Finally stopped using the wrong hand signals after 12 years

I've been doing the old 'pat the roof' for slow down until a site super in Seattle pulled me aside last month and said that's actually for emergency stop in most places. Now I'm retraining my muscle memory on the standard NCCCO signals, has anyone else dealt with picking up bad habits from old timers?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_webb1mo ago

Jump right into it - I've noticed this same thing happens with hand signals at every trade I've ever worked alongside. Electricians will insist their way of pointing which circuit to kill is universal until you meet a millwright who thinks that same gesture means "bring the load straight down." It gets me thinking about how many other little things we just copy from people without checking, like how my dad taught me to hold a hammer by choking up on the handle, but a proper grip actually gives you way more control. Or how everyone I know learned to back up a trailer by turning the wheel opposite of what feels natural, but nobody ever explains why until you've already scratched up a gate. Bad habits spread through trades like a cold in a daycare, and it takes someone brave enough to say "hey that's not right" to break the cycle.

quinn_fox1mo ago

Wait, you're telling me all those years of patting the roof was wrong? I've been doing that for like 8 years and no one has said anything to me yet! Now I'm paranoid that every crane operator I've worked with just thought I was being dramatic about slow downs or something hilarious like that. The worst part is I probably looked like some kind of rookie out there while thinking I was being super pro. Classic old timer habits, they just keep passing down weird stuff without checking if it's actually right. At least you found out before someone accidently dropped a load on you!