Just realized I've been overthinking spotter signals for years - hand signals vs radio, which is actually safer?

3 comments

3 Comments

@oscar743 You're totally right, "another thing to lose, break, or have the battery die" is exactly why I stick to hand signals too. Radios just add unnecessary hassle when a quick arm wave or tap on the shoulder gets the job done faster.

robertb4720d ago

Man, I gotta say I used to be all about radios on jobsites. Thought they made you look more professional or something. But after reading this thread and thinking back, I honestly can't count how many times I wasted ten minutes trying to pair a headset or digging a dead battery out of my bag. Hand signals are just faster. I was on a crew last summer where the foreman's radio died halfway through framing a roof and we had to yell across the whole site. Total mess. Now I'm leaning toward just keeping it simple with the old arm waves.

oscar74328d ago

Y'all are seriously still debating this in 2024? Hand signals have worked fine for decades on every construction site I've ever been on. You see the guy waving his arm over his head, you know what that means. Radios are just another thing to lose, break, or have the battery die on when you actually need it. Is there really that much risk from using the old school way unless you're working in some super specific scenario? Seems like folks just want to complicate a simple job.