TIL those load moment indicators are worth the upgrade

After 12 years running a 50-ton Grove I always thought they were a crutch, but last month on a tight hospital job in Portland the LMI caught a sideload I didn't feel coming, so has anyone else changed their mind about these things after a close call?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenagarcia23d ago

Don't you think a good operator uses both the screen and the seat of their pants?

spencerm4623d ago

Respectfully, I see it the opposite way. LMIs give you a false sense of security. You get complacent watching a screen instead of feeling the machine. On a river bridge job in '09 my LMI was reading 80% but the boom was doing weird things. Turned out a sensor was loose. If I hadn't been paying attention to the actual feedback from the crane I would have been in trouble. The tool is fine but relying on it too much is a mistake.

danielb4323d ago

@spencerm46 yeah I saw a guy in '07 trust a faulty LMI and dropped a beam in a ditch.