Loading…
32
Got called out for my old-school hand signals back in '19
I was running a tower crane on a site in Tacoma, and my spotter told me straight up my signals were sloppy and could cause a mix-up. He said, 'Your stop signal looks too much like your swing left, man.' I went home and practiced the standard hand signals in front of a mirror for an hour that night. Now I make every signal sharp and clear, no shortcuts. Anyone else have a habit they had to break after getting called on it?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
king.zara6mo ago
Was it really a blind spot though? You knew the standard signals, you just got lazy with them. The hard part wasn't seeing the problem, it was putting in the daily effort to stop taking shortcuts.
6
xenarobinson3mo ago
Hang on, you practiced crane hand signals in a mirror? That's both hilarious and kind of awesome. I've never heard of anyone doing that, but honestly it makes total sense for something where a foot off could mean a disaster. Respect for putting that kind of work into something most guys would just shrug off.
6
reese866mo ago
Notice how many small habits become invisible to us until someone points them out. I used to mumble on phone calls until a friend said he missed half my sentences. That kind of feedback forces you to see your own blind spots, which is honestly a gift even if it stings at first. What was the hardest part about changing your signal style after so long?
5