Lost half a shift fighting a bad load chart on a Grove RT540E

Last week I grabbed a newer load chart for a 40-ton Grove RT540E off the crane's tablet and set up for a 12-ton pick at 60 feet radius. Took me 45 minutes to position the outriggers and get the cribbing perfect, then I notice the chart is for the wrong boom configuration. Someone had loaded a chart for the 90-foot boom when the crane was actually running a 110-footer. Wasted almost 4 hours rechecking everything and redoing my setup. The foreman was pissed because we fell behind on pouring a foundation slab over on the north end of the site. Has anyone else gotten tripped up by digital load charts getting mixed up like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jenny1mo agoMost Upvoted

The tablet part checks out but a Grove RT540E doesn't have a 110-foot boom option. That model tops out at 105 feet with the jib, maybe 106 if you're stretching it. So whoever loaded that chart probably grabbed a file for a different crane altogether, not just the wrong boom length. I've seen guys grab a chart for an older 540E revision and it throws your radii off by a couple feet because the outrigger spread changed a little. Makes you double check everything including your sling angles and headroom before you even signal the operator.

xenarobinson1mo ago

And that's exactly the problem with digital everything these days - it just gives you more ways to get tripped up. Once you put the wrong file in the tablet, nobody questions it because it looks official on a screen. Paper charts might get wrinkled and dog-eared but at least you can see the model number right there on the front.

tylerr391mo ago

Oh man that's rough. Same thing happened to me on a Link-Belt last summer. Somebody swapped out the wrong chart for a different jib setup and I spent half a day re-rigging for a pick that was already good to go. Digital charts are supposed to make life easier but they just give you more ways to screw up.