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Just realized I've been setting my outriggers wrong for years
Back on the Seattle waterfront job in 2019, I'd just eyeball the level and go by feel. Now I always use a digital inclinometer on the carrier frame before I even touch the outrigger controls. The change came after a near-tip on a soft patch that the foreman spotted. Has anyone else switched to a specific tool for their setup routine?
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ninaowens2mo ago
Honestly, the tool is just one part of it for me. What really changed was checking the ground itself before the rig even gets there. I started carrying a cheap soil probe in my truck, the kind gardeners use. You'd be surprised how many times the surface looks solid but there's like six inches of crap fill or old asphalt chunks right underneath. It takes two minutes and has saved my butt more than the fancy level ever did. The inclinometer tells you the machine's angle, but that probe tells you if you should even be setting up there in the first place.
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aaron3052mo ago
Wait you find old asphalt chunks under the dirt? That's wild lol. @ninaowens you just made me realize I've never actually checked what's under the grass on some of my sites.
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mia7001mo ago
Right? It's always the stuff you don't see that gets you...
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nancyn692mo ago
That soil probe trick is genius for finding hidden junk. But what about when the ground is good and the machine is level, but the load itself is the problem? We had a big maple limb shift in the rigging once. The whole crane felt different, like it was breathing wrong. Now I watch the load chart like a hawk, but I also make my ground guy call out the weight of every pick before it leaves the ground. It's that second check that catches the dumb mistakes.
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