Old Lattice boom gave out on me last month. 50 foot drop.

I was lifting a 4,000 pound AC unit on a job in Phoenix. Nothing crazy. But the boom had a hairline crack I missed during my morning inspection. It snapped at 30 feet up. Unit hit the ground, boom swung wild. Luckily nobody got hurt. But it shut down the whole site for a day. My boss chewed me out hard. Now I run my hands over every inch of that boom before I start. You guys ever miss something small that turned into a big deal?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray_patel17d ago

Damn right I have. Few years back I was running a 30 ton crane and missed a small crack in a weld on the turntable bearing. It was hidden under caked on grease. I did my walk around, banged on stuff like usual, never saw it. That crack let go while I was swinging a load, whole cab shook like an earthquake. Scared the hell out of me. What worked for me was I switched to a full soap and water washdown on the boom and turntable every Monday morning before any lift. No more hiding under grease or dirt. I also use a bright LED light and a small mirror on a stick to check hard to see spots. It adds ten minutes but saves a world of trouble. Don't beat yourself up too hard. We all learn the hard way in this trade.

jason75217d ago

Man, that mirror on a stick trick is gold. Why didn't I think of that?