I finally understood what my old foreman meant about 'feeling' the load.

I was at a job site in Spokane last month and heard a young operator on the radio asking for exact boom angles and radii for every single pick. It made me think of my first foreman, a guy named Carl who ran a Manitowoc 4100 for thirty years. He'd always say you need to know the charts, but you also need to feel the crane talk to you through the seat and the sounds. He could tell if a load was swinging wrong just by the sound of the engine and the feel of the cab. Now everything is digital readouts and anti-two block alarms, which are great for safety, don't get me wrong. But I worry that new guys are just staring at screens instead of learning to listen to the machine and the rigging. Has anyone else had to teach an apprentice to look up from the monitor and just feel the job?

2 comments

2 Comments

calebm751mo ago

Honestly, is staring at a screen that bad if it keeps things safe? The old way wasn't always better.

anthony_lane551mo ago

Used to be all about the old school methods myself, @calebm75. Then I saw how much better cameras and sensors catch problems before they get out of hand. You're right that safety is the real goal, and sometimes a screen is the best tool for that job. It just gives you more eyes in more places at once. Hard to argue with results.