That one old crane guy who taught me more in 5 minutes than 2 years of school

I was working a job in Portland last summer setting HVAC units on a 6 story building. This older operator named Ray walked over from the next site over and just watched me for a minute. He pointed out I was swinging too wide on every pick and eating up time, then showed me how to feather the controls to cut the arc in half. I've been doing it his way ever since and shaved off about 15 minutes per lift. Anyone else have a random stranger give you advice that stuck?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthony_campbell8811d ago

Huh, I gotta disagree a little. School gave me the fundamentals and safety stuff that let me even understand what Ray was showing me.

the_spencer11d ago

@anthony_campbell88 fair point, but how much of what you actually use on the job came from a classroom versus figuring it out on site? The safety stuff is a good call out, but the real feel for material and timing still takes years of hands-on work.

jana_hart1811d ago

My buddy Mike was framing houses in Colorado and this old concrete guy named Walt watched him dig a footer trench for like ten minutes. He walked over and told Mike he was digging too deep and wasting concrete, then showed him how to read the soil for bearing capacity. Mike said it saved the crew almost two grand on that one pour alone. He still talks about Walt like he was some kind of legend, and I think that's what makes this field so cool. Sometimes the best lessons come from someone just walking by.