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The Christmas Day Crane That Refused to Die
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Most construction disasters happen on Mondays. Some on Fridays. But only the truly legendary ones wait for Christmas Day. ​ New York City, 2007. Downtown Manhattan. A 40-storey office tower under construction. Skeleton up, façade almost done, 70% completed. The kind of project where everyone, owner, contractor, union, inspectors, just wants to go home and eat turkey. ​ On the morning of December 25th, a security guard on site hears something strange: “Clank… clank… clank…” He thinks it’s a rat. A pipe. Or a ghost union worker checking overtime rates. ​ He goes up to investigate. And then he sees it. ​ The tower crane, the 60-meter beast sitting on top of the building… …is moving. Slowly. Creaking. Not rotating freely… fighting itself. Like it’s possessed. ​ The guard panics and calls the superintendent at home. The superintendent answers while carving his Christmas ham. ​ “Impossible. Nobody’s on site.” ​ “THE CRANE IS MOVING.” ​ “Sh*t.”
He hangs up and drives like a lunatic to Manhattan. ​ When he arrives, he discovers the cause: ​ A gust of winter wind had hit the jib of the crane. But the crane slew brake, which should have been left unlocked so the crane could “weathervane” with the wind… …was locked. ​ Locked. On a tower crane. On the 40th floor. In Manhattan. On Christmas Day. ​ It was bending bolts and twisting the slewing ring like a corkscrew. ​ One more hour of wind and the crane could have collapsed onto Broadway. Merry Christmas. ​ So, what did they do? ​ Three heroic (or insane) ironworkers climbed up the crane at 2 p.m. on Christmas Day. Snowflakes falling. Wind blowing. Families eating lunch. And these three guys hanging at 150 meters in the air trying to manually release a brake that should never have been locked. ​ They saved the day. They unlocked the system. The crane realigned with the wind. Manhattan didn’t get a new Christmas tree made of steel and broken counterweights. ​ Afterwards, when the incident was reported, the project manager famously said: ​ “Lessons learned: Never underestimate wind loads. And never let the new guy lock the brake before going on holiday.” ​ And that’s the truth about construction: ​ 99% engineering, 1% miracles, 100% human stupidity. ​ Have a good day… and if thinking of something great to do today… just in a few clicks, you can do miracles. ​My Mentorship​ ​ PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day. PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below. ​ ​ |
Vicente Valencia
I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇
Time to be with family and friends. Time to discuss about the past and look forward to the future. Feel proud of the achievements of this year, even if you think that there are not many. Time puts things in order. Wherever you are, be safe, feel proud. To help you in your journey, yes, you can also click below today. Vicente Valencia Academy PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day. PD 2: If somebody has sent you...
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