Walked a job site in Tacoma and saw a rig set up 14 feet from a live power line, is that on the operator or the GC? | Crane Operators

Emery King · 2026-10-18T20:50:04.137779+00:00

I was dropping off some forms at a site near the Port of Tacoma last week and the whole time I kept staring at this 60-ton rig with its boom tip sitting maybe 14 feet off those overhead lines. The spotter was on his phone half the time and nobody seemed worried, but I know the minimum approach distance rules are not a suggestion. Here's my question, when the GC tells you to set up there and swears the lines are de-energized, do you take their word or do you make them put it in writing before you swing a single load? I hear both sides on this, some guys say you refuse and walk, others say you document it and do the lift. Curious what the folks here actually do when the pressure is on and the super is breathing down your neck.

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Walked a job site in Tacoma and saw a rig set up 14 feet from a live power line, is that on the operator or the GC? | Crane Operators - The Design Community Hub