Saw something wild at the new high-rise site in Charlotte

Honestly, I was driving past the new construction on South Tryon last Tuesday and saw a mobile crane lifting a massive AC unit onto the roof. The thing is, the operator had the load swinging like a pendulum in a 15 mph wind. Ngl, it looked sketchy as hell from the ground. I get that deadlines are tight, but that's how you get a rigging failure or worse. Has anyone else seen operators taking risks like that just to save a few minutes?

4 comments

4 Comments

wade_west5628d ago

That crane on South Tryon is a known problem spot. I watched them last month trying to set glass panels in worse wind, and my whole crew just stopped to stare. You can see the stress on the cables from the street, it's crazy. What's the rush that makes that kind of risk worth it, you know?

noahgreen28d ago

You mentioned seeing stress on the cables, but from my view that's just normal cable movement under a live load. I've been running a crane for twelve years, and what looks scary from the ground is often just the machine doing its job. A 15 mph wind is well within limits for a lot of lifts, and a little swing is expected. Don't you think people are quick to judge without knowing the load charts or the plan?

chen.olivia28d ago

Totally get where Wade is coming from. Seeing that kind of movement from the sidewalk would make anyone's stomach drop. Twelve years of experience doesn't change how it looks to the public when things seem shaky. Sometimes the guys on the ground have a valid point about the pressure to just get the job done.

corah7518h ago

Yeah, but from my spot on the 5th floor across the street, that swing looked controlled. They had tag lines on it and the operator was moving real slow into the wind. Sometimes what seems wild is just a tricky lift being handled carefully.