Had a brake shoe snap during a pick last Tuesday in Akron

We were lifting a 4 ton HVAC unit onto a roof and the load brake let go about 15 feet up. Dropped the whole thing a few inches before I hit the emergency stop. Turns out the brake shoe was worn down way past the wear indicator. My crew thought I was crazy for not seeing it during the pre-op. I felt like an idiot. Anyone else had a brake failure sneak up on them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyk2629d ago

That brake shoe being worn past the indicator is the same thing as people ignoring the check engine light in their car for months. We all get so used to things working fine that we stop paying attention to the small warning signs, whether it's equipment or just our own health. It's wild how easy it is to overlook the obvious stuff when you're in a routine, lol.

murray.jana1mo ago

Hit the emergency stop" after only dropping a few inches? That's some incredible reaction time right there. Glad you and the crew are okay.

spencer_park2629d ago

Is that reaction time something you train for @murray.jana or just pure instinct? I've seen guys freeze up for a solid second when stuff goes wrong, so hitting it that fast is impressive. Glad muscle memory kicked in before the machine took a bigger dive.