Hot take: I think daily load charts are a waste of time for experienced operators

I know everyone in my crew swears by checking the load chart every single lift, even for routine picks. But after 12 years running a Liebherr LTM 1050, I stopped doing it every time for basic stuff like moving steel beams on a flat site in Columbus. I started memorizing the common weights and just eyeballing it based on feel and the crane's load indicator. Been doing it for about 6 months now with zero issues. My younger operators think I'm crazy, but it saves me like 20 minutes a day. The real trick is knowing your machine's limits through repetition, not staring at a chart. Has anyone else ditched the chart for routine jobs or am I the only one?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jade3d ago

Nelson's point about critical angle changes really got me thinking... I actually used to be the guy who swore he could feel every load shift on his old Grove RT530E. Then one day I got complacent on a routine beam placement and almost jackknifed the boom because the ground had softened overnight from a hidden sprinkler leak. That humbled me real quick. I still think some of the daily chart obsession is overkill for simple picks, but I won't lie - skipping it saved me 20 minutes until it almost cost me a lot more.

ninaw883d ago

What kind of safety buffer are you actually leaving yourself when you skip the chart?

nelson.gavin4d ago

Eyeballing it" is a good way to miss a critical angle change nobody thought about until it's too late.