On Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:16:21 -0500, "Pete C."
wrote:


"Edward A. Falk" wrote:

In article .com,
Pete C. wrote:

They have computers and alarms, but it's up to the operator to give the
computer the correct information and pay attention to what it's saying.

Seems to me that you could put weight sensors on all the outriggers. When
any outrigger weight drops below a certain threshold, an out-of-balance
alarm can be presented to the operator, and if the weight continues to
approach zero, the system can lock up, preventing the load from being
extended any further.

And a bad sensor could cause a worse condition. The human has to have
ultimate control, with the machine just providing warnings for the human
to validate.

Had the operator been watching the guages (digital or analog), he
would have known something was wrong before it happened. Either the
guy was new (no sense of his machinery yet) or reckless, or the crane
malfunctioned. He's no longer wreckless. I mean, he tipped that thing
all the way up onto its training wheels!

Did you hear the thrum of the crane change midway, just before the
cussfest?

--
Happiness is when what you think, what
you say, and what you do are in harmony.
-- Mahatma Gandhi