I had a load start swinging bad on a job site in Denver last Tuesday

The wind kicked up out of nowhere and I nearly let it hit a steel beam before I did a quick boom down and swung through it, but now my boss wants me to write up a report - has anyone else had to deal with a sudden gust like that and what did you do to keep it steady?

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2 Comments

the_sean4mo ago

Yeah that's not quite how you'd write that up. A boom down while you're already swinging is usually the last thing you wanna do in wind, you're better off booming up and using the load's inertia to steady it out. Just say you corrected for a sudden gust and maintained control, no need to overcomplicate it.

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smith.blair4mo ago

@the_sean makes a good point about booming up instead of down in wind. I've been in that spot before where a gust hits and your gut says to drop the load, but going up lets the crane take the force better and gives the load room to settle. A boom down in wind can actually make the swing worse because you're changing the radius fast while the load is already moving. Your written report should stick to the facts - you had a sudden gust, you adjusted the boom smoothly, and you kept the load under control the whole time. The key is explaining that you used the machine's design to work with the wind instead of fighting it, which is what any good operator learns after getting caught a few times.

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