Skeptical about load cells on my rig, now I won't run without one

I've been running cranes for about 8 years now, mostly mobile stuff around Houston. Last fall my company made us install load cells on all the 50 ton and up rigs after a near miss at a job near the ship channel. I figured it was just another way for the office to watch us and slow things down. Then about 2 months ago, I picked up a concrete form that was supposedly 18,000 pounds on the paperwork. The load cell showed 24,700 pounds before I even left the ground. That thing would've been way over my chart once I added the rigging and the block. So yeah, they got my attention. Anyone else have a load cell or indicator catch a bad number that the paperwork got wrong?

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1 Comment

theas2817d ago

18k on the paperwork but 24.7 on the cell is a huge red flag, especially with rigging on top of that. Those numbers coming from the office never match what's actually hanging off the hook, and that's exactly why the sensors pay for themselves. Trust the gauge over the guy who typed the ticket, every time.