Heard a foreman talk about a 3-degree rule for tower crane jibs in high winds

I was on a site in Denver last week and the foreman was telling a new guy about a rule he uses. He said if the wind is strong enough to push the jib more than 3 degrees off its set position, you should stop the lift and wait it out. I'd never heard it put so simply with a number. It made me think about how we all have our own little rules of thumb for safety that we don't always share. I'm going to start paying closer attention to that angle on gusty days. Do any of you have a specific wind rule you work by, or is it more of a feel thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewgonzalez20h ago

My old crew always said five degrees was fine, but that Denver rule makes way more sense.

the_viola18h ago

My uncle was a framer in Colorado Springs for thirty years. He had this whole rant about how the frost line changes every five miles in the Rockies. Said he saw a porch heave three inches one winter because someone ignored the local code.

ellis.leo17h ago

Three degrees seems a little extreme, doesn't it? I mean, what's the actual risk if it swings a bit more on a big crane? Feels like one of those things that sounds good on paper but just slows the whole job down for no real reason.