Visited a wind farm site in Kansas last Tuesday and the crane setup was all wrong

The main crane was way too close to the turbine base, maybe 15 feet off. No room for the boom to swing if the wind shifts. Has anyone else seen operators jam cranes in tight like that on wind projects?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowangonzalez13d ago

Man that's rough. Ive been on enough wind sites to know exactly what you mean. 15 feet off the base is cutting it way too close for my comfort. On a windy day in Kansas that boom clearance disappears fast and you're just hoping nothing shifts. I swear some crane operators come from other industries where they pack things in tight and dont understand how much space you really need for turbine work. Your mileage may vary but Ive seen setups like that lead to some real close calls with the boom hitting the tower during a sudden gust. Good on you for catching it early, that could have turned into a bad day real quick.

grant_ross2713d ago

I gotta push back a little on the "15 feet is too close" thing. In my book that's plenty of room if the crane operator knows what he's doing and the ground is level. I've seen guys work with 8 feet of clearance in tight spots on jobsites and never had an issue because they planned the lift right and watched the wind. Blaming the crane operator for coming from a different industry seems like a cheap shot too. A good operator adjusts to whatever he's working on, wind tower or warehouse. If you've got a 500 ton crane and the pads are solid, 15 feet might as well be a football field.