I still think hand-signaling is better than radios on tight picks

I know most guys around here swear by their two-way radios now, but I started crane work back in '98 at the Port of Baltimore and we did everything with hand signals. Last month I had to call in a favor when my radio died mid-lift on a steel beam job downtown. The guy on the ground and I fell right back into the old patterns, no static, no dead batteries, just clear signals. I get that radios are faster for long distances, but on a crowded site with noise bleed from every direction, I've seen more near misses from radio confusion than hand signals gone wrong. When you're working a boom within inches of a wall, I trust a good hand signal over a crackling voice any day. Does anyone still practice standard hand signals with their crew, or am I the last guy holding out?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.tyler2mo ago

@mila_perry13 nailed it, so what's your backup plan when the radio craps out mid-lift?

mila_perry132mo ago

Old habits die hard, just like my back after a 12 hour shift.

uma6851mo ago

Jumping off that, the muscle memory is real even when the tech fails. I still find myself reaching for the paper logbook when my phone dies on shift, even though we went digital years ago. My back knows exactly which positions to avoid after a double shift, but my brain still tries to pull that old maneuver every time.