Rant: Got called out for my sloppy pit ladder inspection routine

A few weeks back, I was finishing up a pit inspection on a 20 year old Otis hydraulic in a downtown Phoenix office building. The new guy with me, fresh out of the union program, just watched me do my thing. As we were packing up, he said, 'You know, my instructor hammered it into us to check every single rung for cracks, not just the first three.' I brushed it off at first, but it stuck with me. I realized I'd gotten lazy, just giving the first few a glance and a kick because the pits are usually tight and dirty. The next job, I forced myself to do it his way, full inspection with a light and a wrench tap on every rung. Found a hairline crack on rung number seven that I absolutely would have missed. It was a real wake-up call about cutting corners, even on the simple stuff. How many of you have a set pit routine you never skip?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie_carter872mo ago

Ever have that moment where a simple comment just rewires your brain? That new guy was totally right, and it's scary how easy it is to slip into a lazy routine. I got called out once for rushing my door gap checks, and now I do them slow every single time.

spencer82mo ago

Man, that hits home. I had a whole thing for checking the oil in my old truck. Just a quick pull of the dipstick, wipe, quick look. My buddy watched me do it once and was like, 'You know you're supposed to let it sit for a minute after you run it, right?' Felt like a total idiot. It's the simple stuff you do a thousand times where your brain just goes on autopilot. You start making your own shortcuts without even realizing it.

grant.susan2mo ago

You think that's cutting corners? A quick, smart check is better than a slow, mindless one. I trust my eyes and my gut on the first few rungs, and that's kept me safe for twenty years.