Scary crane operator

[RyanCafferky]

It is incredibly rare for me to bail on a job and it takes very special circumstances for it to happen. The job that this incident happened took an incredible amount of coordination to pull off so bailing would have essentially taken the job from something profitable to something the company would have to pay to finish. They had the neighbors service line dropped, the road was closed, and the crane was cribbed up in an awkward spot. All that said, if I had felt that the crane operator was likely to continue making egregious mistakes I would have bailed. Thankfully he slowed his pace, followed my signals to a T, and worked well with the crew to get the rest of the tree on the ground.

I have bailed on many jobs over the years. Often it comes down to am "I" fit for duty? When I am feeling good mentally and physically, and am not distracted by other factors in my life, I can deal with some major cards stacked against me. If too many of those things are the other way, my patience is limited and thus my trigger to bail gets a lot easier to pull. I haven't watched the video in question but I can picture it perfectly and it brings me back to many jobs with similar circumstances where I teetered back and forth between staying and going. Often the only thing keeping me there was how balanced I was, not the skill set of those I happen to be working with.

 

[Steve Connally]

Steve-

I'm certain that folks here would appreciate you sharing your experiences here rather than continuing down the mostly on topic rabbit hole...

I’ll revisit this later

 

[Sfoppema]

I like the comms for real time communication. Sounds like a bad operator, but could have helped avoid problems with a quick "hey guy keep in mind that limb on the butt when setting down", which, so far as I know, there is no hand signal for.
Crane company we use mostly didn't have one the first time I used them. I couldn't stand it so bought one and just gave it to them. Owner ended up buying two for every crane. Such a difference I would feel naked without it.

 

[Steve Connally]

I've had several close calls while operating near lines. Usually its when the contractor is pushing mt to do something that makes it easier for them and harder for me. I was working in "The Fan" in Richmond. Very old and tight neighborhood. If you looked at the wires it would look like a neighborhood in NYC in the 20's. Just a grid of wires. Every corner looks like a # Taking down a nasty hackberry and their loader dropped out so they wanted me to load logs in the dump bed. Trying to put logs on the ground isn't as easy with a K Boom as a cable crane. I have to chase the aces down to avoid side loading the boom. Everywhere the log goes, the boom tip needs to follow. Anyway I was moving this very oddly shaped log when trying to avoid one line lead to me seeing the flash and seeing the power jump from the wire to the log. I boomed away quickly and luckily I didn't toast the computer on the crane. I was already frustrated and pissed so I wasn't as clearly focused. Just friday I was working a cedar tree. 4 leads coming out of the main trunk. Brush thick as crap and covered in english and poison ivy. His bucket operator didn't sho to work so they didn't bring the bucket. Naturally they were doing everything possible to not have to climb this damn mess. I did everything I could with the grapple. I agreed to pick the trunk and 2 leads. I didn't want to. There was brush on the back side and I was working near transmission lines. Not primaries but transmission. They had the damn chipper parked on top of me and between the lines, my brand new truck, and the fruggubg chipper, they left me no room to safely put the pipe down. Wind was 20mph with gusts up to 30. Like I said, the struggle landing logs, much less 25' logs with a knuckle boom is real. It was just a struggle and I managed to avoid a catastrophe but earned a few more grey hairs. Being an operator is a tough line. You want to help out the guys you're working for as much as possible, sometimes at greater risk to yourself. Also hanging a bunch of different climbers every day is not fun either. Some guys are great and some really suck, I'm talking really really suck. Anyway, communication between the operator, climber and ground crew is essential. When I do crane work and i'm the climber I ALWAYS have a spare headset for the operator. Even if i'm in clear view, we need communication. I have the perch and the responsibility to let the OP know or remind them to look out for obstructions they may not see or think are farther away than they are. Trust me, sometimes a wire in open space looks much farther away than it actually is. I've avoided disaster a few times by hearing "line, line, line" in my headset as i'm slewing. Being an OP is really a much more stressful job than you'd think. I'm responsible for everyones life because if something goes wrong its gonna be catastrophic. Once the climber cuts, responsibility is over for that pick. Not at all saying who's rite or wrong, just that shit can and will happen and communication helps reduce that shit immensely. Some crane operators, like tree guys, just suck and are under qualified to pick up trash in a parking lot. Some are good and trying really hard but are working against the shitheads they have around them bringing them down. Others stuff just goes great every job and they all go home smiling.

Again no judgement on the OP or any of the commenters. Just how I see life from my deck. I honestly gave up on reading the thread after the video and the debate on the video maker. I don't follow him and have my own personal feelings about how he works and the influence he has on his young and inexperienced, impressionable followers. This isn't the place to share them and honestly I don't care enough about it to make a fuss. I stay in my own circles and follow those I respect. Plus now a days everyones a 20 year vet as soon as they climb their first Bradford pear removal. No body cares unless they see pics of it on social media. Respect for the old timers is lost!!

Thats my rant. Sorry Anyway cudos @RyanCafferky for considering the pros and cons of walking away. It's always the best choice to listen to the inner voice!!!

 

[allmark]

And sometimes your emotions especially when frustrated can interfere with your judgement and decision making process. This doesn’t just apply to tree work, but anything you do.

I once witnessed a guy throw a backpack blower out of a bucket from a roof because it wouldn’t start. Doesn’t mean he’s not a safe tree worker, it means his emotions got the better of him this one time.

And yes, all it takes is one time for something catastrophic to happen.

But...

Not saying it’s right by any means and certainly not safe and I’m not defending it, but that’s also a factor to consider.

I actually recently had a talk with my employee about this as part of our discussions on jobsite safety etc. I encourage him and I also try to be aware of it in myself that if emotions start coming into play for whatever reason, then sometimes taking a break to reset and get re-focused is in order.


@Stumpsprouts I was just curious, did you mean you have homeowners sometimes help you rig down pieces with the porta wrap if you’re by yourself, etc.?

But he complained about the ground not taking care of his equipment when the saw dropped then threw his gear from the tree

 

[climbingmonkey24]

But he complained about the ground not taking care of his equipment when the saw dropped then threw his gear from the tree

He threw his slings etc. Not a fucking saw. He also was in an emotional state, which is totally understandable considering his life is on the line and the ground people he is working with are clearly inexperienced.

Even the most experienced climbers can experience emotion under stress / frustration.

You can clearly see the saw drop after the ground person tied the rigging line onto it. After the ground person said he knew how to use a porta wrap when it was obvious he didn’t know what he was doing.

Travor gave the ground person every opportunity to just be honest about his experience level so he could teach him but instead the guy said he knew what he was doing.

I can see how that would piss someone off.