Sheedy Crane’s Bay Area crane rental services will perform almost any hoisting, hauling, or rigging, job no matter how big or small. We are industry leaders with over 85 years of hauling, hoisting, and rigging experience. Our foundation of success is built on safety, honesty, and high-quality service. For today’s blog post, we would like to discuss the role of crane operators. Crane Operators like to work outdoors, are great at operating machinery, work well with their hands, and love to build long-lasting things. They move hefty, bulky loads using a crane while spending hours upon hours in the driver’s seat of their cranes.

And they usually work in a variety of places like warehouses, ports, construction areas, and mines. A Crane Operator’s job is never dull.

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What Skills Must A Crane Operator Possess?

Manual dexterity
Physical flexibility and strength
Quick to react
Keen depth perception
Excellent eye-hand coordination
General familiarity with crane operation
Able to repair equipment when necessary
Can think on their feet
Has good judgment
An impeccable organizational skill-set

Do you think you have what it takes to be a Crane Operator? Let’s find out more.

What does their job entail?

As a Crane Operator, you’re responsible for the crane’s maintenance, assembly, inspection, and its overall control. You may work with tower cranes, boom trucks, and mobile cranes. And needless to say, crane safety is paramount in your Crane Operator role.

You can expect the Following Day-To-Day Activities:

A Crane Safety Check
Crane Set-up and Operation
Following a project plan, place the required materials around the project site.
Keep an eye on and assess the crane’s stability.
Load up, balance, and adjust weights
Conduct and read hand signals while operating the crane
Coordinate safety of the site with a designated signal person
Repair the crane when necessary and perform scheduled maintenance.

Additional Skills That Would Be Useful For The Job

An ability to work well in teams

A calm disposition and the ability to have patience and not overreact in emergent situations

Excellent attention to the small details

Skilful spatial perception

Now that you know what skills are needed and what a Crane Operator does, it’s time to explore job requirements and any certifications you might need.

However, along with the skills mentioned above, you’ll need to be certified or licensed.

In fact, the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all Crane Operators must be licensed or certified based on the crane’s type and capacity. It is also an excellent way to differentiate yourself from other candidates.

And because OSHA also holds your employer accountable for the operation and safety of their cranes, most provide comprehensive training for all crane-related operations.

NCCCO Certified Crane Operator requirements include:

You must be over the age of 18

You must follow and meet the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO’s) Substance Abuse Policy

You must pass a written examination for core competency and at least one other specialty along with a practicum or practical exam to demonstrate crane operation mastery within twelve months of passing the written examination.

You must commit to the NCCCO Code of Ethics.

All candidates must take the core exam regardless of the additional specialty they hope to be certified in.

Successfully passing the exams will get you a five-year certification and a laminated photo identification card at no cost.

We recommend that you log onto the NCCCO website to gather more details on certification.

You may be interested to know that Crane operators are in demand across the entire construction industry, and they’re needed on virtually every job. Job openings are expected to increase by 8 percent over the next decade. Therefore, you should think about becoming a Crane Operator.

As one of the leading Bay Area crane rental services, rigging, and heavy hauling contractors, we can help you learn more about becoming a Crane Operator.