The Design Community Hub

c/crane-operators

21

wadepalmer•17h ago

Old timer named Cliff told me to back off my spotter signals and I thought he was crazy

I was on a hospital build in Tulsa last August and Cliff (30 years on cranes) told me to stop over-signaling my spotter and trust the rhythm more. First two picks were scary quiet, but by lunch I was hitting my marks faster than ever without all the back-and-forth. Anyone else had a older hand give advice that went against everything you learned in training?

4

ray210•1d ago

Tried a new grease on the slew ring and got way more vibration than before

Switched to a different brand of grease last week on a Liebherr LTM 1050 I've been running. The old stuff was getting hard to find so I grabbed a tube of something the supplier recommended. After a full day of heavy picks, the slew ring started humming and vibrating like crazy. I thought something was seizing up. Pumped out the new grease and put the old stuff back in. Smooth as silk again. Anyone else run into grease that just doesn't work with certain machines?

29

thomas_johnson35•1d ago

That week two summers ago in Houston when nothing went right

I was on a job setting steel for a new warehouse out near the port. On Tuesday the load chart I had didn't match the actual boom angle I needed because the site layout was tighter than the plans showed. Had to stop everything and recalculate my picks which set us back about 3 hours. Then on Wednesday a swing brake line started leaking hydraulic fluid all over the cab floor. Took half the day to get a mechanic out and another hour to clean up the mess. Thursday morning a gust of wind caught a beam I was setting and spun it around pretty good. Scared the heck out of the ironworkers on the ground and the foreman chewed me out for not waiting for the wind to die down. By Friday I was just trying to get through the day without any more trouble. Has anyone else had a stretch where it felt like the crane itself was working against you?

23

perez.cole•2d ago

Old timer called me out for swinging too fast

Guy with 40 years in the seat told me I was bouncing the load every time I rotated. Watched closer and yeah he was right, slowing down the swing speed by like half made everything smoother. Anyone else get roasted by a veteran and change their whole approach?

3

eric359•2d ago

I finally figured out why my boom angle readings were always off

Been fighting with a Grove RT550 for months where the load chart never lined up with what I was lifting. Turns out the boom angle sensor was loose by about 2 degrees - a $5 bolt saved me a $600 service call. Anybody else ever chase a ghost like that only to find something dumb simple?

7

schmidt.blake•2d ago

Switched from hand signals to radio comms after a near miss on a job in Pittsburgh

I used to run crane signals the old way, full arm movements and whistles, for about 12 years. Thought it was fine until last spring when I had a 10-ton beam swinging near some workers and my spotter got distracted by a passing truck. He gave me a wrong hand signal and I nearly dropped the load on a guy's pickup. The next week I bought a two-way radio setup for 80 bucks and it changed everything. Now I just say "boom up" or "swing left" and the operator hears it clear even with wind or noise. I still keep the hand signals as backup if the batteries die. Have any of you had a close call that made you switch your communication method on site?

17

wadeyoung•2d ago

Remember when we used to hand signal everything before radios took over?

I was on a site in Baton Rouge back in 2003, flagged a swing wrong because the sun was in my eyes and the spotter couldn't see me, nearly took out a scaffolding crew before I yanked the brake and jumped down to wave them off, still makes me cringe thinking about it - anyone else ever have a close call that stuck with you?

14

noah_black•22d ago

The day a spotter saved my load swing

I spent 5 years thinking I could eyeball every pick solo, but last Tuesday a spotter on a job in Portland shouted at me to take my time with the boom angle. He was right, I had been swinging loads too fast and nearly hit a parked truck. Anyone else been humbled by a spotter pointing out something you thought you had down?

31

reeseanderson•23d ago

Old timer told me I was swinging too fast and it stuck with me

Back when I was about 2 years in, this guy named Jerry with 30 years experience watched me unload a flatbed in Houston. He just said 'slow down, you're making the load dance up there.' I thought I was being efficient but he showed me how a slower, steady swing actually saves time because you don't have to correct the sway. I cut my cycle time by about 5 minutes per truckload after that. Has anyone else had advice from an old hand that totally changed how you run your crane?

6

betty_fisher5•23d ago

That Tuesday when a 60 mph gust nearly tipped my 100 ton crawler

I was out on a site near Oklahoma City last month, we were setting steel for a new warehouse. Everything was fine until about 2 pm when the wind suddenly jumped from 25 to 60 mph in like 10 minutes. My load started swinging bad, I mean really bad, and I had to set it down fast before things got ugly. The guys on the ground were yelling over the radio but I could barely hear them. Has anyone else had a close call like that with sudden wind shifts on a job?

3

morgan_jenkins90•29d ago

Picked up a tip from a guy on a job site in Austin that saves me 20 minutes on every lift

I was working a tower crane job downtown Austin last month and this old operator showed me how to pre-set your tag lines before you even hook the load. It cuts out all that fiddling once the load is in the air. Any of you guys tried this or got a better way?

10

the_leo•29d ago

Had a swing cable snap on me mid-lift yesterday near the Port of Seattle

I was moving a 12-ton steel beam at the terminal when the cable just gave out with a bang, thank God nobody was underneath, and now I'm wondering what brand of cable everyone here trusts for heavy marine work because my supplier's been switching things up and I need a reliable replacement fast.

9

jade618•1mo ago

Am I the only one who switched from hand signals to radio comms and never looked back?

Tbh after a near miss last month on a job site in Austin where the flagger lost sight of me on a 50 ton pick, I grabbed a two way headset setup and I can't believe I spent years waving arms around like a fool, has anyone else made the switch and felt stupid for not doing it sooner?

13

logansullivan•1mo ago

Almost dropped a 12-ton beam at the Port of Baltimore last Tuesday

I was operating a Liebherr LTM 1050 at the Dundalk Marine Terminal last week, moving steel beams for a ship offload. The wind picked up to around 25 knots, and one beam swung hard when I was slewing... I nearly lost control of the load because I didn't account for the gust. Anyone else ever get caught off guard by sudden wind shifts on a waterfront job?

5

faithrodriguez•1mo ago

Just hit 1,000 hours on my Liebherr LTM 1050

Ngl I thought the hour meter would crap out way earlier given how rough we run this rig on coastal jobs. Has anyone else's older model held up way better than you expected?

13

veraramirez•1mo ago

Stopped a 50-ton load because some guy was standing in the blind spot waving at his buddy

He got all huffy when I asked him to move, but I'd rather take a 10-minute delay than explain to OSHA why I squashed someone on a Tuesday morning, so has anyone else dealt with site workers who think crane ops have eyes everywhere except the load radius?

15

michaelcoleman•1mo ago

Old foreman told me to grease boom every single day. I learned why the hard way.

I had a foreman named Larry on a job in Houston last year who kept telling me to grease the boom every morning even if it didn't look dry. I figured he was just being old school and wasting time so I skipped it for about 4 days straight. On the fifth day the boom started making this grinding noise during a pick. I stopped everything and checked and there was metal dust all over the extension section. Cost the company 3 grand to replace the wear pads and I got a write up. Larry was right and I was an idiot. Any of you guys had a boss drill something into you that turned out to save your ass later?

21

sullivan.john•1mo ago

My foreman told me I was binding the load wrong on a job in Phoenix last month

Honestly I've been running cranes for 3 years and thought I had it down, but he pointed out my tag line angle was off by about 15 degrees which made the swing sketchy. I started adjusting it based on wind direction and now picks feel way smoother even in gusts. Anyone else get a small tip from an older hand that totally changed their setup routine?

4

noah_black•1mo ago

My load line got tangled 80 feet up during a job in Portland

I was working a tower crane job downtown Portland last Tuesday, lifting steel beams for a 12 story building. The wind kicked up pretty bad around 3pm and my load line twisted into a nasty birdcage about 80 feet up. I had to stop everything and lower the hook real slow, letting the cable spin itself out. Took me nearly 45 minutes to get it sorted and I lost half the afternoon. Has anyone else dealt with a birdcage on a windy day? What did you do to fix it?

16

uma_patel19•1mo ago

Honestly thought the new anti-sway software on our Manitowoc was just a gimmick until I had to place a 15-ton HVAC unit on a 6th-floor pad in downtown Seattle last week with 20 mph gusts.

Tbh, the computer kept it so steady my spotter just gave me a thumbs up and said 'smooth like butter,' so has anyone else had a game-changing experience with a specific tech upgrade they initially doubted?

23

thompson.xena•1mo ago

Been using the same load chart method for 15 years and just found out it's flawed

I was on a site in Denver last month, setting up a 250-ton crane for a bridge piece. My chart said we were good at 85 feet, 30 degrees. An old rigger I've known for years walked over, pointed at the outrigger pads, and said 'Your chart's lying, the ground here is soft as butter.' He was right. I'd been trusting the book numbers without thinking about ground pressure for over a decade. We had to move the crane 40 feet and use bigger mats. How many of you actually double-check the chart against the real ground conditions every single time?

2

adams82•1mo ago

I finally listened to the old rigger who said my hand signals were too fast

He pulled me aside after a lift in Portland last month and said, 'Kid, you're waving like you're swatting flies. My guy on the ground is 60, not 20.' I realized I was rushing my signals, assuming everyone could keep up. Now I slow each motion down by a full second and hold it clear. The communication is way smoother and the crew seems less stressed. Anyone else had to adjust their pace for an older crew member?

9

graymiller•1mo ago

Appreciation post: Hit 5,000 hours on my current machine

It's a 2018 Link-Belt 110, and hitting that number made me realize how much I trust its swing. Anyone else have a rig they just know inside out now?

11

dylan124•1mo ago

Shoutout to the old timer at the yard in Phoenix who showed me his rigging trick

He saw me struggling with a tricky lift and just said, 'Kid, sometimes the best tool is a longer sling.' He pulled a 20-footer from his truck and the whole thing balanced perfectly. Anyone else have a simple piece of advice that just clicked like that?

7

gonzalez.phoenix•1mo ago

I finally got that stuck counterweight pin out after three hours of fighting it

We were setting up a 90 ton mobile on a tight site in Pittsburgh, had to pull the counterweight for transport. The main pin on the rear section was just... frozen. Tried heat, tried a 20 pound sledge, tried a hydraulic ram from the shop truck. Nothing. The rigger foreman kept saying 'it's just a pin, hit it harder' but it felt welded in there. Ended up having to drill two small relief holes in the sleeve to break the rust seal, then it popped like nothing. What should have been a 20 minute job ate half our morning. Anyone have a better trick for seized pins that doesn't involve bringing out the drill?