Two weeks ago, Bo asked you what you would do in the circumstance of a tandem lift, on an old crane with no inspection history, at 100% of its maximum capacity (click here to read the article).
He asked you to vote and to send in your comments, so they could be shared with other readers. The good news is that everyone agreed, no one would have made the lift under the current circumstances without at least talking to the supervisor. Twelve percent would have made the lift after talking with the supervisor and 86% would not make the lift.
Reader comments varied. Some commented on the inspection aspect, "proper inspection should be done on the crane before the lift is carried out." Other comments focused on having a lift plan (which should be done in this circumstance with a tandem lift). "If third party signed off as being safe and a lift plan in place with proper rigging I say yes. before continuing." and "[they need a] better planned lift... because when the load leaves the ground it's all down to the operator and then human error comes into the equation, also during a tandem lift this can be a recipe for disaster."
Still other comments focused on the qualifications of the individuals planning the lift, "One of the absolute rules from Cranes and Derricks by Howard Shapiro, PE: On multiple crane lifts, the planners, field supervisors, and crane operators must be experienced and seasoned individuals."
Many other comments were centered around what would happen should something go wrong and about rather the job was worth the risk:
"Without all the information I can't have an opinion on this, however I can always get another job. I can't live with knowledge that I injured or killed someone when I had concerns and was too scared to voice them."
"Make the right call. A new job will be easier to find than a clean conscience."
"The question I try to ask in situations like this is, "Can you live with it?" If the crane lift fails and people are injured or killed as a result, can you-the operator-live with that on your conscience, especially knowing that you had concerns that were not addressed?...Perhaps we can fool OSHA and out-maneuver the lawyers but we can't escape our conscience."
"Your conversation with the caller was well said and well put. I hope the caller was successful in refusing the lift."
Several readers asked, "if we knew how this situation turned out?" Unfortunately we do not. We can only hope that some type of intervention took place before the lift was made, and that when the lift was made, it was done safely and with minimized risk.
Finally, we want to thank everyone who voted and commented, as with our collective voices, we agreed that we all need to think about safety first and speak up when we don't feel that something is right!