Safety stand down after a crane tip in Charlotte changed my whole approach

We had a crane almost go over on a site near South End last spring, and it made me rethink how we do pre-lift meetings. Now I'm debating whether daily toolbox talks are enough or if we should switch to site-specific written plans for every single pick. Has anyone else changed their safety procedures after a close call?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia_hayes1d ago

Actually, the whole "daily toolbox talks are not enough" thing kind of misses the point. I've been on sites where they had written plans for every pick, and guys just signed them without reading because they were tired of paperwork. One superintendent I worked with switched to having the operator and rigger talk through the plan out loud together before each lift, no paper involved. We had a close call with a mobile crane on a slope last fall, and that verbal back and forth caught a soft spot in the soil that the written plan had glossed over because it was copied from the previous week. The real issue with your idea is that more paperwork doesn't fix bad communication, it just buries it.

kelly.keith20h ago

Brought that up with a crew once and it worked way better than any form I ever filled out. Just had them stand by the load and point out the hazards they actually saw that day, not what the generic plan said. @patricia_hayes totally right, guys tune out the paperwork but they listen when someone's looking them in the eye.