Had that gut punch moment with my slings after 4 years

I was rigging a 12-ton beam last Tuesday when the old-timer from the site next door just looked over and said 'your choker hitch is gonna slip, kid.' He was right. I had been wrapping the sling backward for years and never even realized it. Anyone else ever get called out on something basic you thought you had down cold?

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andrew6932mo ago

Honestly, I used to think stuff like that was just old guys being overly careful. That line about "slowly twist and then let go" hit me hard because I had a sling fail on a 6 ton load last year and that's exactly what happened. I thought I had it all dialed in but it was twisting under tension the whole time and I just didn't notice. I totally get what you're saying about bad habits forming when nobody's watching. Changed my whole view on having a second set of eyes on my rigging now.

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ruby_murphy2mo ago

That old-timer probably saved you a bad day. The thing about slings is they don't usually slip all at once, they just slowly twist and then let go when you least expect it. Biggest wake up call I ever got was from a guy who just watched me work for ten minutes without saying a word. Then he walked over and showed me how my tagline was routed wrong on a load I'd been picking the same way for three years. Made me realize most of us pick up bad habits fast when nobody's watching. Now I make a point to have someone check my rigging every few months just to catch that stuff. It's embarrassing but beats dropping a beam through a roof.

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