Just realized half the guys on site think a 5% grade is flat ground for crane pads

I was on a job in Phoenix last month where the ground crew kept saying the pad was 'good enough' with a visible slope. I pulled out my level and it was over 4 degrees. That's not a pad, that's a slide. I've seen a 90-tonner shift almost a foot on a setup like that after a rain. It's basic math, people. If you can't be bothered to check with a proper tool, you shouldn't be setting the crane. Who else has had to shut down a lift because someone eyeballed the pad prep?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricianguyen10d agoTop Commenter

That Phoenix story is wild... 4 degrees is a driveway, not a crane pad. What did the crew lead say when you showed them the level reading? I had a similar fight last year over a 3-degree slope they called "within spec" for a 70-ton pick. The operator refused to swing until we brought in the gravel truck.

patricianguyen10d agoTop Commenter

Probably still trying to sell me the same gravel.