A close call last week in Tacoma with a worn out load block

We were lifting a 12-ton HVAC unit onto a roof and the load block on our 80-ton mobile crane started making a grinding noise I'd never heard before. My spotter, Mike, saw a hairline crack in the side plate and we stopped the lift right there. If we'd ignored it, that thing could have split open and dropped the load. Has anyone else caught a block failure that close to happening?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola7631mo ago

Exactly, and @avery_smith22 is right about the check working. But calling it just a system working misses how fast it can go wrong. That noise was the only warning before a total break. It's not a close call when you find it, it's a close call because you were minutes from not finding it at all. The real lesson is trusting that gut feeling when something sounds new or off.

avery_smith221mo ago

That "hairline crack" you saw is the whole point of the pre-use check. I have to disagree that it was a close call, because finding it means the system worked like it should. Your team did the job right by stopping.

eric72323d ago

Avery's point is good, but finding the crack is still a close call. The system worked, but it was right at its limit.