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The oilfield driver who made me question my 20 year crane habit
Sat down for lunch last Tuesday near the Kilgore yard and this old driver, Bob, starts talking about his 50 ton rig and how he watches the crane operators more than the load. He said something like "you all work the boom like it's an arm, but you never feel the ground shift under the outriggers the way I do from the cab." I blew it off at first. Then that afternoon we had a soft spot on the pad and my right outrigger sank two inches. Bob saw it from his truck and pointed. I never thought about the soil from the operator's chair, always figured the ground guys handle that. But he walked me through reading tire ruts from the previous trucks and checking for that damp darker patch in the dirt. Made me add a 5 minute walk around the landing zone before every pick now. Has anyone else gotten tricks from the truckers or oilfield guys that you never learned in training?
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the_claire9d ago
Two inches of sink and he caught it from his truck? That's incredible. I've been on sites for years and never once thought to read the tire ruts before setting up. That man deserves a raise.
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