Realized I've been eyeballing my load charts for years

Last Tuesday on a site in Columbus, I was setting a 12-ton HVAC unit. My old habit was to glance at the chart, guess the radius, and go. The rigger, a guy named Frank, asked me to show him the exact chart number before we lifted. When I pointed, he said 'That's for the jib, man. You're on the main boom.' I checked and he was right, my radius was off by 4 feet. I'd been doing that for maybe 8 years. Has anyone else had a simple check catch a major blind spot?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryanburns1mo ago

Thank Frank for saving you from a lifetime of explaining why that HVAC unit is now part of the building's foundation. It's amazing how a tiny detail like which boom you're using can slip by for almost a decade. That's the kind of wake-up call that makes you double-check everything, even your coffee order.

piper_burns1mo ago

Frank's the real MVP for catching that. Imagine having to explain a buried HVAC unit to every new hire forever. That's the kind of mistake that haunts your dreams.

linda50019d ago

That part about "even your coffee order" really got me, @ryanburns. You're telling me this guy trusted his own gut over a printed chart for the better part of a decade? That's the kind of confidence I'd expect from someone who also thinks 40 feet of boom is "close enough" to 36. Frank's probably saved more than just the unit, he saved the guy from a lifetime of "remember that time you buried the HVAC" jokes at every safety meeting.