Had a 10 ton beam swing sideways on me yesterday

I was picking a steel beam at a job site off I-85 when the wind caught it just wrong and started spinning. Had to set it down fast on a concrete barrier to avoid hitting a crew member. Anyone else ever had a load go rogue on you mid lift?

3 comments

3 Comments

young.michael2d ago

Settling a load on a concrete barrier sounds like a bad day, but calling it "rogue" makes it sound like the beam had a mind of its own. Wind happens, just gotta account for it better next time. Probably a good thing nobody got hurt though.

ramirez.vera1d ago

Yeah but wind doesn't just "happen" on a calm day without warning. That term "rogue wind" is actually used in rigging when a sudden, unexpected gust hits outside normal weather patterns. It's different from just not accounting for regular wind. Settling a load on a barrier is never good, but if it was a true rogue gust the operator might not have had much chance to react. Still lucky nobody got hurt.

mileslane1d ago

Wait, wait... so there's actually a specific term for this kind of thing in rigging? I always thought "rogue wind" was just some dramatic news headline stuff, not an actual industry term. That changes things a lot honestly... makes it sound a lot less like the operator just messed up and more like one of those freak moments where everything lines up just wrong.