That wind event in Odessa taught me to trust the chart, not my gut

Back in 2017 I was running a 300 ton crawler on a job outside Odessa, Texas. We were setting a big tank section and the wind meter said 24 mph with gusts to 30, right at our limit. I'd done this move dozens of times in worse wind, so I told the foreman we could squeeze it in. We got the load about halfway up when a gust shoved it sideways hard enough to swing the hook nearly two feet. Set it back down and called it for the day. Cost us about 6 hours and a lot of explaining. Since then I check the anemometer first and keep my opinions to myself. Anyone else had a close call that made them stop pushing the limit?

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kim_davis15d ago

Used to run everything off experience and what felt right. Got caught in a similar deal on a smaller rig and the numbers flat out said no, but I overrode it anyway. Load shifted on a boom extension and we spent a full day sorting out the mess. Chart dont lie, instincts get colored by ego and coffee.