Shoutout to the rigger who saved my bacon on a windy Tuesday in Portland

Honestly, last Tuesday was one of those days where everything felt wrong. The wind was gusting over 25 mph on a downtown site, and I was trying to set a 5-ton AC unit on a roof. My signal guy called in sick, and the new guy was just not reading the swing right. Out of nowhere, this rigger from the steel crew, Mike, just steps up and starts giving me perfect, clear hand signals from a spot where I could actually see him. He basically talked me through the whole final set. Has anyone else had a random coworker step in like that and totally save the day?

3 comments

3 Comments

annajenkins1mo ago

Yeah, I get the liability worry, but that's why good sites have clear shared protocols. If everyone knows the basic signals and radio calls, a quick assist can actually prevent the accident. It's about having enough sense to know when to step in and when to stay out.

brianreed1mo ago

Man, that's awesome. We had a crane op from a different company once see our load start to spin in a bad spot and he just got on the shared channel and talked our guy down like it was nothing. Those random acts of field awareness make all the difference. It's a good reminder to always pay attention to the other crews on site.

kim_ramirez31mo ago

Nah, that's actually a huge liability issue. If some random op from another company starts giving orders on our channel, they could give wrong advice and make things worse. Everyone should just focus on their own crew and their own lift plan. That "help" could mess up the chain of command and get someone hurt. It's not being a good neighbor, it's overstepping.