Lifted a steel beam 80 feet yesterday with a 5 knot gust and almost lost it

Was setting a beam on a commercial build in Wichita and a sudden crosswind caught the tag line just as I was swinging it into position. Had to set it down and wait 20 minutes for the wind to die down, so now I'm checking hourly wind forecasts before any tall lift. Has anyone else had a close call with wind that made you change your pre-lift routine?

2 comments

2 Comments

wren_jackson6d ago

The wind is no joke on tall lifts, especially with tag lines acting like sails. Five knots sounds light but it's enough to get the rigging swinging if the beam catches it wrong. I always keep a anemometer in my truck now (a cheap one from Amazon does the job) and check it right before the hook goes up. Waiting out a gusty window is better than explaining to the supe why the beam got away from you. That 20 minute wait probably saved you a really bad afternoon.

the_jana6d ago

You've had a beam actually get away from you before, or is that worry based on seeing it happen to someone else? Because I've watched a beam twist on tag lines in what felt like barely any breeze, and the guys on the ground looked like they were fighting a sailboat in a storm. What do you do when you're already committed and the wind picks up mid-lift, do you have a cutoff point where you just set it down and walk away no matter what the foreman says? I feel like that's where the real test is, not just checking before you start but having the guts to stop it when it goes bad.