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turbine_guy3 karma

We lifted a 35 ton turbine rotor a week ago. Even small damage on sensitive areas can cost $30,000 or more to fix. It the rotor was dropped and "totaled", it would cost about $10 million and take 2 years to make a new one. When we install this part in the machine, it has to be placed within about 0.1".

I worry more about the crane itself than the operator. They have a nasty habit of breaking down whenever the schedule is really tight. Also, some cranes have better controls than others. Sometimes older cranes are jerky, have a minimum speed (can't move slow enough), etc. The skill of the operator becomes even more important if you have a bad crane.

turbine_guy1 karma

I'm on a job right now and my crane operator has a theory. He says that the failure was probably caused by not lowering the jib boom / luffer before the main boom was lowered. He says you have to "stab the ground" with the jib/luffer in these situations, and the NYC crane operator didn't do that. Thoughts?