The paper deals with derrick cranes (derricks), that are equipment typically used in mining industry and the focus is the analysis of few robustness scenarios. Derricks are composed by built-up steel members, which are widely and efficiently used in hoisting applications, due to theirs high payloads at relevant outreaches. As during the in-service use local damages might occur, aim of the paper is to study how such damages should influence the overall structural performance. In particular, reference has been made to a derrick for which six geometrical configurations and five different damage scenarios have been analyzed. Owing to the extensive use of angles in the built-up component of each derrick, structural analyses have been carried out by using a commercial refined finite element analysis package (FEAP) offering the warping torsion as additional degree of freedom for each beam node. Research outcomes allow for a clear identify the parts of derrick which should be protected and well-designed to guarantee a robust structure for the total in-service life.