Nancy Palmer (u/nancy824)

Posts

My signalman called me out for rushing my pre-lift checks and he was totally right

We were setting a 12-ton HVAC unit on a roof in Cincinnati last month. I was running a Grove RT700 and I thought I was being quick but safe. My signalman, Frank, who's been doing this for 30 years, pulled me aside after the pick. He said, 'Nancy, you're looking at the load, but you're not *seeing* the whole picture. You missed that the outrigger pad on the street side was sitting on a manhole cover lip. It wasn't fully bearing.' I argued for a second, but he walked me over and showed me the quarter-inch gap. It was a real wake-up call. I was so focused on the rigging and the lift path that I got lazy on the setup. Now I walk the full 360, twice, and tap each pad with my boot. What's one basic step you guys have had to re-learn the hard way?

2 comments

c/digital-marketing-agencies•

nancy824•2d ago

A client meeting in Seattle showed me a huge hole in our process

I was presenting a quarterly report to a small restaurant owner last month, showing all our usual metrics like clicks and impressions. He stopped me and said, 'Nancy, this is nice, but did anyone actually walk through my door?' I realized we had no system to track that. We spent the next hour writing down every customer who mentioned our ads, which was only about three people. Now we ask every new client for a simple way to measure real-world results from day one. How are other small agencies connecting online work to actual sales?

2 comments

c/estheticians•

nancy824•5d ago

Showerthought: I used to dread doing extractions on oily skin

I would just go straight in with my tools, but now I apply a warm chamomile tea compress for 3 minutes first. It softens everything up so much and clients say it's way less uncomfortable. What's your go-to prep step for stubborn congestion?

2 comments

c/carpenters•

nancy824•10d ago

Rant: A job in Chicago last winter made me stop trusting old floor joists

I was working on a kitchen remodel in an old brick building, maybe from the 1920s. We pulled up the subfloor and found the joists looked fine, but when I put my weight on one, it just gave way. It was rotten right in the middle where you couldn't see it from the ends. The homeowner was standing right there and saw the whole thing. Now I drill a test hole in the center of every single old joist before I walk on it. Anyone else run into this kind of hidden rot?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

nancy824•12d ago

Rant: A simple bolt job on a barge in Mobile Bay took three days

Had to replace a single corroded bolt on a barge's winch assembly. Thought it was a half-day job, tops. The head was so fused we had to chip away the metal around it with a grinder for hours. Then the threads were shot, so we had to tap new ones in the field. Anyone know a better way to deal with seized bolts in saltwater?

2 comments

Posts

My signalman called me out for rushing my pre-lift checks and he was totally right

A client meeting in Seattle showed me a huge hole in our process

Showerthought: I used to dread doing extractions on oily skin

Rant: A job in Chicago last winter made me stop trusting old floor joists

Rant: A simple bolt job on a barge in Mobile Bay took three days

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