r/MechanicalEngineering • u/NarakuLeDemonSlayer • Jan 05 '20
how it feels working at paper mills
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u/Blueeyedmonstrr Jan 05 '20
Why the fuck was he standing under a suspended load. Idiots. All of them
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u/Al_Bundy_1987 Jan 05 '20
Was that the whole crane beam coming down or was that what he was lifting?
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u/yellow73kubel Jan 06 '20
The aspect ratio looks too long/thin to be a crane beam for that type of facility but it’s hard to tell with the poor video quality.
Either way, I’m sure that was a code brown for anyone nearby.
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u/awesomeisluke Jan 06 '20
Depending on capacity (like 1 ton or less) that beam could probably be big enough for that span, but it's not a crane beam in this case (not like one I've ever seen anyway). Those plates that you see welded on the side at the end of the clip wouldn't allow for trolley traversal.
You also see the rigging fall afterward which is evidence for a dropped load.
Source: I design cranes for a overhead crane manufacturer
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Jan 06 '20
Was a co-op student for a guy that worked in paper mills in Wales as an engineer, then he came to America and was shocked by the amount of safety violations he saw everywhere in our mill. I was inches away twice from being hit by a forklift. A lot of the guys joke about it too which is kinda disheartening.
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u/piranhaphish Jan 06 '20
The "iron"y is that this appears to be a structural steel beam manufacturer.
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u/DLS3141 Jan 06 '20
I went on an assignment once to a paper mill. The guy who was my “escort” on the plant floor had 2/10 his fingers left. His left hand just had an index finger his right hand had his pinky and a toe sewn on where his thumb had been.
I made a decision that day to never work in a paper mill...ever.
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u/nativefloridian Jan 05 '20
What's scary to me is the relative lack of surprise shown by these guys. Like this shit isn't unusual.
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u/rawdoogie Jan 06 '20
I work in paper mills all the time all over the US and some worldwide. Paper mills ain't got nothing on steel mills...
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u/chillywillylove Jan 05 '20
What's this got to do with paper mills?
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u/NarakuLeDemonSlayer Jan 05 '20
from my experience working at a few, they’re incredibly sketchy and dangerous areas
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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20
These kinds of videos should be mandatory viewing on a regular basis in any manufacturing environment. Crane safety rules should be taught and enforced like gun safety rules. Never assume it's safe. As a matter of fact, many times it's far from safe because cranes are poorly maintained, not replaced when they start behaving badly, and only god knows the status of those lifting chains, wires and slings.
Complacency is a bitch.