Figuring out a tricky blind pick with a simple string trick

We were setting a 15-ton HVAC unit on a roof in downtown Phoenix, and the spotter had zero line of sight to me. I remembered an old hand telling me to tie a bright orange surveyor's tape to the load block and watch its angle in the wind. That little flag showed me exactly when the load was directly over the target before I even got the signal. Has anyone else used a visual aid like that for a completely blind lift?

3 comments

3 Comments

jakep242mo ago

You really needed a flag to tell you that? Seems like basic rigging sense to me. How do you even confirm the tape is giving you a true reading from that far away. I've seen guys try clever tricks that just add another thing to go wrong. Feels like overcomplicating a simple job.

noahbaker2mo ago

Oh sure, because eyeballing it from fifty feet away is the gold standard of precision. Next you'll tell me a spirit level is overkill and we should just use the "looks about right" method. Sometimes a simple trick saves a ton of time double-checking your work. But hey, if you enjoy climbing down to measure twice and up again to adjust, you do you.

anna_hill1mo ago

Swear by stuff like that. Had a similar deal moving a big chiller behind a wall, tape on the shackle saved my ass. Simple beats fancy every time when it works.