Swung a 90 ton load in 18 mph gusts, learned my brake timing was off

Last Thursday on a job near the Port of Tacoma we had steady wind building up around noon. I usually give myself an extra half second on the swing brake when it gets breezy, but these gusts were coming in bursts, not steady. On the third pick I caught the load drifting about 4 feet past my mark and had to do a quick corrective swing with a tagline guy yelling at me to hold. Turns out the issue was I was feathering the pedal instead of using the detent to set the brake once the load passed center. Once I switched to a firm tap and let the machine settle, the next five picks were within a foot. Has anyone else had trouble adjusting brake timing when wind shifts mid shift, or do you just stick to one method all day?

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karen41010d ago

Wind changes everything, you gotta adapt or fight it all day.