5 years running cranes in Houston and I finally saw what a bad outrigger setup can do

Last Wednesday on a job near the Ship Channel, one of the newer guys set up on what looked like solid ground but it was loose fill from an old pipeline trench. His crane tipped about 4 inches before we caught it, has anyone else seen ground conditions that looked fine but turned out to be garbage underneath?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthewross13d ago

And that's exactly the kind of thing that'll make you double-check every single spot you park on, even if it looks like concrete. I've had buddies in Beaumont tell me about similar situations where old utility fills or even just rain-soaked clay gave way without any warning signs on top. Ground's tricky like that, especially near the Ship Channel with all the historical digging and backfilling they've done over the years.

rowannelson13d ago

Jumped on a job near the refineries once where the ground looked like packed dirt but turned out to be a old buried concrete slab that had cracked underneath. Set a mat on it and watched it sink about three inches before we pulled the truck back. Made me a whole lot more careful about where I park ever since.