Stop letting the oiler ride the hook on blind picks, it is not worth the risk

Luna Wright · 2026-10-19T12:00:06.069472+00:00

I keep seeing guys on job sites in Houston let the oiler ride the hook on blind picks just to save a few minutes, and I think it is a bad habit that needs to die. Last week on a tilt-up job off I-10, a crew let the oiler hang on the load line with no tag line, and he nearly got crushed when the load swung 4 feet in a gust. The load chart does not care about your schedule, and a spotter on the ground with a radio does the same job without putting a body under the load. I have run a 90-ton Grove for 12 years and I have never had a near miss with a dedicated signalman, but I have seen two close calls with riders. It slows you down maybe 2 minutes per pick, and that is nothing compared to a shutdown. Have any of you had a super push back on this, and how did you shut it down?

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Stop letting the oiler ride the hook on blind picks, it is not worth the risk | Crane Operators - Thought Shares