Heard a foreman say cranes are just 'big forklifts' today

I was on site near the Port of Savannah this morning. Foreman from some other crew walks by, looks at my LTM 1050, and says 'it's just a big forklift, nothing special.' I wanted to laugh. Forklifts don't have to factor in wind speed or swing radius. They don't need daily load charts or ground bearing pressure checks. I've spent 12 years learning rigging math and cable tensions. That guy probably never even leveled a crawler on soft dirt. Has anyone else dealt with people who think our job is just pushing a joystick?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenam8418d ago

Him saying that makes me wonder if he even knows what a load chart IS. Did he watch you set up your outriggers or calculate your radius at all during the day? Forklifts have a solid base and a mast that goes straight up and down, but a crane has to handle dynamic loads and swing forces that change constantly. The second you factor in wind on a tall pick or dealing with a blind lift over a wall, it's a COMPLETELY different level of planning. Truly curious if that foreman has ever actually run a rigging operation himself, or if he just talks.

the_felix18d ago

Did you ever actually pull the load chart out and walk him through it point by point? Sometimes you gotta make them look at the numbers themselves before they get it.

sean4818d ago

Yeah I showed him the chart once and he looked at it like it was written in Greek.