Picked the manual rigging over the remote control, got a scare for it

Last month on a site in Columbus, I had to choose between using the remote control for the final lift or going old school with hand signals from my spotter. I went with hand signals because the load was swinging weird in the wind and I trusted my guy more than the joystick. Mid-lift, a gust shifted the beam and my spotter yelled out a quick correction that the remote would've missed entirely. We landed it safe but I'm wondering, has anyone else stuck with manual signals on a rough day and regretted the opposite call?

1 comments

1 Comment

keith94321d ago

Back in 08 on a bridge job in Akron, I watched a guy trust the remote through a gust and the beam clipped a scaffolding corner, bent it like a soda can. We had to stop the whole pour for two hours while they welded it back, so you made the right call. My spotter and I still use hand signals on any lift over 20 feet, just feels safer when the wind gets chatty.