Had a talk with an old school operator that stuck with me

I was on a job last week in downtown Portland, setting up a 50 ton Grove for a steel beam lift, and this older guy named Chuck came over to chat while we were waiting for the truck. He's been running cranes since the early 80s, and he mentioned how he never uses a remote control for positioning, he does everything from the cab with hand signals. I asked why, and he said it's because he likes to feel the machine's weight and balance through the controls, not through some plastic box. It hit different because I'm so used to just hopping off the cab with a remote and walking around, but he made me realize I might be losing that connection to the crane's actual response. Ever since that conversation, I've been trying to stay in the cab more on smaller jobs to see if it changes my precision. Has anyone else had a veteran operator change how you think about your setup just by saying something simple?

3 comments

3 Comments

nelson.nancy26d ago

Hear me out, but I think Chuck is wrong on this one. I've been running cranes for over 25 years, and I use a remote for most things now. You can feel just as much through a good remote as you can through sticks in the cab, it's just a different kind of feel. Plus, being able to stand right next to the load and see exactly where it needs to go makes me more precise in tight spots, not less.

murphy.barbara26d ago

My buddy who runs a skidder out in Tillamook said pretty much the same thing. Swears he's way more dialed in with the old school controls, says the remote makes him feel like he's playing a video game instead of running heavy iron.

paige42720d ago

Barb's buddy from Tillamook probably isn't wrong about the video game feeling, but Nancy's got a point about being able to stand next to the load. I've watched guys run a skidder both ways and honestly, the remote guys can finesse logs into tight spots way better when they're on the ground. It's not the same as being in the cab, but it's not worse either, just a different way to get the job done.