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Got chewed out for skimping on crane pad setup this morning
I was on a job in Austin today setting up for a tower crane pick, and I figured I could save time by using smaller pads than what the ground conditions called for. The foreman walked over after I leveled out and pointed out a soft spot I missed (only about 2 inches deep, but enough to shift the load). He made me redo the whole thing with bigger mats, which cost me an extra 45 minutes. I guess I was being lazy, but I've seen guys get away with it before. Have any of you had a close call from not checking ground bearing pressure close enough?
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cole_murphy2d ago
Buddy of mine named Rick was running a smaller crawler crane down in San Antonio last year. He cut corners on a pad for a 30 ton pick, just threw down some scrap plywood over some damp ground. The whole outrigger sank about 4 inches mid lift and the load started swinging wild. He got it down safe but the superintendent made him write up the whole incident for the safety file.
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thomas_price2d ago
A guy I used to work with named Dave tried the same thing near Houston a few years back. He was in a hurry on a hot afternoon and used a single layer of 1 inch plywood over some soft river silt. The crane settled unevenly about 3 inches halfway through the lift and bent a leveling jack before he could get it down. Took half the day to fix.
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