (Viewed 6720 times)
techy 


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Chasing Cranes
< on 8/25/2016 11:53 PM >
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So now that I'm living in a city growing faster than it knows how to deal with, there are a ton of highrises (read: cranes) going up everywhere.

I've been doing Urbex for years, and climbing cranes has always intrigued me, but I'm just worried about security systems / silent alarms or things like that at work site or on cranes. Has anybody encountered anything like that or have any tips?




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Once-ler 


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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 1 on 8/26/2016 1:51 AM >
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They are not too hard to catch, they can't run fast at all ;)



~O








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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 2 on 8/26/2016 2:35 AM >
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If I'm in a risky place, I always like to have at least two possible exits. The thing about cranes is, that's not possible.

One way up, one way down.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 3 on 8/26/2016 3:00 PM >
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Security systems on job sites in the US are pretty rare. When there are systems, they are normally pretty obvious and look something like these. Many have a flashing light on them. The idea is draw attention to the fact that they really do have an alarm and not just a sign saying so.

https://www.wcctv....oyment-site-tower/


For a tower crane base, normally when they are secured, they just have an 8' tall fence around the base and a locking door. If you see something that looks like an alarm on the door, just climb over the fence.




Now the big thing. Be careful, I know of two explorers from UER that died from falls on job sites.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 4 on 8/26/2016 5:35 PM >
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Posted by piplnr65656


For a tower crane base, normally when they are secured, they just have an 8' tall fence around the base and a locking door. If you see something that looks like an alarm on the door, just climb over the fence.


This.

The only crane I've ever climbed was also the only one I can remember seeing that didn't have an eight foot tall hoarding around the base, I guess they thought the 15 foot tall gate and fence around the site would have been tall enough to keep people out!

Sometimes, so I've heard, you can find you get all the way to the top where the cabin is and there is a locked hatch you cannot get around. Also it's worth bearing in mind the T shaped cranes are much nicer to climb as you can get all the way along the beam, whereas it can be a real struggle on a Y shaped construction.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 5 on 8/26/2016 7:05 PM >
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Around here many developers have actually started increasing their use of security cameras on high-rise construction sites. There are at least two 40ish story cranes within a 5 minute drive that I've investigated but not climbed because the entire site is littered with cameras. I'm usually not deterred by cameras alone, but a google-search of the security company tells me they're all remotely monitored using software that can detect motion, and actually tell the difference between a human figure and a racoon, dog, cat, etc... The software allowing them to do that is actually becoming quite common and we're going to start seeing it more and more. It's way more diligent and much cheaper than paying a human, and these security companies can effectively monitor hundreds of locations from a single command post, only dispatching real humans when needed.

I'm especially wary of being caught on a crane, as you just know that the police, fire department, paramedics, etc will all show up and make one hell of a scene. Of course there's always a risk, but I try and be prudent and avoid unnecessary ones if and when possible.



[last edit 8/26/2016 7:07 PM by terapr0 - edited 1 times]

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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 6 on 8/26/2016 8:03 PM >
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The equipment gets cheaper and better all the time but paying someone to watch cameras seems like it would still be relatively expensive. Especially at 4:00 am on a Sunday.

The real danger at that time is damn dog walkers.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 7 on 8/26/2016 8:29 PM >
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Posted by terapr0
Around here many developers have actually started increasing their use of security cameras on high-rise construction sites. There are at least two 40ish story cranes within a 5 minute drive that I've investigated but not climbed because the entire site is littered with cameras. I'm usually not deterred by cameras alone, but a google-search of the security company tells me they're all remotely monitored using software that can detect motion, and actually tell the difference between a human figure and a racoon, dog, cat, etc... The software allowing them to do that is actually becoming quite common and we're going to start seeing it more and more. It's way more diligent and much cheaper than paying a human, and these security companies can effectively monitor hundreds of locations from a single command post, only dispatching real humans when needed.

I'm especially wary of being caught on a crane, as you just know that the police, fire department, paramedics, etc will all show up and make one hell of a scene. Of course there's always a risk, but I try and be prudent and avoid unnecessary ones if and when possible.


Smart cam or network. Property set up they are formidable and can give real time alerts of zone breaches.
No one need monitor the cams; the software does that... the price has been coming steadily down and the level of artificial intelligence/accuracy of these systems increasing especially at the civilian level.

The biggest danger is still the same; gravity.
3 points of contact always.
Avoid climbing wet steel.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 8 on 8/26/2016 8:38 PM >
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Posted by blackhawk
No one need monitor the cams; the software does that...


I've seen that indoors but I don't think the software can tell the difference between people and birds yet.

Maybe PIR though?




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 9 on 8/26/2016 9:07 PM >
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Posted by Orangedrink


I've seen that indoors but I don't think the software can tell the difference between people and birds yet.

Maybe PIR though?


They can glean tag numbers, car make/color, recognize individual faces, a person race,M/F, track a car or person for as large as the network, recognize returning people or vehicles, look for specific actions such as leaving a package by the curb. It all depends on the software and programming.
A smart cam is just a fixed cam; it's the software that makes formidable.
A sophisticated smart cam or system is a bitch...

I got tagged by a network in Chester PA around 2006. They knew everywhere I had been, even on foot over a 2 day period. It failed to glean my third trip there.*snicker*
DHS or the FBI was running that one. Even got an unannounced FBI interview with two polite, but very professional field agents. The one was the supervising agent for that area, gulp.
Fun times.



[last edit 8/26/2016 9:16 PM by blackhawk - edited 2 times]

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Orangedrink 


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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 10 on 8/27/2016 1:56 AM >
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Posted by blackhawk


They can glean tag numbers, car make/color, recognize individual faces, a person race,M/F, track a car or person for as large as the network, recognize returning people or vehicles, look for specific actions such as leaving a package by the curb. It all depends on the software and programming.
A smart cam is just a fixed cam; it's the software that makes formidable.
A sophisticated smart cam or system is a bitch...

I got tagged by a network in Chester PA around 2006. They knew everywhere I had been, even on foot over a 2 day period. It failed to glean my third trip there.*snicker*
DHS or the FBI was running that one. Even got an unannounced FBI interview with two polite, but very professional field agents. The one was the supervising agent for that area, gulp.
Fun times.


Eesh. I'll be more careful climbing cranes then.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 11 on 8/27/2016 3:13 AM >
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Posted by Orangedrink


Eesh. I'll be more careful climbing cranes then.


It's a crap shoot which companies are using them. A more rudimentary system can set up for temporary sites; advanced systems of a permanent nature take longer to program. The one I ran into was an advance prototype system they were using and testing primary for drug busts but also to monitor possible terrorist activities. I was pointing my cam in and at all their hot zones... oops.

Be wary of 911 hot spots/high dollar companies such as large petrol storage facilities, -prisons-, petrol chemical plants, large bridges, drug companies, electric generating plants, etc. These are more likely to have them and high spots near them included in their alert zones.
The Reagan International Airport has one. Pfizer drugs uses them...




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piplnr65656 


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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 12 on 8/27/2016 1:28 PM >
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Posted by Orangedrink


Eesh. I'll be more careful climbing cranes then.


But, I would wager 99% of construction sites don't have them. The systems are expensive and temperamental in an outdoor environment. The only time they are used is a very sensitive site and then only rarely. Kinder Morgan tried using drones at some of their facilities but had crazy issues with them and stopped.




It was in September, we saw their silhouettes fade away, outlined on the horizon against the rays of the setting sun.
piplnr65656 


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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 13 on 8/27/2016 2:00 PM >
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Posted by blackhawk

The Reagan International Airport has one. Pfizer drugs uses them...


The thing about Reagan though is there is not much to see except for the old presidential waiting area. Still fun to get to explore it though.


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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 14 on 8/27/2016 3:05 PM >
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Posted by piplnr65656


But, I would wager 99% of construction sites don't have them. The systems are expensive and temperamental in an outdoor environment. The only time they are used is a very sensitive site and then only rarely. Kinder Morgan tried using drones at some of their facilities but had crazy issues with them and stopped.


The system I ran into was 10 years ago. I'd say for a prototype implementation it was pretty rock solid. For under a grand I could secure a crane and more with a rudimentary motion detecting cam system. For a large company $10-20G is chomp change which what an advanced system is probably going for that can cover a construction site.

Large cities or ones with federal funding for systems can include any object in the cam's range as an off limit zone with real time alerts and images.
If you get tagged by a smart cam they won't tell you most likely. These systems having been tagging people left and right for over 10 years now. The FBI drug task force used the Chester smart cam system to put dozens if not hundreds in prison.

Police take smart can data seriously, a picture is worth rolling on...

"Accordingly, the police give very low priority response to burglar alarms and can take from twenty minutes to two hours to respond to the site. By contrast, the video analytic-detected crime is reported to the central monitoring officer, who verifies with his or her own eyes that it is a real crime in progress. He or she then dispatches to the police who give such calls their highest priority."
https://en.m.wikip...video_surveillance

Posted by piplnr65656


The thing about Reagan though is there is not much to see except for the old presidential waiting area. Still fun to get to explore it though.



It is simply an example. The coverage extents to the waterway and has different alert zones for people/vehicles as they approach the airport from recreational areas. Breaching beyond those tolerated zones into a restricted one puts out a real time alert. The machines are watching...



[last edit 8/27/2016 3:21 PM by blackhawk - edited 1 times]

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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 15 on 8/27/2016 5:54 PM >
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We are talking about two different things. You are talking about a city wide system like they use in the UK. For a single jobsite, its a bit different and rare.

The thing is, is there is no reason to do it unless it's a site requirement. As long as you have the site fenced and signs posted and we have done our due diligence, don't really care if someone climbs the crane and falls off. When the site does require monitoring, they normally want a system that is watched by a human, not fully automated. Unless you are trying to UE a high end or sensitive site, your probably fine. Just scope it out and eyeball the shit out of it. Don't just shoot from hip.

The few companies that have made presentations to us, the hardware was cheap or free. It was the monitoring and subscription service that was expensive. For instance the one we are currently on a trial run with is just $800 a month, per site. We have 107 active job sites just in the US. That's $85,600 a month.

We recently had a large robbery at a jobsite in NJ. All the fancy system could tell us is the exact time it happened and that they did not enter or exit through one of the gates.

It also depends on where in the world you are. In Berkley Ca, we had some protesters climb a tower crane and the police talked them down with some coffee and donuts. In Pakistan, we had a guy climb a tower crane and the guards shot him off of it about 5 minutes after he got to the top.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 16 on 8/27/2016 7:13 PM >
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Posted by piplnr65656
We are talking about two different things. You are talking about a city wide system like they use in the UK. For a single jobsite, its a bit different and rare.

The thing is, is there is no reason to do it unless it's a site requirement. As long as you have the site fenced and signs posted and we have done our due diligence, don't really care if someone climbs the crane and falls off. When the site does require monitoring, they normally want a system that is watched by a human, not fully automated. Unless you are trying to UE a high end or sensitive site, your probably fine. Just scope it out and eyeball the shit out of it. Don't just shoot from hip.

The few companies that have made presentations to us, the hardware was cheap or free. It was the monitoring and subscription service that was expensive. For instance the one we are currently on a trial run with is just $800 a month, per site. We have 107 active job sites just in the US. That's $85,600 a month.

We recently had a large robbery at a jobsite in NJ. All the fancy system could tell us is the exact time it happened and that they did not enter or exit through one of the gates.

It also depends on where in the world you are. In Berkley Ca, we had some protesters climb a tower crane and the police talked them down with some coffee and donuts. In Pakistan, we had a guy climb a tower crane and the guards shot him off of it about 5 minutes after he got to the top.


Systems can be a single cam or many. Single cams can have embedded software. A supervisor can easily monitor the system. A 6 years ago $20G is what Pfizer paid for the one multicam controller.
Even a cheap Samsung smart cam gives you the ability to use your smartphone to view motion alerts.
With a little thought it wouldn't be hard or expensive to set up a rudimentary system.

Most construction and demo companies are more concerned with theft or equipment damage/sabotage. Explorers are just caught in the web; they aren't the prime concern.
However all the contractors I've dealt with don't tolerate trespassers.

These systems will continue to grow in popularity and use. I've evaded them at least twice, but been tagged twice. Fortunately I was doing nothing illegal however if I hadn't had permission to be on the roof on the Chester Power Station the outcome would've been different.
The other time I was trespassing on posted land. Guess it thought I was a deer... cause I bolted when I spotted it




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 17 on 8/29/2016 2:40 AM >
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Woah, thanks for all the input everybody! I decided to go for it! More pics to follow!

Didn't have any issues, and amazingly, most of the cranes around me are not boxed at the bottom. Lots more to go







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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 18 on 8/29/2016 3:03 AM >
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I've probably climbed about a hundred cranes, and I've encountered alarms or cameras maybe three or four times. It's not unheard of, but surprisingly rare.

Larger construction sites may have 24 hour security guards, but smaller ones don't. Security's usually not that hard to avoid if you're just careful and aware of yourself. The REALLY big construction sites sometimes have 24 hour workers on site, but this is generally pretty obvious. In those cases, I've had success with going on thanksgiving, Christmas day, or Easter Sunday.




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Re: Chasing Cranes
< Reply # 19 on 8/29/2016 6:51 AM >
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Kick ass picture man, I can't wait to see the rest of it.

Blackhawk and Pip, thanks for all the info. You guys have quite the wealth of knowledge on this stuff. I live in a small town so there aren't any cranes to climb but I'd like to try it some day. I love exploring and I'm an adrenaline junkie so this is perfect.




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