Boom flex caught me off guard on a 30-ton pick in Austin

I was setting HVAC units on a 4-story rooftop last Tuesday. Wind was steady at 15 mph, nothing crazy, but the load started swinging wide when I extended to 80 feet. Had to ride the swing brake and boom down fast to stop it from smacking a parapet wall. The foreman chewed me out for not using tag lines, and he was right. Anyone else skip tag lines on smaller jobs and regret it later?

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simonreed13d ago

It's funny how skipping the simple safety stuff just because it's a "quick job" is basically how everyone fumbles in all kinds of work, not just rigging. I see it all the time in the kitchen, like when I don't bother to label a prep container because I'll use it in 20 minutes, then someone nearly sends out a plate with old cream sauce instead of the fresh batch. Or my buddy who patched a drywall hole with a coffee can because he didn't want to drive to the store for a proper patch kit, and now his whole ceiling has a crack running through it. That decision to leave out the tag lines wasn't really about the wind or the weight, it was betting that this time would be the exception where the shortcut works. The moment we trim that tiny corner is when the whole house of cards wobbles, and we're just lucky when it doesn't fall.