Crane operator texting almost cost us a BIG load yesterday

Setting steel on a new job site, I saw the crane guy looking at his phone. My heart just DROPPED when the beam started to swing wild. Had to yell at the top of my lungs to get his attention. Luckily, nothing hit anyone, but it was WAY too close. Now I'm pushing for a strict no-phone rule on site.

4 comments

4 Comments

blakescott1mo agoMost Upvoted

My old company actually had a two strike policy for phone use in heavy equipment... first offense was a written warning, second was getting pulled off the machine for good. The training guy always said it wasn't just about dropping a load, but the slow drift that happens when you're not fully watching the cable or the swing. A strict rule has to come with real consequences, or guys will just hide the phone better. It only takes one second of looking down for everything to go wrong.

shane_williams1mo ago

Yeah, that policy sounds great on paper. The problem is when the guy with the second strike is your only operator who knows that particular machine, or it's Friday and the job needs to finish. Suddenly the "for good" part turns into a quiet talk and a final warning that never really ends. Rules only work if management has the backbone to actually shut a job down.

victor7791mo ago

Honestly though, can we really expect people to never check a phone for eight or ten hours straight? Sometimes a quick glance at a text is just life happening, and an experienced operator knows when it's safe to take that half-second look. A zero tolerance policy just turns people into experts at hiding it, which is more dangerous than having a clear, smart rule about when you can briefly use it. Treating grown adults like children who can't manage any risk usually backfires.

tara6421mo ago

So what happens when you have a solid policy but the project manager or superintendent is the one quietly telling guys to ignore it because deadlines are looming? That middle management pressure to keep things moving seems to be where a lot of safety rules actually fall apart.