My old boss told me to always double-check the lift bag rigging, and a job in the Gulf last month proved him right.

We were pulling a piece of steel off a rig in about 90 feet of water, and I had the lift bags set up the way I always did. Right before we started, I remembered what he said and went over every shackle and strap again. Found a pin on a main shackle that was only finger-tight, not moused at all. If we'd lifted with that, it would have popped under load for sure. Has anyone else caught a simple rigging mistake that could have turned real bad?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben4361mo ago

Used to think that kind of double-check was just busywork for new guys. Figured if you set it up right the first time, you were good. Seeing a shackle pin back out on its own during a surface check last year changed my whole view. Now that final look is just part of the job, no questions asked.

matthew_owens91mo ago

My own overconfidence has bitten me more than once.

piper_green3d ago

Wait, did that shackle pin actually back out on its own while you were right there watching it? That's wild. I had a buddy who always swore he could tell when a bolt was gonna loosen up just by the sound it made when he was wrenching on it. One day he was bragging about it and then his whole truck hitch dropped on the highway. Now he double checks EVERYTHING with a red paint marker like his life depends on it. Honestly, that kind of thing makes you realize how much faith we put in metal and friction to not kill us all.