That time a rigger yelled at me for bouncing the load I listened finally

Working a tower crane in Charlotte last fall, I had this habit of dropping the hook a little fast before setting down. Nothing crazy, but the load would bounce maybe a foot. I figured the ground guy would just choke it up. But this old rigger, must have been 60, walks up after I set the beam and just lets me have it. Said I was gonna snap a choker or throw a load off the pad. He told me to think of the crane like a hand placing an egg, not a vending machine dropping a soda. That stuck with me. Now I slow the last 3 feet to a crawl and let the load sit for a second before I take any tension off. Never had a rigger complain since. Anyone else get a harsh word that actually made them a better operator?

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benreed12d ago

My uncle ran a rigging crew for 30 years and he would of laughed at that old guy. Slow setting is fine for beams on pads but Ive watched guys waste 10 minutes a pick doing that egg thing when the ground crew is just waiting to choke it up anyway. Bounce is your friend when your hook is swinging in wind or you got a load that needs to settle into slings. Ive seen more chokers snap from a load being dragged sideways while lowering slow than from a quick set that seats everything clean. That rigger probably also thinks you should hand signal every move instead of using the radio. Fast and smooth beats slow and nervous any day of the week.