Last Tuesday was the worst shift I've had in 6 years on the boilermaker crew

We were swapping out a tube bundle at a refinery near Gary, Indiana, and the crane operator misread the lift plan by 3 feet. The bundle swung into a header box and cracked it, setting us back a full day. Has anyone else had a single miscommunication turn a good week into a nightmare?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.terry27d ago

3 feet off a lift plan? That's bad math for sure but a cracked header box gets welded and you're back at it. You really calling a one day setback a nightmare after 6 years in this trade?

rowan96927d ago

Man, that's rough. I've had a crane operator misread a plan by two feet on a drum swap in Baton Rouge, and it bent a nozzle flange so bad we had to cut it off and weld a new one. My advice is to start walking the lift plan on the ground with the operator before the pick, pointing out every obstacle by hand. Also, get a second set of eyes on the hand signals, have the foreman or a journeyman watch the hook clearance from a different angle. It feels like overkill until it saves you a cracked header box.

sage_green27d ago

Been there. Redundancy is your friend now. Make them read the lift plan back to you before the hook ever leaves the ground. Saves everyone's day.