What is the most terrifying thing that taught you a lesson?

[DMiller]

I've still got several units with dayton wheels (spoke hubs). First time I ever changed one, I took off all the lugnuts. Then, when prying at the tire didn't work, I got the big sledge and swung at the back of the tire. The rim clamp grazed my leg on it's way to never, never land. Never did find it. Man, can those thing fly.

I was cautioned on the ways of Cast Spoke hubs really early on, was watching a new guy, removed all the nuts, foreskin walked over and had him screw them back on a few threads, as finished he took a pound ball peen and rapped one, all six popped free, kids eyes were big as dinner plates. He had his face in the way with all the nuts off, got LUCKY.

 

[Old Doug]

I have alot of these stories. I was loading junk cars up i had a mini van about 4 feet off the ground i noticed that a chain i was lifting it with wasnt hooked good so i got a 3 foot chain so i could hook above the hook and below it so if some thing happen to the hook that wasnt hooked good this would bypass it and hold. I hooked the top hook and was about to hook the bottom one when the bad hook slipped some how the hook i was holding hooked into the chain. It didnt drop a inch makes you belive some one was looking out for me. Two things to learn set it back down if its not right and never put your fingers in a hook.

 

[funwithfuel]

I have alot of these stories. I was loading junk cars up i had a mini van about 4 feet off the ground i noticed that a chain i was lifting it with wasnt hooked good so i got a 3 foot chain so i could hook above the hook and below it so if some thing happen to the hook that wasnt hooked good this would bypass it and hold. I hooked the top hook and was about to hook the bottom one when the bad hook slipped some how the hook i was holding hooked into the chain. It didnt drop a inch makes you belive some one was looking out for me. Two things to learn set it back down if its not right and never put your fingers in a hook.

I was taught, "don't stick yer fingers where ya won't put yer pee-pee."

 

[Old Doug]

I drove a Grove RT ?? 50 ton crane out of the shop after welding on a new slew ring. The boss wanted to use it and a smaller pettibone to lift a jaw that was about to turn over in a washout. I was going to pull up from the down hill side along the wash out and get into place i lifted the boom up to clear the jaw way higher than i need to when i got close i taped the brakes and the crane like all big tired rigs do bounced around i was seating on the side over looking the washout seating high up with it bouncing around it scared me it didnt help that i had just got back to work after i had been in a bad wreck. Keep your boom low and outriggers close to the grown when in doubt.

 

[spitzair]

Many years ago my brother and I were in the back 40 cutting dead trees for firewood. I was very inexperienced at the time but being 18 years old I knew it all and was invincible. Started cutting a big half rotton hemlock tree down while my brother looked on. For some reason I took a step back and a fraction of a second later the top half of the tree speared into the ground where I was standing, taking the saw into it’s final resting place out of my hands with it. Had I not moved it woulda been me piled into the ground. My brother saw it coming but couldn’t yell fast enough to warn me.

 

[Tugger2]

My worst was riding on one of our barges with a new crane on board. Tug skipper was taking us through the narrows ,when i looked up and saw the high tension wires which spanned about a mile to the island. At that moment it hit me ,we were running 100' of boom ,not the 60' we had made this trip hundreds of times before. From the view on the barge it looked like collision for sure with no time think what to do. Jump overboard,get in the crane ,hide up in behind the ramp ? In seconds we passed safely under ,with no sparks. Looking up like that it seemed collision with the wires was guaranteed. We got the chart out after and checked clearance. We were running close to one shore far from the belly of the span. If we had passed under the middle at the highest tide we would of had 26' according to the chart . Still was a serious heart stopper. To date i have seen that span ripped down twice ,at night by rigs bigger than mine . Night towing with no one on board and no damage to equipment i was aware of. Just a huge bill with Hydro for wires and towers .

 

[Welder Dave]

Saddest story I read was a kid riding in a JD tractor with a cab. Somehow the kid moved and hit the door handle. Fell out and run over by the rear tire. Just posting this makes me sad thinking about it. I think the driver was charged, can't remember if it was a parent or other relative. I don't think being charged was necessary.

 

[skyking1]

My worst was riding on one of our barges with a new crane on board. Tug skipper was taking us through the narrows ,when i looked up and saw the high tension wires which spanned about a mile to the island. At that moment it hit me ,we were running 100' of boom ,not the 60' we had made this trip hundreds of times before. From the view on the barge it looked like collision for sure with no time think what to do. Jump overboard,get in the crane ,hide up in behind the ramp ? In seconds we passed safely under ,with no sparks. Looking up like that it seemed collision with the wires was guaranteed. We got the chart out after and checked clearance. We were running close to one shore far from the belly of the span. If we had passed under the middle at the highest tide we would of had 26' according to the chart . Still was a serious heart stopper. To date i have seen that span ripped down twice ,at night by rigs bigger than mine . Night towing with no one on board and no damage to equipment i was aware of. Just a huge bill with Hydro for wires and towers .

That duwmish dredge job in Seattle was under a big run of power lines. We couldn't do the close set when we were under them, and I can say now what I think of the day shift operator. He could have done the dredging out of those lines but he always left it for us to do at night, he was an asshole.

 

[donkey doctor]

We were loading a steel spar on a barge at Duke Point in the middle of the night one time. One of our customers had a fairly large Cat going on the same barge and our service manager agreed to have us load it for him. To start with we couldn't get it to fire up.Tug Skipper was getting antsy worrying about missing the tide to get up the Fraser river. Eventually got it going but by this time the tide was really low. Steep ramp,steel deck, steel tracks, big rush. All the stars aligned. Broke over the top of the ramp and away she went with no way to hold it back. It started to turn sideways and my first thought was it's gong through the brow log into water. My next thought was I'm not going with it. It's not mine and I don't have a dime in it. Worst they can do is fire me. I stepped onto the deck over the tracks on the high side and jumped. Thought I broke my wrist the way I landed. Lay there on the ramp and watched it go in a shower of sparks. The blade was low enough and the ramp steep enough that it tore up a bunch of decking when ii got to the barge. Of coarse still being in gear once on the barge it was on the move. Being at an angle it was heading off the side of the barge. The deckhand who was at the bottom of the ramp and had made a run out of the way when he saw this thing coming at him had the balls to run over get on the c-frame and then up onto the deck and get it stopped before it went over the edge. The Harbour Commission rep who was there to raise and lower the ramp for us insisted on taking me to the hospital to have my wrist X-rayed. My partner wouldn't load the spar unless there was 2 of us there so he sat and drank coffee on the tug till I got back. The stupidest part of the night was there were old tires there to tire the ramp for just this situation. We did use them to load the spar. And the Skipper missed the tide. D.D.

 

[DMiller]

Back when the Steam Generators the Main Turbine sections and the Reactor Head arrived they applied a simple concept, Sink The barge until hard grounded then unload. Flooded to double bottom until resting on the bank and then the materials were hauled off, once away they pumped out the double bottom.

 

[kshansen]

Not sure if I already posted it here but one that got my attention fast was walking on the frame behind the cab of an R-35 Euclid with box raised and no safety pins in the box. What really made the point was when I stepped on the control rod to the hydraulic control valve!

Two things that probably saved me were first valve spool did not move enough to lock into the detents and second back them despite being more than a little stupid I did have fast reflexes and jumped to the ground fast.

 

[DMiller]

After a few events got my attention I stopped tempting fate, for the most part!

 

[Truck Shop]

Ice storm-straightening out a set of joints north bound I-82 mp 4 on the grade. Semi driver moving too fast come up on the scene and started to jack knife, trailer missed me by inches the
WSP trooper told me that was on scene.

 

[Spud_Monkey]

Seeing how fast I could take someone’s life (in war), learned lesson of don’t take your time for granted cause it’s not granted to always be there.

 

[Welder Dave]

Not really an accident but hearing the tacks start breaking on a 10 ton plus 2 3/4" thick pressure vessel head 10' in diameter gets your attention pretty fast. Thankfully we heard it and knew what was happening and no one was injured. A wire feeder was mangled though and there was a big dent in the concrete. Never seen concrete dent before. I helped put the head back on. Had to use wedges, sledge hammers and other means to fit it. There was a lot of stress on it! The tacks were bridge tacks where you take a piece of 1/2" round bar, about 2" long, and put in the bevel. Then you weld each side of the round bar. You don't want to burn away the edge of the bevel. I had the job of welding the Mig root pass and then doing a 7108 hot pass before it went to the submerged arc boom. I spent more time grinding the darn tacks out because they were are all 4-6" apart around the whole head! Weld 4", grind, weld 6" grind, etc. Could have been much worse when the head fell off and not really anyone's fault. The tacks were good for hours before they started breaking.

 

[Tugger2]

I feel your pain on that one DD. Spent a few dark nights in the rain on that Duke Point barge ramp either working on it or pumping out sinking scrap barges.

 

[Thomas C Loiselle]

Don't listen to a customer when it comes to your safety.

Not construction equipment, but an automobile. Instead of going home and getting my truck that had the proper jack, stands, etc.... I listened to a customer and came over in my pov. Used their scissor jack to lift the car. I had placed the tire under the frame for a safety catch if the jack breaks. Customer was whining that it might scratch the tire and rim laying down. After enough nagging, i slid the tire out from under the car and laid it up against a tree. went back to work. low and behold.... the jack broke pinning me under the car. After 5-6 minutes later I came to and somehow managed to pull myself out from under the car. Went to ER. All the custome rcared about was when I could get back to fix her car, not that I almost died. Never risk your safety!!!!!

 

[Welder Dave]

I think the car would have more than few scratches or maybe the customer would!

 

[skyking1]

I have contractors challenge me regarding trench safety when it interferes with the precious schedule. I have zero bleeps to give in that regard. If I can't go down in the trench and feel comfortable I am not letting my guys in there. They might try to push it too, till they understand that I will have them fired off the job.
This is my way of saying that the scariest thing that happened to me didn't happen. If anything would have happened in the trench I am thinking of I would be gone. Since then I've wised up.

 

[Welder Dave]

Just the other day saw a utility worker in a fairly narrow trench from a TLB about up to his shoulders. Nothing but dirt around him. It was right beside the road. When should shoring be put in place? Is there a test for how stable the soil is? Have seen stories where a trench collapses and they have to dig someone out.