Crane accident 8/31/21 Washington State

[Stumpsprouts]

In a thinly veiled attempt to wipe this etch-a-sketch clean, can someone clarify something to me… is this crane operator or company involved in multiple separate fatalities or catastrophic incidents?

There have been two cranes flipped during tree lifting operations in Asheville in the last year that I know of. There is enough hubris and blame deflection. I’ve worked with operators who give zero shits, they scare me to death. I much prefer the operators who knows what their limit for me is to the penny, and comes out of the cab to verify before something on the edge of that proposed limit. And has respect for the dangers and unpredictability of this work.

 

[AlanKekoa]

In a thinly veiled attempt to wipe this etch-a-sketch clean, can someone clarify something to me… is this crane operator or company involved in multiple separate fatalities or catastrophic incidents?

There have been two cranes flipped during tree lifting operations in Asheville in the last year that I know of. There is enough hubris and blame deflection. I’ve worked with operators who give zero shits, they scare me to death. I much prefer the operators who knows what their limit for me is to the penny, and comes out of the cab to verify before something on the edge of that proposed limit. And has respect for the dangers and unpredictability of this work.

Heavy, does anyone have links to these old incidents having trouble finding in google search, the same company flipped both cranes?

 

[Steve Connally]

Then act like it. And it will not be needed.

You truly don't know the audience you're taking to

 

[Steve Connally]

Surprising after all these years of honesty, openness, sharing incidents, and trying to pass on information for the betterment of the industry.........carrying myself with dignity, not bashing or attacking others or openly criticizing people's posts.......being transparent and showing my willingness to learn from others.....not being overly confident with my skills and realizing what I don't know...... Somebody has finally figured me out for the hack I am. Gad I can finally come out of the closet and stop acting like the 25 years of experience I have has any validity. I can stop acting like i'm safe and knowledgeable. I can stop trying to share experiences and knowledge that I clearly don't have because of the one recent freak accident. Thank you @AlanKekoa for allowing me to step out of the facade I've created over a very long history on this forum. I can now act like the piece of shit you have exposed of me. I guess instead of not attacking you in any shape or form and suggesting you maybe have a little respect for people who have been on here for eons before you insult them I should have just been a dick about it. Wow I feel better now. Huge weight lifted off me. Now I can go spike prunes and rig off my climbing line. Maybe next crane job I'll see what the safety factor is and try to pick way over my chart. Again thanks for the release. This has been weighing on me for so long as I sit and worry every night if people like and respect me. Oh and for shits and giggles, please give me one example where I pointed fingers at anyone and acted like I know everything.

 

[AlanKekoa]

Surprising after all these years of honesty, openness, sharing incidents, and trying to pass on information for the betterment of the industry.........carrying myself with dignity, not bashing or attacking others or openly criticizing people's posts.......being transparent and showing my willingness to learn from others.....not being overly confident with my skills and realizing what I don't know...... Somebody has finally figured me out for the hack I am. Gad I can finally come out of the closet and stop acting like the 25 years of experience I have has any validity. I can stop acting like i'm safe and knowledgeable. I can stop trying to share experiences and knowledge that I clearly don't have because of the one recent freak accident. Thank you @AlanKekoa for allowing me to step out of the facade I've created over a very long history on this forum. I can now act like the piece of shit you have exposed of me. I guess instead of not attacking you in any shape or form and suggesting you maybe have a little respect for people who have been on here for eons before you insult them I should have just been a dick about it. Wow I feel better now. Huge weight lifted off me. Now I can go spike prunes and rig off my climbing line. Maybe next crane job I'll see what the safety factor is and try to pick way over my chart. Again thanks for the release. This has been weighing on me for so long as I sit and worry every night if people like and respect me. Oh and for shits and giggles, please give me one example where I pointed fingers at anyone and acted like I know everything.

Give yourself a break I wasn’t saying you where that bad of a hack you realize how many old school guys are out their who still reject the internet and the need to talk about themselves, I really don’t find it the place to be demanding for respect because you’ve been talking on some forum for longer than others. I’ve seen glimpses of the work Rico does and I do respect his work, how could you not.. I have learned that when the guys on here make mistakes they’re not mistake they’re apparently “freak accidents” but when it happens to someone else and they’ve yet the receive the info on how it happened they have all the answers as to what someone else did wrong. There’s no such thing as a freak accident.

 

[Steve Connally]

Debatable but before you personally attack me or my integrity have your facts together. Suggest I carry my self like I know everything or point fingers at others? You should know what you're taking about before you put that on me. Where am I spending so much energy talking about myself? Like I said before, know your audience before you start pissing in other people's cereal. The respect doesn't come from posts. The respect comes from the fact Rico is the real deal. I wouldn't necessarily do things exactly how he does it and likely he wouldn't do it my way eithe but we can and have learned from each other. I've seen the work he's done and what he's posted. I respect him because he's not a paper tiger. He's not hiding behind a keyboard. He's actually been out there doing what he says he does and not just saying he does it. I guess its a generational thing for me. My military experience and my public service career taught me to respect those that came before you and learned so much through experience. The old fat fireman may have been a bad ass in his day. The broken old military vet may also have been tough as nails. Respect should be given. If its not justified, the truth will become clear. It's never a good idea to walk into a room and insult everyone and tell them they don't know shit your first visit. Give it time and if that's the case then by all means tell them. You've walked into the room and insulted most of the people on this thread. I fail to see the logic but its your choice. If I didn't kick sand on your shoes then leave me out of it. Its uncalled for and disrespectful as you know nothing of me and clearly haven't done your research. Lastly, please tell me how I didn't own the incident that happened to me? What excuses did I present that weren't my fault? Again, you really are barking up the wrong tree with me. You're accusations and suggestions lack even the slightest glimpse of validity.

 

[evo]

To whom it may concern,

1. No one here has suggested that they are special.

2. No one here has suggested that they are perfect.

3. No one here has suggested that they never make mistakes.

3. You assume that my recent injury was the result of a mistake on my part? Silly fucking assumption...

Your friend the "pretender"

View attachment 77743

I want this as a poster on my shop wall

 

[evo]

In a thinly veiled attempt to wipe this etch-a-sketch clean, can someone clarify something to me… is this crane operator or company involved in multiple separate fatalities or catastrophic incidents?

There have been two cranes flipped during tree lifting operations in Asheville in the last year that I know of. There is enough hubris and blame deflection. I’ve worked with operators who give zero shits, they scare me to death. I much prefer the operators who knows what their limit for me is to the penny, and comes out of the cab to verify before something on the edge of that proposed limit. And has respect for the dangers and unpredictability of this work.

The company has had a few ‘events’..

 

[southsoundtree]

Higher than average W/C incidents

 

[AlanKekoa]

Debatable but before you personally attack me or my integrity have your facts together. Suggest I carry my self like I know everything or point fingers at others? You should know what you're taking about before you put that on me. Where am I spending so much energy talking about myself? Like I said before, know your audience before you start pissing in other people's cereal. The respect doesn't come from posts. The respect comes from the fact Rico is the real deal. I wouldn't necessarily do things exactly how he does it and likely he wouldn't do it my way eithe but we can and have learned from each other. I've seen the work he's done and what he's posted. I respect him because he's not a paper tiger. He's not hiding behind a keyboard. He's actually been out there doing what he says he does and not just saying he does it. I guess its a generational thing for me. My military experience and my public service career taught me to respect those that came before you and learned so much through experience. The old fat fireman may have been a bad ass in his day. The broken old military vet may also have been tough as nails. Respect should be given. If its not justified, the truth will become clear. It's never a good idea to walk into a room and insult everyone and tell them they don't know shit your first visit. Give it time and if that's the case then by all means tell them. You've walked into the room and insulted most of the people on this thread. I fail to see the logic but its your choice. If I didn't kick sand on your shoes then leave me out of it. Its uncalled for and disrespectful as you know nothing of me and clearly haven't done your research. Lastly, please tell me how I didn't own the incident that happened to me? What excuses did I present that weren't my fault? Again, you really are barking up the wrong tree with me. You're accusations and suggestions lack even the slightest glimpse of validity.

I wasn’t actually even talking about you except for the irony of the one comment, all I was doing was making a point about peoples own actions, I just hate seeing people gossiping and jabbering without actually knowing what happened I want to know what happened in this event as much as anyone and have worked with my fair share or sketchy operators, people where bagging on some guy named Jake who apparently wasn’t even on the job site, all I said was it wasn’t exactly a freak accident a snare doesn’t just hit you while in a bucket if you approached it right. People are getting all offended that I’m simply saying we all make mistakes and over here trying to defend themselves as they did no wrong. Let us not get to boastful and proud which often leads to these kinds of mistakes and accidents and focus on the facts learning and being strait forward, I’ve often found those that truly know the most are the quietest about it and not putting down others, that just shows weakness to me. Whatever your guys issues are with some guy named Jake it still doesn’t appear to me as if he had anything to do with this incident or was responsible for the companies recklessness in the past. I just want to hear facts that’s why I come to a place that is supposed to have respectable peers and elders in the industry.

 

[AlanKekoa]

The company has had a few ‘events’..

Do you have any links to “events” in the past that show what actually went wrong? Also if this company is really this bad and to be avoided it is doing us all a service for anyone to be informed on who to avoid working with.

 

[Steve Connally]

I wasn’t actually even talking about you except for the irony of the one comment, all I was doing was making a point about peoples own actions, I just hate seeing people gossiping and jabbering without actually knowing what happened I want to know what happened in this event as much as anyone and have worked with my fair share or sketchy operators, people where bagging on some guy named Jake who apparently wasn’t even on the job site, all I said was it wasn’t exactly a freak accident a snare doesn’t just hit you while in a bucket if you approached it right. People are getting all offended that I’m simply saying we all make mistakes and over here trying to defend themselves as they did no wrong. Let us not get to boastful and proud which often leads to these kinds of mistakes and accidents and focus on the facts learning and being strait forward, I’ve often found those that truly know the most are the quietest about it and not putting down others, that just shows weakness to me. Whatever your guys issues are with some guy named Jake it still doesn’t appear to me as if he had anything to do with this incident or was responsible for the companies recklessness in the past. I just want to hear facts that’s why I come to a place that is supposed to have respectable peers and elders in the industry.

And again you say “you guys”. Where did I participate in anything like what you’re describing? My point is don’t be a dick. We can play semantics all day. If you actually read the post about my injury I never said freak accident until this thread when you attempted to call me out as not having any validity since I just had a work related accident. Therefore I must not know what I’m talking about.

 

[AlanKekoa]

And again you say “you guys”. Where did I participate in anything like what you’re describing? My point is don’t be a dick. We can play semantics all day. If you actually read the post about my injury I never said freak accident until this thread when you attempted to call me out as not having any validity since I just had a work related accident. Therefore I must not know what I’m talking about.

If you didn’t that’s why I’m saying you’re taking offense to comments that weren’t even supposed to be about you. I’m glad we agree let’s not be dicks, simple as that. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[ATH]

.... what would you suggest instead of using a crane as a rigging point in that scenario. ....

I've never worked with a crane...in that tree, could smaller pieces be rigged off of the tree?

 

[Crimsonking]

I just hate seeing people gossiping and jabbering without actually knowing what happened

Yet you jabber and attack members here who have earned the respect of the community without actually knowing them.

Yes, I jumped into the fray without a dog in the fight. My hope is to either rile you up enough to get sick of it here and move on, or clue in and see that there are many of us here who won’t put up with these shenanigans. It seems that some know how to join here and earn respect. Others join and burn out because they have no clue. Others start out rough but have a lightbulb moment and change their tune. Which will you be? The first option is already off the table.

 

[AlanKekoa]

I've never worked with a crane...in that tree, could smaller pieces be rigged off of the tree?

Thanks for bringing it back to what’s important, while others still jabber without answering the questions, I watched pieces of that video that was linked and it appears as though it was a tight drop zone and they where rigging of the crane to save time and effort, because they most likely would have to limb the whole tree to have been able to properly rig out the top and they wanted to do crane picks with the rest of the tree below that one point they couldn’t reach ?

I've never worked with a crane...in that tree, could smaller pieces be rigged off of the tree?

 

[Stumpsprouts]

I've never worked with a crane...in that tree, could smaller pieces be rigged off of the tree?

The distinction is that cranes in tree work are used to lift pieces that will, more or less, remain stationary once they are fully cut, and not create any dynamic forces on the boom. What folks are referencing here as ‘using the crane as a rigging point’ is subjecting it to massive dynamic / shock loading. At least that’s my understanding of what they are describing.

Your question is a valid one but I don’t think it relates to why the crane got flipped. It looks like the setup would have worked for traditional boom crane lifting.

I don’t know why it flipped and would like to know.

 

[AlanKekoa]

Yet you jabber and attack members here who have earned the respect of the community without actually knowing them.

Yes, I jumped into the fray without a dog in the fight. My hope is to either rile you up enough to get sick of it here and move on, or clue in and see that there are many of us here who won’t put up with these shenanigans. It seems that some know how to join here and earn respect. Others join and burn out because they have no clue. Others start out rough but have a lightbulb moment and change their tune. Which will you be? The first option is already off the table.

what’s it? You don’t make the rules you’re just the “King” of internet tough guys, that’s wonderful sorry to rain in on your parade of internet ego boosting and confirmation bias, I’m sure you feel proud of all the hard keyboard warrioring work you do trying to piss people off and get them to leave forums that weren’t meant for your bullshit, must be nice to think about wt the end of the day. Like I said we can go all day all week all year if we want if you really want to keep playing games and missing the point.

 

[27RMT0N]

I really don't understand what you are getting out of continuing this argument.

 

[ATH]

The distinction is that cranes in tree work are used to lift pieces that will, more or less, remain stationary once they are fully cut, and not create any dynamic forces on the boom. What folks are referencing here as ‘using the crane as a rigging point’ is subjecting it to massive dynamic / shock loading. At least that’s my understanding of what they are describing.

Your question is a valid one but I don’t think it relates to why the crane got flipped. It looks like the setup would have worked for traditional boom crane lifting.

I don’t know why it flipped and would like to know.

Not why the OP crane flipped, but like you said, not what a crane was designed for.

I guess I see it as a "just because you can doesn't mean you should" situation. Even with the small landing, could they have rigged pieces down, then lifted them out with the crane to avoid the dynamic loads??? There is always another way. Yes, that other way might take longer. But ER wait times are long these days...and finding a heavy tow truck to roll a crane back over takes a long time too.