That time a foreman asked me to "walk the boom" on a tower crane in Denver

I was about 150 feet up on a Liebherr 180 tower crane, just finishing a steel beam lift. The foreman, this older guy named Chuck, yells up on the radio asking if I can "walk the boom" to check a loose pin at the tip. I thought he was joking until he waved a safety harness up at me. Told him I'd rather rappel down the side of a building than tip-toe on a lattice boom at that height. Has anyone else had a supervisor ask for something that felt like a circus act?

4 comments

4 Comments

gonzalez.reese2mo ago

And what exactly was Chuck planning to do if that pin let go while you were out there, catch you with his bare hands? I'm pretty sure "walk the boom" is something they put in those old training videos as a warning, not a suggestion. Honestly, I would've told him my safety harness was suddenly "lost" in the bottom of my tool bag.

sarah5312mo ago

My big fear with "walk the boom" is that you'd get out there, realize the pin's been loose the whole time, and then you're suddenly starring in your own Darwin Awards highlight reel. I'd probably freeze up and start yelling, "Hey Chuck, catch my wallet, you're gonna find it anyway." Definitely a "lost" harness would buy you an extra coffee break while Chuck reconsiders his life choices.

zara5721mo ago

That "catch my wallet" line really hit home because I had a buddy from trade school who actually walked a boom once and it went about as well as you’d think. He got out there, felt the pin shift a little under his boot, and just froze completely for like a full minute before screaming down that he needed a new pair of pants. Chuck (yes, his foreman was actually named Chuck) had to talk him through every single step backwards while the whole crew watched from the ground holding their breath.

daniel5931mo ago

Hold up, I'm gonna play the other side here because I've actually walked a boom before and it's not that insane if you do it right. Chuck probably knew that pin was fine and just needed a visual check from someone with steady hands, not a full rebuild. Tower crane lattice is way stronger than people give it credit for, and if you clip in your harness properly with two lanyards, you're not gonna fall even if a bolt rattles loose. Plus, rappelling or going down the side takes way longer and risks swinging into stuff, which is actually more dangerous in my book. So yeah, walking the boom beats trying to swing around like some movie stuntman, doesn't it?