Riding a crane

[PTS]

Recently I was talking with our crane operator and he said that he had heard of guys getting fined for riding the crane ball into the tree. I got nervous about the fines and decided to climb the tree itself which is more time consuming.

This last week I sat down to read the TCI Magazine and there was an article in there in reference to the subject.

It sounded like OSHA Doesn't like it but no definitive info.

What do any of you know I on the subject.

By the way, on my way out right now to ride the crane.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

My understanding is that there is a LOU with OSHA on this, but the field inspectors do not really care.

What we need is a TCIA member to contact Gerstenberger on the subject so that we can get the document numbers out.

I've tried to talk to the local crane companies, but they do not want the hassle, and will fire OE's on the spot if they see a climber tied to the crane.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

ANSI Z133.1-2006
5.7.8 Riding the Load Line of a Crane while it is under Load Tension Shall be Prohibited, except for circumstances outlined in subsection 5.7.9.11
The qualified Arborist shall be detached from the crane any time it comes under Load tension.
EXCEPTION
when it has been determined that all reasonably possible alternate methods are inaccessible and attachment to the subject tree would create a greater safety risk due to its hazardous condition, the qualified crane operator and qualified Arborist shall allow the qualified Arborist to remain attached to the crane when it is under load. Possible alternate methods include, but are not limited to,
(a) the qualified Arborist securing to the tree and detaching from the crane before it comes under load:
(b) using a second crane:
(c) using an aerial lift device: or
(d) using an adjacent tree
it was a lot more fun when we just wrapped our legs around the Ball and up we went 90" and drop down into the tree and choke off a piece and Cut

 

[rbtree]

Thanks for posting that. Notice it doesn't say the climber can't be hoisted into the tree, just that staying attached while the load is being picked is not allowed, except in rare cases.

 

[Job Corps Tree]

That fricion saver on the Boom with a pulley or block is when you have no where else to tie in and for safety when you have to drop into the tree. i know they were doing crane removals before I did my first one in 84, we ere makeing it up as we went along. Now days they are commen place, a lot of new safety rules have come about both from TCIA and ANSI.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

The trick is getting the crane company to work with the Z-100 standards. To them it is not worth the hassle of having an OSHA rep seeing them ands siting them from a different standard.

I went around with a company last Tuesday's but they would not budge.

 

[treemandan]

That fricion saver on the Boom with a pulley or block is when you have no where else to tie in and for safety when you have to drop into the tree. i know they were doing crane removals before I did my first one in 84, we ere makeing it up as we went along. Now days they are commen place, a lot of new safety rules have come about both from TCIA and ANSI.

That's exactly how I started! I just made it up as I went along...

 

[treemandan]

Your climbing system should be attached to the line above the 'pill' using a friction saver, etc. The reasoning is that the climbing line can too easily come out of the ball hook with side loading.

That happen to me once. I told the guy to keep the hook out of the tips but he kept swinging. I got onto a branch and just tossed my lanyard around and clipped it while watching the hook clip open and my rope slip out.
He also broke a branch off above me that just hung there and I had to go get it so it wouldn't kill me.
I bounced a beener off his bald head from about 35 feet and fed him the rest of the tree. He was about 275 and a muscle boy, the owner, I just kept hollering at him where to put the hook. I smoked a joint the size of my finger
( even have a little cigar tip for the big ones) while he watched me watching him clean it up.
I had a lot of problems with this one company, they were really stupid. I feel like writing them a letter telling them so.

Anyhow I use a locking steel clevis which goes on the cable above the ball but in most cases I don't have a problem using a loop runner on the hook with a girth hitch but it can get in the way. I do feel OK just going through the hook if the latch is in good repair. The last crane I was on I was able to remove the big nut to the bolt that holds the ball on... by hand!

 

[ropensaddle]

The last one I was on the owner would not give me time
to get to the tree before getting a bight really pissing me off!
Especially since I was on a hook I told him the cable could
cut a climb rope and he did not want to hear about friction
savers or anything right.He is going to kill someone I just know it won't be me I quit helping him and am on my own **** now.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

ANSI Z133.1-2006
5.7.8 Riding the Load Line of a Crane while it is under Load Tension Shall be Prohibited, except for circumstances outlined in subsection 5.7.9.11
The qualified Arborist shall be detached from the crane any time it comes under Load tension.
EXCEPTION
when it has been determined that all reasonably possible alternate methods are inaccessible and attachment to the subject tree would create a greater safety risk due to its hazardous condition, the qualified crane operator and qualified Arborist shall allow the qualified Arborist to remain attached to the crane when it is under load. Possible alternate methods include, but are not limited to,
(a) the qualified Arborist securing to the tree and detaching from the crane before it comes under load:
(b) using a second crane:
(c) using an aerial lift device: or
(d) using an adjacent tree
it was a lot more fun when we just wrapped our legs around the Ball and up we went 90" and drop down into the tree and choke off a piece and Cut

+1 good post.

sounds like the ansi dont care as long as theres no load on the crane.

OSHA however.....
when i was doing interstate jobs had a superintendant tell me that its a big nono with OSHA.....

 

[ropensaddle]

+1 good post.

sounds like the ansi dont care as long as theres no load on the crane.

OSHA however.....
when i was doing interstate jobs had a superintendant tell me that its a big nono with OSHA.....

I will say this if there is someone with sense at the helm on a crane,
I would feel safer than using any other equipment. I would love to
have a decent sized one with remotes, where I could control it from the tree!

 

[ClimbinArbor]

yeah i would trust a good operator more than i would some trees lol. ive had less hoist me up in worse......

 

[weenieroaster]

I do a lot of crane aided tree removals over here, almost exclusively with the same operator and his 26 ton crane. He mostly brings in the jobs, and hires me to help. I used to do the cutting at the stump while another guy did the high work, but I became interested in developing a wider range capability, so gradually I started to work above as well. I'm not really a climber, but with spurs and a lanyard I can get about. When I first started to ride the crane hook, I sat on a large nylon sling with it's ends around the hook, and a safety line attached to the side Ds on my saddle, and looped over the hook. The crane guy I work with is top notch with a lot of tree work experience, very safety conscious as the first priority, generally speaking. I now have abandoned using the sling, and just loop my safety over the hook with a round turn or a clove hitch, and attach the ends to the center ring of my saddle. It gives better mobility working into tree tops, than sitting on the sling. I cable off the upper part of the tree, and get dropped down to where the tree is to be cut, if not at the base. I throw a separate lanyard around the tree, set my spurs, and remove the safety from the hook. The catch on the hook opening up is something that concerns me, but I feel reasonably secure with the clove hitch. I think it would have to be an awfully freak situation for a branch to open the hook and also push my lanyard off.

One thing that the crane operator came up with and works great, is to attach
a sliding steel clevis to the cable above the hook collar, so the tree gets cabled to the clevis and not the hook, that way I can get dropped down while the crane cable slides through the clevis. Once I'm in cutting position, the hook gets raised until it contacts the clevis and pulls the tree up snug. It is very quick.

There are basically no safety regulations in Japan pertaining to tree work, unless you are working on government projects. It has been a bit hard for me to learn, I study and sometimes get a chance to watch the one other guy I know of doing similar work. G. Beranek's book has been very helpful in this regard. It's a pretty individual approach, probably not the best way, but that is all that is available. Having a good and safe way to learn seems like a real luxury to me.

 

[randyg]

One thing that the crane operator came up with and works great, is to attach
a sliding steel clevis to the cable above the hook collar, so the tree gets cabled to the clevis and not the hook, that way I can get dropped down while the crane cable slides through the clevis. Once I'm in cutting position, the hook gets raised until it contacts the clevis and pulls the tree up snug. It is very quick.
e.

That sounds very slick indeed! I would worry about that area of cable just above the ball (hook collar) becoming prematurely worn and weakened from being "side-loaded". Wear from clevis would be visible, however potential broken wires within may not be?

I ride the hook with a steel core flip but also have climbing line through friction saver connected above the ball with a "twisted clevis" to keep the saver off the ball. Don't need the sharp burrs or the grease from the ball messin with my friction saver. After setting the first choker and having it snugged I unclip flip line from hook and depending on angles either walk down the limb or repel down to that area where I will make the first cut. There I connect flip line, then retrieve climbing rope and friction saver. I reinstall friction saver nearby and then make cut. Rest of job I stay connected to tree by climbing rope or flipline or both.

Sure would like to see more input on this subject, as this old dog is always looking for new tricks.

Thanks
randy

 

[Ghillie]

This article from TCI magazine covers riding the crane.

Pages 42-52 of March 2007

I will find a link to the magazine but here is the article in PDF untill then.

 

[Ghillie]

Here it is. TCI magazine archives their magazine for free in PDF fromat.

http://www.tcia.org/PDFs/TCI_MAG_March_07.pdf

 

[weenieroaster]

Randy, sounds like a very good safe system that you have going with the climb line through the friction saver above the hook. Since I rely solely on my lanyard around the hook, I went from using a steel core one, to just a 3/4" climbing line. I think I get a better bite around the hook with the hitch, without the added stiffness of the steel core. I prefer a steel core lanyard for the one that I fasten around the tree, especially since I'm cutting at that position. I generally don't use an additional tie-in when cutting, though I believe it is recommended, if not required in some places.

With regard to the side loading on the cable by using the clevis above the collar, your's is a good observation, and I have wondered about that myself, because it does kick the collar out at an angle when it pulls up tight. When fastening the clevis around the cable in the morning, I have often looked for signs of wear on the cable at that point, and none can be observed on cable that has been in service for a good while. I note what you are saying about the damage possibly not being visible, however. We have removed a lot of very heavy trees with that method. I'm not an expert on it by any means, but it might be more a concern on smaller capacity cranes with lighter duty cable....? My observation is that the temporary bend in the cable at that point is not problematical. The crane operator I work for is a very good thinker, and we get a lot of jobs that other people walk away from, for one reason or another. He has come up with some really good removal cutting methods as well, for different situations. There aren't lot of specialists in removals in our area. I've been working with him about two years. He pays well too, cash at the end of each day.

 

[Ghillie]

That sounds very slick indeed! I would worry about that area of cable just above the ball (hook collar) becoming prematurely worn and weakened from being "side-loaded". Wear from clevis would be visible, however potential broken wires within may not be?

I ride the hook with a steel core flip but also have climbing line through friction saver connected above the ball with a "twisted clevis" to keep the saver off the ball. Don't need the sharp burrs or the grease from the ball messin with my friction saver. After setting the first choker and having it snugged I unclip flip line from hook and depending on angles either walk down the limb or repel down to that area where I will make the first cut. There I connect flip line, then retrieve climbing rope and friction saver. I reinstall friction saver nearby and then make cut. Rest of job I stay connected to tree by climbing rope or flipline or both.

Sure would like to see more input on this subject, as this old dog is always looking for new tricks.
Thanks
randy

Look through that article I posted. It touches on ANSI's view on riding the crane, even when it is under a load.

From what I read of wienieroasters post, they want you to hook it up just the opposite. So you don't get the side loading.

Weinie roaster, you can still lower yourself into cutting position when you use a climbing rope in the rig, spur into the tree and pull your rope clear.

I have used this and it works really slick and I like having a captive line, no worrying if the rope is going to slip off the hook.

Fred

 

[weenieroaster]

Fred, that is a very informative article, thanks for posting it. I'm studying it to see how I can apply to what we do here.

Regards,
Dennis

 

[Ghillie]

Fred, that is a very informative article, thanks for posting it. I'm studying it to see how I can apply to what we do here.

Regards,
Dennis

Dennis, no problem. If you follow the link back you can find the archive to Tree Care Industry magazine. Free subscription but you can get them free online also.

I know there are a couple of more articles on crane use but I'll have to find them later. I know the regulations probably won't apply to your location but it might give you some ideas to work easier.

Happy reading and be safe!

Fred