c/crane-operators

Serious question, had to pick between a 3 part line or a single line for a tricky lift in Spokane.

Last Tuesday I was setting a big AC unit on a roof downtown. The space was real tight, maybe 15 feet from the nearest building. My rigger wanted a 3 part line for the control, but I was looking at the chart and thinking a single line would get me the speed to beat the afternoon wind. I went with the single line... and man, it was a white knuckle ride for a second there. The load started to swing when a gust hit, and I had to fight the stick to keep it steady. Got it down safe, but my heart was pounding. The extra speed just wasn't worth the pucker factor in that spot. Anyone ever been in a similar bind with line choices in a cramped setup?

Had a real eye-opener with a load chart in Memphis last month

We were setting roof trusses on a new build, using a 50-ton mobile crane. The chart said we were good for the radius, but I didn't account for the new, heavier composite shingle bundles already staged on the roof deck. When I went to swing the last truss, the load moment indicator started flashing and the crane felt sluggish. I had to set it down fast and re-check everything. Turns out we were way closer to the limit than I thought. Anyone else had a close call because of extra materials on site they didn't plan for?

I tried a new way to check my crane's level on a site in Phoenix

For years I just used the built-in bubble level on the machine. Last month on a job with uneven ground, I brought a digital level from my toolbox. The digital one showed I was off by almost two degrees, which the old bubble level didn't catch. It made a huge difference in how smooth the picks felt. What other small tools have you guys added that made a big change?

Heard a rigger say 'the load is never light' and it stuck with me

I was on a site in Tacoma last month, moving some steel beams for a parking garage. My signal guy, this older dude named Ray, said something while we were setting up. He pointed at a bundle of rebar and said, 'Remember kid, the load is never light. It's either under control or it's not.' I used to think that line was just something old timers said to sound tough. But last week I had a simple pick, just some plywood sheets, and I got sloppy with the tagline. Wind caught one, it swung hard, and almost clipped a scissor lift. Nothing hit, but my heart was in my throat. Ray's words hit me right then. It doesn't matter if it's 500 lbs or 50 tons, if you don't treat every lift like it's critical, you're asking for trouble. Now I run through my mental checklist for every single pick, no exceptions. Anyone else have a simple phrase that changed their daily routine?

Unpopular opinion: I was wrong about hand signals for years

For my first five years on a tower crane in Chicago, I thought I could get by with just the radio. I saw a guy drop a load because his radio cut out and the signalman was waving like crazy. That was two years ago. Now I make sure my whole crew knows the basic signals cold, and we drill them every Monday morning. How many of you still rely only on the radio?

Showerthought: My old hand signals versus the new radio system

I ran a tower crane for a job in Portland last year where we used the standard hand signals, and then this spring on a different site they had us use a two-way radio with headsets. The difference was huge. With the radio, we moved about 15% more material per day because I could get clear confirmations and ask questions without anyone running around. On the Portland job, a misread signal from 20 stories up almost caused a rebar bundle to swing into the scaffold. Has anyone else's company made this switch, and how did your crew adjust?

Warning: a weird trick for spotting a bad cable spool from the ground

On a job in Tacoma last fall, we had a new spool of cable that kept feeding rough, making the load swing. The rigger swore it was my hoist control. I got down and ran my hand along the cable as it fed off the spool, feeling for tiny kinks you can't see from the cab. Found three spots about 15 feet apart where it was slightly crushed from bad winding at the factory. Marked them with tape and avoided those sections, smooth as butter after. Anyone else have a ground check method for suspect cable before you even make a lift?

Just hit 5,000 hours on my tower crane without a single lost time incident

I was filling out my logbook this morning and the total caught me off guard. Five thousand hours, all on the same job site in Cincinnati, moving steel for this new hospital. It's not about the number itself, it's about what it means. Every single lift, every hand signal from the crew, every morning safety huddle added up. I remember a day last winter with 40 mph gusts where we had to shut down, and being frustrated felt stupid by lunch. That kind of patience is in that number. It's a quiet win that says the boring stuff, the double checks and the walk arounds, actually work. Anyone else have a streak they're quietly proud of?

Shoutout to the old timer in Cleveland who watched me set a load for a solid minute

He just said 'your tagline's got more slack than a fishing line, kid' and I realized I'd been eyeballing it wrong for years. Anyone else get a simple tip that fixed a bad habit?

Just read about the Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1's maximum boom length

I was looking through some old spec sheets online and saw that thing can reach out 330 feet with the main boom. That's longer than a football field. I knew it was a big machine, but seeing the actual number really put it in perspective for me. Has anyone here ever run one of those on a job?

I read that most crane accidents aren't from gear failure, and it made me rethink a lot

Found a safety report from the NCCCO that said over 80% of incidents are due to human error, like bad communication or planning. I always thought equipment checks were the main thing, but this shows we need to focus more on the crew talk before the lift. Anyone else shift their safety focus after seeing a stat like that?

Just realized I wasted over $800 on a 'universal' remote control system for my old truck crane back in 2015.

Appreciation post: a simple hand signal change that saved a tricky lift

We were setting a 15-ton HVAC unit on a tight rooftop in Philly, and the spotter kept losing sight of me behind a parapet wall. Instead of the usual 'swing' signal, we switched to a clear 'raise boom, lower load' combo for the final few feet. It felt weird at first, but it got the load placed perfectly without a single radio re-transmit. Anyone else have a non-standard signal they use for blind spots?

Rant: A new guy on the site asked me why I was checking the load chart for the third time

We were setting steel in Kansas City last month, and I was running a Grove RT880E. This apprentice rigger walked up and said, 'You already looked at that book twice, what's left to know?' I just told him the chart doesn't change, but my focus might, and a missed decimal is a bad day. He actually stood there and watched me do the whole pre-op. Anyone else have a simple moment that made a new hand actually stop and think?

Had a crazy week with the new Liebherr LTM 1300 at the Denver site

We were setting 12 massive precast panels for a parking garage, and on Thursday the wind picked up way past the chart. My spotter, Mike, called up and said, 'The flag on the fence is straight out, we gotta stop.' I sat there for two hours waiting for a gust to drop below 15 mph, watching the clock tick. Anyone else ever have a job where the weather just ate a whole day's pay?

My company switched from paper logbooks to a tablet app for crane inspections last month

Before, we'd spend maybe 20 minutes at shift start filling out the same checkboxes and hunting for a pen. Now, the app has photos of each component to tap, and it flags any missed items. The whole thing takes under 10 minutes and the boss gets the report instantly. Has anyone else's yard made this kind of switch, and what app are you using?

Setting a 40-ton AC unit on a roof in a 30 mph wind last Thursday

The wind was pushing the load hard, and the signal from my spotter kept cutting out. I had to inch it up over the edge of the building, maybe an inch at a time, for almost two hours. My rigger had to use a tag line that was twice as long as normal just to keep it from spinning. We got it down on the pads without a scratch, but my hands were shaking after I set the hook. Anyone have a good method for keeping clear radio contact in high wind like that?

Got called out for my hand signal speed on a site in Phoenix

My spotter told me straight up, 'You're moving too fast, I can't read you,' after I nearly swung a load over a parked truck. I slowed my signals down by half and now I count to two between each one. How do you guys make sure your signals are clear without slowing the whole lift down?

I was setting up on a tight site in Boston last week and realized I've been eyeballing my outrigger pads wrong for years.

Spent $400 on a fancy laser level for my crane's outriggers and it was a total waste because the sun washed it out completely.

Has anyone found a reliable way to check level in bright conditions without just trusting the old bubble vials?

Heads up about the new construction site off Route 9 in Millville

I drove by there yesterday and the ground support for the mobile crane looked like it was sitting on pure, uncompacted fill dirt that had just been dumped, which is a major red flag for anyone setting up.

Spent half a shift on a simple load swing that should have taken minutes

I was setting a steel beam on a site in Denver last week, and the wind picked up just as I started my swing. I tried to fight it with small joystick moves, but the load kept drifting. My spotter and I had to stop, wait for a full lull, and then inch it over. What should have been a 5 minute pick turned into a 45 minute headache. How do you guys handle a sudden gust when you're already committed to a move?

I used to think the new wireless load indicators were just a gimmick, but seeing the readout on a 150-ton Liebherr in a tight Philly job site changed my view completely.

The foreman showed me the real-time swing weight data on his tablet during a tricky lift over an active street, and it prevented a potential overload situation that the old analog gauge might not have caught in time. Anyone else had a specific tech upgrade actually save your bacon?

Vent: Tried a new way to set up my outriggers on a tight city job and it backfired

I was on a job in downtown Charlotte last Thursday, setting up a 70-tonner on a site with maybe 6 inches of clearance on one side. The ground looked solid, compacted gravel, so I figured I could get away with using just the steel plates under the outriggers instead of the full timber cribbing I usually bring. My foreman, Mike, even said 'looks good from here.' Well, after about an hour of light picks, I felt the whole cab shift maybe two degrees. Shut everything down and hopped out. The front right outrigger had punched through the gravel into some soft, wet clay nobody knew was there. It took us three hours with a jack and extra timbers to get it stable again, pushing the whole schedule back. I learned that 'looks solid' isn't good enough, and that old rule about always using cribbing on unknown ground is there for a reason, even if it takes an extra 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a site bite them because you skipped what seemed like a small step?

Had a main hoist brake start slipping on a tower crane last Thursday

We were lifting a 3,500 pound concrete bucket about 80 feet up. I felt the load drop maybe an inch when I stopped, and the brake was hot to the touch. My lead hand said to just adjust it and keep going to hit our pour target. I shut it down and called the mechanic, which put us behind for the afternoon. In my experience, you never mess with a primary brake, but some guys think a minor adjustment on the fly is fine if you're watching it. What's your rule for something like this? Do you stop the job right away or try to manage it until a planned break?