That conversation with an old ironworker changed my whole view on crane signals

I was on a job near Pittsburgh last Tuesday and this grizzled old ironworker told me I was using too many hand signals. Said I was cluttering the air with extra movements when a simple touch on the helmet means 'stop right now.' He showed me how he runs a rig with just 5 basic signals and nothing fancy. I argued with him for 10 minutes but then he had me operate his crane for a load and I got it done faster than usual. Has anyone else had a veteran call them out and actually make them better?

2 comments

2 Comments

raymartin16d ago

Yeah, I gotta push back a little on the "touch on the helmet means stop right now" part. That's actually a standard signal on most sites, but it's usually for "stop" in an emergency or when you're close to the load. The real universal "stop everything" is both arms crossed above your head or straight out to the sides. A helmet tap is more like a quick "hold up a second" kind of thing. But I get his point about keeping it simple, too many guys wave their arms like they're directing planes at an airport. Did he show you the "dog everything" signal or just the basic five?

thea_knight15d ago

Had a guy on a bridge job in West Virginia who told me I was overcomplicating my boom signals. He made me stand next to him and just use two fingers for everything. Point up for raise, point down for lower, wag them for swing. Took me two days to unlearn all the extra stuff I was doing. Ended up shaving almost 30 seconds off each lift cycle by the end of the week.