I swore by my old rigging method until a lift in Phoenix last month

For years I thought using a single choker hitch for everything was fine, especially on steel beams. Then on a job downtown, the foreman showed me how a double wrap basket hitch spread the load way better on a 40 foot I-beam. We actually saw less cable strain on the gauge, maybe 15% less. It took an extra minute to set up but felt way more solid. Now I use it on anything over 30 feet. Anyone else switch up their standard rigging after seeing a better way?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakota_nelson433d ago

Okay but is a 15% difference on a gauge really that big of a deal in the real world? If the old single wrap was rated for the load and it worked for years, how much safer are we actually talking here? It just seems like an extra step for a feeling.

tyler_wilson6d ago

Wait, he went THIRTY YEARS without changing a single thing? That's wild. I get being set in your ways, but equipment and methods get better on purpose. A close call is the worst way to learn that lesson. It's lucky the safety guy made him retrain instead of just writing him up. Honestly, that stubbornness is how people get really hurt. It's just an extra wrap, not a whole new job.

hannahs456d ago

My uncle was a rigger for thirty years and refused to change his ways. He had a close call with a slipped load that was entirely his fault, a simple choker on a long pipe. The safety guy made him redo the whole training module, which he hated. It finally clicked for him that an extra wrap wasn't a waste of time, it was insurance. He grumbled about it but started doing it right every single time after that. Stubborn old guys learning new tricks, it's a whole thing.