Rigging gone wrong...

treesmith

treesmith

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So I couldn't get Carl to understand that the piece needed to run...<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yqzey0sFOco" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Just kidding. Somebody posted this over on the 'Buzz, and I found it rather shocking, to say the least. I've been whacked by brush and whatnot on occasion, but never like that.
 
I'm going to show this to my guys today. On the big fir we wrecked the other day I kept telling my guy to step up and cut where it's comfortable, not only does it help you run the saw more safely but if that guy had stepped up that piece would have missed him. Get the wood below you quicker. He could have broken a leg with a little more force
 
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Yeah, I hate for anyone to get hurt, naturally, and sometimes one has to question the rationale of posting a vid like that, but I think it has some merit as a teaching tool.
 
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I occasionally tie to balance a piece, as I did yesterday on Carl's job, while rigging some pieces out over a garage roof. There was not enough room for the pieces to tip downward, but if balanced, I could take them ~6' long. I was standing on the lead (it was near horizontal), and natural crotching from an adjacent lead, so the pieces were swinging away from me. Balanced pieces are notorious for swinging a bit more wildly than butt-tied pieces.
 
Yeah, I do it alot but you have to know when you can get away with it. Any time I think I may be in the bight I will tell my groundman to make sure we are on the same page
 
Man, that's a hit. I've been struck like that but not so bad. The piece was tied wrong and he was in a bad position. See my position in my avatar pic? I'm up high, not down low.
 
That'll be a good one to show to my apprentice.
He is just learning to run ropes.

I like the guy's hard hat BTW!
 
I know things happen but it looks like there were many things he could have done different to prevent that, let alone the groundie messing up.
 
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I just emailed the link to my ground guy to watch. He does pretty good anyway, but this was too good a teaching tool to pass up on.

I agree, Butch...should/could have been cut smaller. Lotsa guys like to "go big" and get it down quicker, only to have the ground crew having to cut it up once on the ground so's it can be moved. I'd rather be safe, take a little more time, and get it down in manageable pieces.
 
Almost everything was done wrong, but it looks quite typical for the type of tree work going on around here every day. In 20 years of climbing I never could figure out how to convince a groundie to let the damn piece run below me instead of locking it up tight and waiting for it to swing into me before lowering it. Most times I could position myself out of the way but once in a while it was critical to let the piece run. Those cuts terrified me because nobody around here can run a rope. Today I no longer let any groundie rope for me, I do all my own rigging. Most times they are barely qualified to unhook the piece once I set it on the ground.
 
Get a new job or learn to sort your shit out. Guy is a retard - poor cutting with a poor groundie is the easiest way to get damaged.
If I sound harsh it's because I think idiots do not deserve reward
 
I saw that on the Buzz too. It is amazing how nice it is here. What was it 65% or more that thought this was not a good vid for teaching and some others just said it was stupid. I see a lot to be learned, what not to do is sometimes a good tool. We cannot always show our ground men the right thing to do as the consequences of the wrong thing are not understood. Again I have to appreciate the members here!
 
MasterBlaster said:
Man, that's a hit. I've been struck like that but not so bad. The piece was tied wrong and he was in a bad position. See my position in my avatar pic? I'm up high, not down low.
Click to expand...

A lot of lessons in that vid. But, Butch posted the best lesson. Tie-in high ... right up to the cut. NOT making a cut above your head was one of the first lessons I was taught. But, no PPE, mid-tie, groundie asleep ... the list goes on. The guy was lucky to suffer only bruises ... so was the groundie ... no arse kicking with busted legs.
Scary chit!!! Hard to watch but a 'good' reminder. :O
 
The biggest mistake was the mid-tie, 2nd was a groundie who doesnt know how to rope.

All things considered, that guy had no business being in that tree doing what he was doing. He clearly had no idea how to cut or rig. He was lucky to have survived with only injuries.
 
I liked his poulan.


Seriously, that was nuts. Ive got a number of guys, some that work for me, and some that don't, that can rope like the wind blows. I feel lucky for that. My main man Tim has come a long way on the ropes and I've really started spreading my wings on what I put on line for him to lower. He gives me a lot of confidence on taking bigger stuff and lowering tops over on a bare pole. That used to rattle my cage but he makes it so smooth I don't flinch much now.
 
I feel bad for the guy, but it was totally preventable. Hopefully, he's learned from his mistakes...and there were many in that vid.
 
Tucker943 said:
I liked his poulan.


Seriously, that was nuts. Ive got a number of guys, some that work for me, and some that don't, that can rope like the wind blows. I feel lucky for that. My main man Tim has come a long way on the ropes and I've really started spreading my wings on what I put on line for him to lower. He gives me a lot of confidence on taking bigger stuff and lowering tops over on a bare pole. That used to rattle my cage but he makes it so smooth I don't flinch much now.
Click to expand...
A climber is as only good as his ground man and the ground man is only as good as the climber.
 
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