Worst week of my crane career - load slipped on a wet Monday

Last spring I had a Monday that still makes me cringe. We were setting HVAC units on a roof in downtown Cleveland, and a surprise rain shower left the boom greasy. I was lifting a 4 ton unit when the tagline operator lost his footing on the wet gravel. The load swung maybe 2 feet before I caught it, but that second of free swing scared the crap out of me. The site super yelled at me for not drying the cables first, but who expects a thunderstorm in May? My whole week was shot because I spent the next 3 days checking every sling and shackle twice. Has anyone else had a close call from sudden weather changes?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_ross11d agoMost Upvoted

That 4 ton unit swinging just 2 feet doesn't sound like a huge deal to me. I've seen loads do way worse on dry days with nobody blaming the weather. Drying the cables before every lift? That's a nice thought but completely unrealistic. You'd never get anything done on a job site, especially not in Cleveland where it can rain five times in an afternoon. Sounds like the super was just looking for someone to yell at.

lisa_jones2110d ago

Used to think the same way @shane_ross, but seeing a load shift like that during a wet lift changed my mind. One bad cable slip could turn a 2 foot swing into a dropped unit real fast.