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I switched from radio to hand signals on a blind pour in Seattle, and I'm still not sure I picked right
Had a tricky one about three months back on a job in Seattle, a foundation pour where the concrete trucks had to back in behind a wall of dirt. The GC asked if I wanted a radio guy or a guy on the ground giving me hand signals, and I went with hand signals because radios on that site were cutting out all morning with all the rebar and steel around. First two hours were smooth, my spotter was solid, then the sun dropped low and started hitting me right in the eyes, so I'm squinting at this guy's arms while trying to hold a boom over a hole. Around the 40th bucket he waves me left and I read it as down, and I tapped the edge of the forms with the bucket, maybe half an inch of spill, no one hurt, but the super came over and gave me a look that said everything. Radio guy on the other crane that day had zero issues because he never had to see anybody. I've done it both ways since then and honestly I still can't say which is better, it depends so much on the site and the light. Curious if you all have a rule you go by, like do you only trust hands when you've worked with the spotter before?
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terry_carter1513d ago
Read a study once that hand signals fail way more in low light than radio chatter.
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bettyfox13d ago
Yep, been there, dark woods and nobody could see a dang thing.
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