A worn sling the sensors missed has me doubting our tech reliance

Last month on a high rise site, I was lifting a beam when strong winds hit. The load indicator on my crane said everything was okay, but I felt a weird shake through the controls. I stopped the lift and climbed down to inspect the rigging by hand. Sure enough, one of the slings had a big fray that the onboard sensors did not catch at all. My crew thought I was overreacting, but fixing it probably stopped a nasty accident. Now I think we trust computers too much and our own eyes and hands too little. Most operators I know swear by the new tech, but I say it can fail. When have you guys gone against the readouts and been right?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

the_stella7mo ago

That reminds me of an article I read last week. It was about how sensors in self driving cars can get confused by weird weather. Makes you wonder where else the tech might just miss things.

6

the_nina7mo ago

Seriously, they get thrown off by rain? That's the most basic weather. If they can't handle a storm, what happens with something actually wild, like sudden fog or a dust storm? Makes the whole system seem pretty shaky, doesn't it?

2

the_henry7mo ago

Yeah, like what Stella said about sensors.

1