Little Crane That Could

Steve Connally

Steve Connally

Been here much more than a while
Location
Suffolk, Virginia
So for one using a small crane with a short reach presents a less than graceful pic. I'm still working with the boss on how to find a happy medium between how he wants it done and how I was taught to do it. 2 totally different approaches. This was early on when I first started there. I try to avoid dynamic loading of the boom and he doesn't see it as much of an issue as I do. Anyway opinions are always welcome.

Second with the new apple music I can't figure out how to put a song into it even if I purchase the song through iTunes and download it to the MAC. I finally just gave up and you can hum your own favorite tune.
Basically i'm just posting this to get it off my damn computer because it's really nothing special other than the fact nobody posts video's with little cranes.
 
Steve,
What are you concerned about? I thought that all looked pretty good. I am guessing that crane does not have an LMI, correct? I ask this because a few of the pieces that came off a little aggressive (however not really that aggressive), were due to the boom not being plumb over the load. Usually when an operator is trying to get as much capacity as they can, or their unsure of what the piece will weigh they boom back a little, so when the piece it cut it swings towards them. You would be surprised what booming back by 5 degrees can do to your capacity. However it does lead to a little shock loading.
 
Yeah no lmi he likes everything to swing away from me so he booms back quite often. I try as much as I can to set up for no movemeant but with a short boom it's really hard to balance so most of our picks are but heavy so to prevent an opposite flip but up. It's just not the same as having 40' of boom above the tree and it really challenges me climbing when I can't use the ball for positioning on really long limb walks. I guess they aren't that bad considering the boom length.
 
Silky smooth, no, but I sure didn't see anything in that video that even made me blink, much less question it. Yes, I always try for ZERO movement on the picks, but on my most recent crane job, which had my favorite crane op at the controls, we bounced a few of them more than I expected. I came down and had a chat with him, asking if we were out of sync that day or what. No, he said, he knew he was well within his capacity and voluntarily took the bounce because he was a little concerned about my position and just wanted a little more assurance it was going to swing clear of me. Not a lack of skill from either of us, but actually him having a better understanding of where he was and how it was going to affect him. I still apologized, but he said don't, we're all good and he's just covering my back a little more than usual. Sounds like your op was doing the same thing.
 
He is pretty amazing with that crane. He's been running it for almost 20 years. Just put about 7k into a rebuild of all the pulleys on the boom as well as replacing the anti 2 block line and weight. Thanks for the feedback.
 
Jeff said:
Silky smooth, no, but I sure didn't see anything in that video that even made me blink, much less question it. Yes, I always try for ZERO movement on the picks, but on my most recent crane job, which had my favorite crane op at the controls, we bounced a few of them more than I expected. I came down and had a chat with him, asking if we were out of sync that day or what. No, he said, he knew he was well within his capacity and voluntarily took the bounce because he was a little concerned about my position and just wanted a little more assurance it was going to swing clear of me. Not a lack of skill from either of us, but actually him having a better understanding of where he was and how it was going to affect him. I still apologized, but he said don't, we're all good and he's just covering my back a little more than usual. Sounds like your op was doing the same thing.
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I agree with all of this. Also, he was really close to the tree which means he can have a slight bit more of shock loading(should be avoided, but if you have to its best to be close) Its the loading on the crane boom when your stretch way out that is a concern.
He needs an LMI with a radius gage. It will make his life much easier. It't just nice to have to allow the operator to feel comfortable with booming way down.
All in all, a nice job, Your utilizing the tools you have in the most professional way.
 
ROYCE said:
He needs an LMI with a radius gage
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After being on it 20 years? Not sure if that would actually help or hinder him. I'm not actually arguing against you Royce, because your point is valid, but I know a bunch of really good equipment operators that learned how to do it old-school and can't stand all of the "buzzers and whistles" on the new stuff. Depends on his mental openness to learning. Personally, I think the best guys are the old ones that learned by feel and experience, but have transitioned to the new machines and embraced the technology. I think they use the LMI for confirmation of what the seat of their pants is already telling them.
 
OTOH, Steve, it sure sounds like you're happier with this crew than your last job. I've never done a crane job, but have worked around cranes for almost 40 years. Where I work, ALL lifts must be vertical ... absolutely no side-loading. In fact, I was a co-inventor on a recently issued patent for a portable lifting device with the omnipresent no-side-load requirement. Sorry, but this lifting device cannot be used in any type of tree work.
 
Steve I cant see all the angles but my question is why the crane? Looked like the tree could be pieced small. The lawn looked pretty rough.
 
Steve Connally said:
Why not the crane? We own it and it really sped up the process. Not everything could be pieced out easily due to wires. The crane cut hours off that job. Basically every tree we do if we can get a crane to it we do. Saves time/money and keeps the yards looking good!!
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Cool, couldn't see all the variables from the video.
 
Nice work, nothing wrong with tip tying letting the pick swing a little. I tend to rig my picks this way as I find it faster than trying to perfectly balance every pick. even if that means taking smaller bites.
How much stick does that crane have? never worked with one that small but often used a 28t with 92' of main boom and it was perfect for most situations.
 
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