Close Call: Rigging Point Failure

[Raj]

Hey Patrick, you do much tree work in London? How about that new bylaw, I guess you need a $100 permit for every tree to be removed?

 

[sotc]

Am I the only one here that thinks operating a lift in a grave area is sketchy?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Set up right, no problems.

But I hear ya...

 

[chris_girard]

Thanks Muggs for sharing and I agree with what others here have said.

We can all learn from this to make ourselves better and safer tree workers.

 

[Hunnicutt]

Am I the only one here that thinks operating a lift in a grave area is sketchy?

If the tree is too dangerous to climb, I don't see much of an alternative. If it couldn't be reached by crane, I'd rather bring in a tracked aerial lift than a bucket truck.

Thanks for sharing, Tree Muggs. It's better to damage a gravestone than to end up underneath one.

 

[sotc]

If the tree is too dangerous to climb, I don't see much of an alternative. If it couldn't be reached by crane, I'd rather bring in a tracked aerial lift than a bucket truck.

Thanks for sharing, Tree Muggs. It's better to damage a gravestone than to end up underneath one.

Yeah, that type of lift is lighter and a better alternative than a bucket truck but sinking a jack suddenly has the same consequence.
My thoughts are if I can't climb it because it's compromised, that's not my fault, I'll bid it to fall out crash and bash rather than risk my crew

 

[SkwerI]

Willie! Good to read you again.

I think that the outriggers on a bucket truck or lift are fine as long as you pay attention when placing them and use proper padding just in case a grave is unmarked or not in line with the rest. I've had to set outriggers on the edge of a septic tank before, you know I had a bit of lumber on the ground to spread the load.

An expert is just a guy who was lucky enough to live through all his mistakes.

 

[pantheraba]

An expert is just a guy who was lucky enough to live through all his mistakes.

Ha!!! That's classic Brian...great saying!

 

[TreeMuggs]

An expert is just a guy who was lucky enough to live through all his mistakes.

That's a great saying. I am not an expert and I don't play one on the internet. And I have been very lucky to live through all of my many mistakes thus far.

We have access to a 60ft spiderlift through a friend, so that's the size of lift that we were using. No, it was not ideal for this particular tree by any means, but it was still safer than climbing. This tree was sketchbag. This is one of the biggest cemeteries in the city, and they let stuff go way, way too long. But at the same time, they are our biggest client, so I couldn't just pass on the work. Yes, at the point that I had to make that final cut, I was way too invested to just pack it in and tell the guys that we would have to figure something else out. The area of the cemetery that we were working in was not soft ground by any means, there were no fresh graves. The ground was very solid. Soft ground is very scary with these new spiderlifts, definitely something to consider when setting them up.

As far as the rigging is concerned, as a concept, I have always split the load between at least two spars. This concept however makes far more sense when the spars in question are at roughly 45 degree angles, so that they load in compression. The leader that broke in this case was basically vertical, which meant that it was being side-loaded. I should have been much more critical of that spar and done a much more thorough inspection before rigging off of it, but it had been supporting a live crown, so I figured it would be ok.

For my first 3 years, I used natural crotch rigging almost exclusively, and yes, it makes more sense in a ton of situations. In this case where I was using pulleys, NOT splitting the load would actually have been much safer.

Like most accidents, it was not just down to one single error, there were a whole bunch of things that I did wrong that compounded to produce that result. What I didn't explain very well at all in the video is that, in the moment, the thing that I was actually the most concerned about was that big hanger, which completely blinded me to the actual danger staring me in the face...

 

[flushcut]

Am I the only one here that thinks operating a lift in a grave area is sketchy?

No, A few years ago we did an old cemetery in Milwaukee and the grounds keeper said if we sunk in we probably collapsed a casket and to let him so he could add more dirt. Erie thing that was in the children's section lots of babies 2YO and less from the late 1800's and early 1900's.

 

[sotc]

I opened an old grave once as well, maybe that's part of my fear. I fell a madrone stick maybe 20 feet long and when it hit it punched a hole. Seems after the casket collapsed that the dirt must have over the years settled in and left a shell maybe 2 feet thick of top soil . I really don't trust those places.

 

[squisher]

I did a lot of graveyard work too. And staying off the actual graves, and not impacting the grave sites at all was expected and how we had to operate.

Working in graveyards was great. Very few complaints.

 

[cbchris17]

Thanks for putting that video up, I think we all benefit from seeing stuff like this, especially as a reminder to listen to our gut. And if we're honest with ourselves, I'm sure we've all had similar moments that we're glad weren't caught on a gopro. It takes some serious humility to put that up for everyone to see.
On a lighter but somewhat related note, I worked at a cemetery a few weeks ago doing tip reduction on a row of white pines on the edge of the cemetery. About 2 hours in, I'm up in a tree and I started to notice cars pulling into the church parking lot. I didn't really think anything of it. A bit later, some well dressed people walked out into the cemetery and gathered around a freshly dug hole. Groan. I saw the ground guy talking to some of the people that were walking around and then saw the other climber on the ground talking on his phone. Once I got on the ground, I talked with the other guys and apparently there was to be a funeral service that day. I guess the priest/church staff didn't think it was important to inform us of this. We ended up stopping work for 2+ hours for the service. So much for an quick Saturday job...

 

[squisher]

Ha. We were never informed either of when there might be a graveside ceremony. I recall it messing with us more than once. Frustrating when you've skinnied up a big tall pine and then have to bail out and come back.

 

[stig]

I always put a clause in the bid about that, when we work in graveyards or other church property.
Any waiting time due to burials or worship will cost an hourly rate.

 

[cbchris17]

I don't do any of the bidding or writing up contracts, I'm just the crew leader. Its definitely a good lesson for the future though.

TreeMuggs, did you get any pictures of where the lead broke out?

 

[ClimbMIT]

I don’t own a lift but occasionally rent them myself. I have found myself in the same situation when I can’t go any higher and decided to rig bigger than usual.

Thanks for posting TreeMuggs! Much respect for sharing your experience!


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