I finally quit hand signals for blind picks after a near miss in Houston

For my first 8 years operating I did every blind pick on hand signals through a spotter, and I swore radios were for guys who couldn't read a load. Last March a spotter waved me left when he meant right on a 12,000 lb HVAC unit over a building in Houston, and I stopped the swing maybe 2 feet from a guy on the deck. Now I run a dedicated channel with my rigger and repeat every command back before I move, and honestly the pick goes faster because nobody's guessing. Any of you still working blind on signals only, or did something have to scare you straight first?

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ben2064d ago

I read a crane forum post last year where a guy said his company made radios on blind picks a hard rule after a similar deal in Dallas. He said the repeat-back thing felt dumb for about a week, then it just became how they worked. Two feet from a guy on the deck is enough to make anybody a believer.

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