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Load shifted on me at the Port of Tacoma and I will never skip a pre-lift walk again
Three weeks ago I was on a 90 ton Grove at the Port of Tacoma picking containers off a chassis, and during the lift I heard a pop I had never heard before. I had walked the load but the twist locks were only half seated on one corner, and when that container came up about 6 feet the whole thing tilted maybe 15 degrees toward the water side. Nobody got hurt, but my rigger said his heart stopped, and I had to set it back down slow with a spotter talking me through every inch. Turns out a yard guy had bumped that chassis with a hostler about 20 minutes before I got there and never flagged it. Now I do a full walk around every single load, even if the same chassis was fine on my last pick, and I make the spotter look at the locks with me instead of waving me on. It cost me 4 minutes per lift and I do not care, because I was one bad swing away from dropping a box on a guy. What do you all do when a load feels off mid lift, set it down or ride it out?
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fisher.thomas11d ago
Wait, so the yard guy bumped a chassis and just rolled off without telling anybody? That is the most Tacoma thing I have ever heard. Riding it out mid lift sounds tough but honestly if you already feel that pop, trying to muscle it back down is how guys get squished, so slow and steady with the spotter was probably the right call. Four minutes a lift is nothing compared to a dropped box, keep doing the walk.
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