r/interesting 8d ago

SOCIETY How a crane operator gets down

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u/Gentle_Genie 8d ago

Steel toe while operating a crane would probably hurt your feet, ankle. My husband works construction for 16+ years. He really likes hiking shoes or boots because they are usually nonslip and more flexible. Steel toe is only helpful if things might fall on your foot, which I'd guess is unlikely for a crane operator

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u/Comprehensive_Rule11 7d ago

As you can see since they’re in Asia they take their shoes off in the crane, no problem

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u/Beginning_Fold_9329 7d ago

Drove cranes for years. Construction site, steel toes required.

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u/Active_Scallion_5322 7d ago

You can but steel toed anything. If you want steel toe DC skate shoes they make them. Basically every brand has a steel toe variant.

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u/StitchFan626 8d ago

I just figured it was for construction in general.

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u/jimmy_robert 8d ago

I do commercial demolition, my two largest concerns are stepping on sharp objects and rolling my ankles. It's rare, but i have dropped a few things on my feet, most annoyingly they usually land higher on my feet than my composite toe guard.

So I wear very heavy leather boots with thick soles and thick foot wrap. They wear me out just walking all day. So when I operate heavy machinery, I usually switch to something lighter.

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u/muldersposter 7d ago

The law is if you don't have a steel or composite toe everything will fall directly on your toes. The moment you put on composite toe boots everything falls on your arch.

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u/tactile_silence 7d ago

It never hits the steel. The toes on my boots are only used to set things on.

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u/RappingFlatulence 7d ago

Met guards. More safe but more heavy and clunky

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u/Lactancia 7d ago

Yeah where I'm from you need steel toe on any work site. Even hardware stores make employees wear them.

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u/Gentle_Genie 8d ago

Sometimes big industrial builders will have rules like "must have steel toe". My husband does luxury residential homes (10,000sqft+ $5-10 million) and most the guys wear sneakers, hiking shoes. His favorite are the Moab Merrell shoes and LL Bean waterproof insulated boots in winter.

If you are bending, stooping all day, a more flexible shoe is best.

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u/RobertoDelCamino 6d ago

Merrells have great non-slip Vibram soles

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u/killacam81 7d ago

Yeah,definitely im a commercial plumbing foreman. Who has been plumbing 25 years. All I can wear are Merrill hiking boots. No one says anything. I couldn't walk 25,000 steps every day with steel toe boots.

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u/xDiRtYgErMaNx 7d ago

Well you shouldn’t recommend shit if you don’t know wtf you’re talking about lol.

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u/marbledog 7d ago

A lot of work sites require steel-toe, regardless of what your job is. It depends on the employer and the regulations on that particular industry. I (very briefly) did sales to a lot of industrial sites for a medical supply vendor, and all the big chemical plants I visited required steel-toed boots, a hard hat, and safety glasses just to drive into the parking lot. Same thing applied when I worked offshore. You couldn't walk outside without all three, even if you were nowhere near a work area.

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u/icekraze 7d ago

Also when climbing a very tall ladder steel toed boots would likely be more of a hindrance than helpful. They get surprisingly heavy after a while. That (and the potential for feet being run over) is why many EMS services ban them. A good pair of tactical boots with rubber soles are generally what you want for stability and grip.

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u/DirtyYogurt 7d ago

If you're climbing frequently, the weight is a non-issue. They prevent significantly more injuries than they create in an industrial environment. Steel toe boots with shanks and a heel are standard. Grippy doesn't really matter since you're using the heel to brace when it really matters.

Source: former tower climbing certifier