Just realized I might be wrong about load indicators after a talk with an old timer in Houston

I've always said load indicators are a crutch for operators who can't feel the machine... but I got schooled by a guy named Jerry at a jobsite in Houston last Tuesday. He told me about a job he did in 2019 where a 90 ton crawler tipped because the operator trusted his gut over a faulty gauge. He showed me how he cross-referenced the indicator with his own feel, and now I'm thinking I've been too harsh. Maybe the smart move is using both, not picking one. Anyone else changed their mind on load indicators after a specific incident like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.iris18d ago

Has anyone actually won a safety argument with a 30 year vet and walked away feeling good about it? Jerry sounds like the kind of guy who has seen one too many close calls to trust just one method. That 2019 crawler story is exactly why I started double checking my gut with the numbers.

davis.casey18d ago

Nope, but I'd hire that Jerry guy before the 30 year vet any day. Nothing beats a guy who still respects a load cell after having his gut feeling fail on him.