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An old operator told me to stop flying blind on picks
Last month on a job in Tulsa, a guy with 30 years in the seat watched me lift a load and just shook his head. He said I was relying too much on the load chart and not reading the crane's feel through the controls. He made me shut down, tie off the load, and walk around the whole setup before my next pick. It was annoying but now I check my taglines and boom angle twice before I even start the lift. Anyone else had a veteran call them out on something basic like that?
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spencer_owens582mo ago
That old guy in Tulsa sounds like he'd hate my pre lift ritual.
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tessa_murray2mo ago
Wait, you're telling me there's operators out there who DON'T have a pre lift ritual that involves walking around the crane three times and muttering to yourself? That old timer would probably have a heart attack if he saw me checking my boom angle by squinting at it from across the lot instead of looking at the gauge. Honestly though, I bet he was secretly jealous you have a system that works for you, his probably just involves yelling at the nearest apprentice to go grab him a coffee. I gotta say though, I'm still not convinced that a pre lift ritual is any more annoying than having to re-tie a load because you skipped the walk around once and missed a soft spot in the ground.
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My pre lift ritual is mostly just hoping I don't accidentally hit something expensive. Seems to work about as well as the walking around thing.
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gracec161mo ago
Oh man, you and me BOTH. My pre lift ritual is basically just closing my eyes for a second and saying "please don't let me be the guy who tips over the rental crane." It's about as scientific as flipping a coin. Honestly, I think the walk around thing is just an excuse to procrastinate actually starting the lift. Like, you can take your time, don't have to think about the stress of the actual job for a few more minutes. But hey, if that old timer in Tulsa wants to walk in circles and yell at clouds, let him. He's probably the same guy who still uses a tape measure instead of a laser.
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