When you stepped out on the side of it I was like "NOOOOOPE" hahaha. You are great at describing how everything works with your crane. Love the videos!
Watching this video has increased my respect for crane operators tremendously. I find jobs like this to be very cool, but I would never, ever have the courage to walk around the top. Thanks for posting this, and keep up the great work!
MY OLD MAN, WHO IS 91 NOW, USED TO BE A TREE TOPPER AND THE HIGHEST HE CLIMBED A TREE WAS 180FT...HIGH RIGGERS KICK ASS!....THIS IS PRETTY BASIC ONCE YOU EXERCISE SAFTEY EVERY DAY...LOGGING/TREE TOPPING...A SPECIAL BREED OF MAN DOES THAT...ESPECIALLY BACK IN THE 1950S...
I watched riggers building and dismantling a tower crane a couple of years ago,and although I did scaffolding work on building sites,my respect for those riggers went through the roof! Walking along the boom while it was swinging! My heart was in my mouth,but for him,just another day at the office!
I'm retired now but when I was still working I ran a hose & funnel system to the ground in the 70's but switched to a composting toilet in the 80's and kept upgrading my toilet until 2011 when I retired .
My son has been a tower crane operator for 4 yrs now. I finally questioned him on who and how someone inspects the crane. He said he did and I about flipped as he told me had walked the distance. He tends to kid with me a lot so I took to youtube and found your video. You are very detailed and informative! I enjoyed it and have actually watched it about 4x...however every time you make "the walk" I still have a panic attack!!!! He works on newer cranes and starts another job tomorrow, his tallest so far at 280'. Loves his job and well, I pray every day for the safety of everyone! Thanks for sharing your video!!!
What a great comment. I completely understand your discomfort. I can say this about how dangerous it is. In 14 years on tower cranes only, I have never seen anyone fall and test their harness or static line (which is very strong by the way). Be happy that he is conscientious enough and responsible enough to care for the safety of himself and everyone on site. Some operators don't inspect their own crane (I understand why) but it is our experience that should be utilized out there. If someone thinks he is responsible enough for this very key position, he is impressing someone out there. You've done well as a parent.
Thanks I try! He works for McCarthy. I believe they've been in business for about 150 years. He is very conscientious and takes his job serious! I think tower crane operators need to make a hell of a lot more money for the stress you are under!!!
Patricia Trexler BTW, I shared this on FB and I had a couple of friends take my word for it as they are afraid of heights...I am too! I showed it to a couple of my tow truck drivers the other day and both said HELL NO!
Thanks a lot man for taking you time to make this video and show us every aspect of your crane, especially with the go pro camera to see things just like you. Keep up the vids!!
I just about screamed with excitement when I learned this was Seattle! I drive by you numerous times a day! My one and only dream in life is to become a crane operator and I think it shows (here I am at 9:40PM watching crane videos). Thank you so much for making this video and know every time I drive by, I will have a huge smile on my face.
The one that is up across the street is a different crane. This crane was where the PCC market is now. If you seriously want to run cranes, I would contact Local 302 in Bothell. They can get you paid training with benefits as you go. There is a huge demand in town. We have 34 operators working across town for oyr company and we have trouble finding new ones. It won't always be this busy, but with the build out of mass transit stations we should have consistent work for 20-30 years as neighborhoods change from Everett to Tacoma.
Jordan J. That's a great thing to hear! I will likely have to start on a boom crane and work my way up. If I never end up in one I will die a sad sad women
Very informative! Thank you! Was curious since I see so many of these tower cranes where I live in Downtown Los Angeles. We must have a couple dozen high rises going up right now.
Impressive video. I work in Seattle and recognize the project this video was shot at. I've heard that the Seattle area now has the highest number of tower cranes in the world. Crazy how much growth there is.
I was an Electrician for 35 years, commercial and industrial. Put food on my table and more than paid my bills. Worked mostly in western Washington. Interesting work and pay was good.
The 550HC model your running was on the Hibernia oil platform during the base construction. The lugs on the tower top legs were added so the erection and dismantle of this crane they picked the tower top and turntable in one pick that was the purpose for the lugs. I worked for Morrow Equipment Co for over 30 yrs and actually erected and dismantled that exact crane two times and the reason I remember that is the four lugs added to the tower top. There were several other cranes Morrow ended up buying after the Hibernia oil platform was finished. The pin and sleeve connection are not suppose to move and the channel the pins go thru are not suppose to be in contact with the leg of the tower section there should be 1/8-1/4” gap between channel and tower leg open the manual the next time your on 550HC tower section and it shows the proper installation procedures, but you had the torque correct and if you don’t put a lubricant between the tapered pin and tapered sleeve I’ve seen where the connection had to be lanced out and believe me that’s the most expensive mistake you can make with that connection. If I’m remembering correctly that one complete connection 2X pins, 2X sleeves and channel is around $4,000-5,000 ten years ago. One other thing the swing brake caliper is from a Volkswagen and it’s just a holding brake I’ve been out of town repairing swing brakes and had to go to auto parts stores and bought new calipers and hydraulic brake cylinder to repair the brake system and used Volkswagen parts and they matched perfectly. Remember Liebherr tower cranes are made in Germany been to the factory there several times also the old Piener factory in Trier Germany. Nice video.
Nice observations. There is an old VW place up here that I have went to and ended up going to a guy's house to pull one off of his VW truck because they were out of stock. I feel like we have ran across each other., maybe twice. Once outside of Truckee and one other time in Beverly Hills with a 550 where a card had failed and wasn't giving any overload feedback. You still doing cranes, or did you retire?
Kudos to you for being able to do this job. I'm getting queasy just watching a video of being that high in the air, and the steel grates for floors. Those are another thing that makes me queasy, not sure why i have always hated those though, never had anything happen to me on em before.
great video man, I'm a crane tech on the east coast, we deal mostly with peiner and some comedil its good to see old liebherr vid the only liebherr we deal with are Mobil and crawler thanks man
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx Actually, Comedil longevity/reliability is a question that I have. I have started supplying cranes. I'm trying to position myself differently from others that exist here. I'm wondering about the Comedil and Saez lines. I hear support from Comedil isn't very good and the life of their cranes is noticeably suffering after 5 years. What has your experience been?
+David Wright Sir, I would say that at 3:45 of this video to about 4:15 you'll see the process. Let me say, that I am guessing about the the 280. I have erected them, but I've never ran one. I think that the braking system should be the same since they are of the same era as this 1992 550 HC. Pull the arm to the right, depress the button on the left, release the arm, then release the button. You should be able to turn the brake disk by hand from there. Sorry for not being 100%, but that's my best shot at it.
Hi rotyag I Passed my tests and currently working on a liebherr 132 hc in Yorkshire. Having passed my test I can understand more of your tips now. I just need to get some proper experience now.
David Shanks Congratulations. The 132's are a good little crane. Quite a bit of tower deflection, but I like them nonetheless. It's good for teaching you to be smooth in your acceleration and deceleration. Great size to be getting your feet wet in. Cheers.
I have to say that I'm more comfortable doing it versus watching someone do it. I'm entirely comfortable doing it. But those videos of people hanging from cranes makes my palms sweat. I've totally done that from as high as 660', but with a harness on.
No. The cranes can generally get thorough common snow quite easily. If the temps drop below zero Fahrenheit, they really shouldn't be ran. The steel has structural temperature limits as do most of the electrical panels. I mistakenly left a crane 100% off one cold night. It took like 30 minutes for everything to warm up enough to start running. The modern ones have "computers" that power the motors and they can't run if they are cold.
Another question. When moving the trolley, does the hoist need be constantly adjusted. How else could I word this question? Does the position of the trolley have any effect on the hoist?
Fantastic. You are going to feel a lot of pressure for quite a while. It eases and it really becomes a great way to earn a living. Today it was snowing in Seattle. While everyone else was bundled tight, I was in shorts and socks. The hardest part is not becoming a 100 kilo operator due to sitting all day.
Been just over a year .. Working at start it was ..but after month my nerves left me.. I've since done my nvq I have blue card and added a pedestrian crane ticket to my saddle and luffer.. Next I'll do lift supervisor .. How time flys...
Hi rotyag I,m booked in for luffer and saddle cranes test early next year in the UK. Any extra advice would be very welcome. You certainly seem to know and enjoy your job. Where are you working at present? Cheers Dave
Hi David. Do you have time running other types of cranes? Are you a banksman now? I ask to help me understand where you are at in the process of learning the trade. I know the job because I was a tower crane erector, signal person, operator, then crane inspector, and then went back to operating. The variety of exposure really helped me understand the whole picture. Dig, ask questions until you annoy people. The more knowledge you end up with, the better you will be able to assess situations quickly and accurately over the years. You will be looked at as the resident expert as few other people on jobsites understand the big picture. I am working on a 21 story building in Seattle Washington. We are working 60 hour weeks because we are doing one concrete floor per week. Up to the 10th floor now so we should be done with the structure in late December.
Thanks for the reply rotyag. I have done nothing on tower cranes before, The only thing I have done is operate overhead cranes with my present job in a foundry. Looking forward to it but I know it will be hard work until I get complete confidence in it. Your background sounds like the perfect training for an operator. Cheers Dave
I managed to get some videos done showing some tricks and dynamics you'll have to adjust to. It'll be a few more days until I can get it all tossed into a video for you. Hopefully I'm not too chatty. I could talk all day about cranes and different approaches so sometimes I have to shut myself up. I'll get you a message when it's all done. Maybe Sunday. I have some skydiving classes in the afternoon, but hopefully the morning will be quiet.
I can't say that I have been on one of the new Linden Comansa's. The last time we had one in town was 2006. Then before that, one contractor in Portland owned one and I only erected it once. I'm afraid that I don't know. I could get you the phone number of a Linden Tech now because they are moving into our area with factory support.
Gaytor Rasmussen Thanks for the offer, I'll call a tech that should know. Linden is new to me, and it seems like a lemon. The slew and hoist fault often, trolley cable rubs a section of the jib, and the auxiliary trolley wheels seize - needing replacement every two months +/-.
Good to know. I have been curious about them. Got a quote on the price of a new one for future consideration. The new cranes in a few years are going to not only have sensors and potentiometers that tell the crane what the load and reach is, they are also going to have to have redundant backups. The Litronics have had that for a few years which is why they throw out errors quite often. They don't always agree so we get error codes.
Gaytor Rasmussen Well put, "they don't always agree" This (21 LC 450) was new before this job and is on it's third software update. Also worth noting, it has swung to the right twice in 5 months - motors engaged. Once with brakes engaged and once without. If it happens again I'm going to find another job before injuries or damages.
Interesting. On the new (2015) and newer Litronic Liebherrs, they have a similar potential problem. But only if you actively running the crane. What seems to happen is that if you bump the controller left or right for the small easy movements like we have always done, the sensors for torque and the programming don't really know what to do with it at certain times. It will give you like 50% power back in the opposite direction you are hoping to lightly drift into. And you can't correct it. Same fear with bumping the swing to open the brakes. The solution in that case has seemed to be two options. The swing parameters have two settings. So if you have it happen, you can have a tech put you in the other setting and see if you can run it in the other style. In our case (multiple operators over multiple shift job), we just learned to run it by engaging and holding the control. treated it more like running a hydro crane. Not sure any of that is applicable to the Linden's, but there is my experience with the new Liebherrs. I'm with you on bailing on a unsafe crane. Our name is everything career wise. As an expert witness I can tell you that it's not terribly uncommon for operators to climb out of the seat and start vomiting. We carry a lot of responsibility here.
nawabumar If a hoist motor is properly aligned, it's smooth. When you run at high speeds, especially with a load on like a bucket of concrete at 8800 lbs, the rope can get a good vibration at the kick point (where the rope is shoved over). You really shouldn't feel too much on a properly shimmed (aligned) motor unless you are really cruising with the hoist. New cranes that run at 900 feet per minute can get some bouncing going just due to the velocity of the rope moving. It's usually a lateral twist as the rope gets forced horizontally which in turn forces your shoulders to twist as well. A bad motor alignment is a vertical bounce.
Gaytor Rasmussen Hi, thanks for answering. I have a further question, thing is I work for a telecommunication company that provides solutions to oil and gas companies. We want to install wireless antenna directly on to a tower crane. The wireless equipment has a certain mechanical vibration limit. So I wanted to know how significant is the vibration on tower itself. Please check you account's discussions section. Thanks
nawabumar I don't know how to quantify it honestly. There is a substantial amount of movement based on elevation and crane design. In terms of movement, I've seen cranes that will yield a full meter forward and backwards depending on the load moment. .6 meters is pretty common and if the operator is too fast during the loading or unloading of that weight it can be a little violent. As to specific vibration limits, it will vary by design and crane health (sheave bearings wearing out can get egg shaped) and I just don't have a frame of reference to even take a guess. I think that you'd have to measure it to see if it's within your threshold and feasible. Best of luck.
Structural connections for displacement. Welds on mast as you climb. OIl levels at all gear boxes. Rope lay on drums. Motion limits on all functions. A quick look at any pin connection the jibs or pendants to be sure no movement is going on there
@@luddy11 when on pins, they usually slope back. Gravity and them weighing 3 metric tons will hold them. When they sit flat, they hole is tight enough that they cannot twist out. Some older cranes use bolts or structure to hold them in place.
What does it mean by "steps"? Does the motor only run at a fixed speed (before the gearbox)? And I would like to know if you have much experience about Terex/Comedil cranes.
Cranes prior to 2005 ish ran via contactors. You would engage set speeds and that was it. On the Liebherrs, the better operators would quickly alternate between speeds to get the optimal speed between two different ones. You can see me doing that in the rebar column video as I am sending it down. 4th step was a bit too fast for what I was doing. 3rd step is too slow and it would generate heat in the resistor bank due to running slow. They only had set speeds. The larger cranes today have PLCs that are often variable in speed. The smaller cranes still have set speeds for the most part. But they are VFD controlled on the power which is way better for the motor, and you don't have to worry about heat building up.
You also asked about Comedil's and I'm not finding the actual question. My experience with them is somewhat limited. They are alright to erect. The tower bolting on the HD23 towers is just miserable though. But overall as a crane, my experience has been that they constantly have issues. Now almost all of these are used cranes. I helped supply five of them in town last year and at one point, three of them were broken down and need of service. A contractor put one up two years ago and couldn't get it to run. 12 weeks later they brought in another one. A supplier is coming into town with them now. Hopefully they are bringing in newer gear. Another owner that I have chatted with says that he's had good luck with the new ones. I couldn't say which ones to avoid. It's not a brand that has been well represented, yet, here. It's possible that the ones from the used market are just abused prior to getting here.
360 degrees. Heavy winds changing directions quickly is the biggest concern for tower cranes. Think swirling winds. The cranes lean back into the wind and often are fine up to 140 mph. If you turn them around the wrong direction, that might be more like 80 mph (total guess, but probably in the ball park).
W O W . . . I always wanted to try running one of those. I have run about all the Other kind... BUT.. I certainly DIDN’T want to go that far Out on the boom..!! 🙄😎
Yes I know what you mean even in training.. I felt pressure.. And in real world will be more.. But as my new Boss said I will be put with experienced driver for week.. And not thrown to wolves.. Yes in cab with heater on in from cold wind rain is real nice.. I'll get few years experience and go Canada lots work there or Australia.. Only way to deal with 100 kilo weight gain is to train 4days week cardio and gym. Lol
Nice video! I really enjoyed the insight on the career I want to pursue. One quick question: What's an operator do incase of an earthquake or any other emergency?
If no load was on the crane and the hook was clear, I'd hoist up to limit the hook swinging around and hit the horn to remind people to get away. If I had a load near a person, I'd do my best to get it away from them because it's going to be violently swinging. Preferably I'd set it down and get loose, maybe even set the block down. The cranes are flexible enough that they often absorb earthquakes unless they are shallow. Sometimes they collapse a boom. In Taipei two got shaken off a building, but that wouldn't be the norm. You are going for a ride and the only thing you can do is protect everyone else as best as possible.
comedil are a lot of problems, we have a few 630 and some 181 and 182 they are a easy assembly but a lot of problems in the panel , your pretty much on the phone with Italy every build trying to diagnose one thing or another
Not on all of them. It would be near impossible to get around a large liebherr cab. I would discourage you in doing so. It happens. It's happened on my cranes a few times. One of our operators found a beer can on one of our cranes Monday. But what you don't see often that I do is that people die doing that. 5-10 a year. It's difficult to see well up there at night. You have lights below and if you don't have good moon light, you'll just be looking at blacked out metal. You won't be able to see trip hazards. If things aren't properly secured you could have live power and 400 or 480v will not be kind. I know that I can't change what you are going to do, so be careful once you hit the top side.
Hey looks great.. I'm from Ireland I'll be doing my saddle and luffer tower next week.. Learning theory atm I'm good now lookin forward to gettin up on Crane and learnin my course is week to 10days.. Any other info you could suggest a novice like me would be great..
I would take it slow and work on my accuracy first. Getting the depth perception and all the visual cues as to your load's location is most important. Watch for shadows. I love sunny days. Load control is second. Your brain will eventually just get into a rhythm with each crane's speed. Always pay attention to the load as you are hoisting. Riggers have a lot to watch and you need to work as a team. If as you are hoisting the block shoots in one direction, something is wrong. Speed is critical for longevity. A slow tower crane is worthless to the job. Accidents are even worse. But you will have to push for speed over time. Not immediately, but as soon as you safely can. Controls vary by crane. There is often a need to engage controls rapidly for short bursts. to control swing. I've seen operators who never learn to feather the controls and the load swings all over the place. One thing that is universal is that control inputs with speed have tom come with a rhythm. starting a fast swing isn't just full power, full stop. It's hard on the crane and the load will be all over the place. You ramp it up and down. It's true for all controls. Good Luck! I really enjoy it as a career. If you are comfortable saying, what's a common salary in Ireland for a Tower Crane Driver?
Well thanks very much for that interesting information.. Yes depends on the company or agency.. Best I saw for tower Crane was 23 Euro hour.. Generally 14 to 23. And in your home bet it's 30 to 50 dollars hour
Mark Foley Roughly $50 for full package. $38 USD in hourly, $8 for pension and another $7 or so for health insurance. That varies a lot by state and union status though.
Mark Foley My wife is Czech and kept her EU Citizenship so Europe will one day be my home. Maybe later in life when I will have a pension income and work as well.
I see yes as you know any big cities will have work. Also in America and Canada? can I use a European cpcs Crane licence for those countries do you know.. ? As its different
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx Morrow has the chart listed now. mx.morrow.com/sites/default/files/datasheets/1000%20EC-H%2040%20Litronic.pdf The line pull is the same. Presume the same hoist as the 550's and 630's. KW rating is same. Weight is different but the potential for more line due to 4 part may account for that. The moment capacity is double. 25,350 lbs in 2 part LM2 mode. We have a Kroll 1400 working in town servicing tunnel work. Seems to me that one can pick 134,000 in 6 part and 34,000 to 250 feet. The towers are 13' across. They took a couple weeks to throw it together because it was new out of the box. I did a little blog on it years ago. towercraneaccidents.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-26th-2011.html I dig the big iron.
+Shawna Graham Some of us are just delicate little flowers who never poop. I would be lying if I said that didn't know of people using 5 gallon buckets or camping toilets. I'd also be lying if I said I never saw anyone crap themselves on a crane because they waited too long. An old boss didn't make it. (back in the crane erecting days a decade ago) Got to the toilet on the ground and heard a guy passing by. Asked him for his pliers (with a cutting blade) and just cut his underwear off. When he went to hand the pliers back to my co-worker, "Nah.. you can keep those." That same guy made me signal my first tower crane apart because he had to poop. I'm a better crane erector because of his drinking and poor eating habits. If one is a drinker or has IBS, this is not the career for you! 13 hours or more is not uncommon at a stretch. One really needs to be in control of their bowels and eat healthy for this job.
A very thorough and well explained video, however, I think you may have overlooked one small item.....barf-bags. Where are those located, and how often are they used? LOL Maybe not on a daily basis, but haven't you experienced some kind of nausea, or motion sickness on breezy days?
Yes. In the crane in this video, I was hit. It's loud. The crane is grounded so the electricity has an easy path out. The metal transfers the energy more easily than it does through us. To that end, we are safe. One of my cranes had a zoning system failure that we struggled to replicate. It got hit by 26 kv a few times before the grid shutdown. There was relatively little damage. Few hours of panel work, then replacing ropes. The grounding had to be rebuilt. But the operator was safe despite that level of energy hitting multiple times.
+Syu Syuhada Absolutely. We have a female operator working for us. It's not a physically demanding job. Even as an ironworker I worked with women. There are physical strength differences that may limit some tasks, but accommodations can be made. The biggest difficulty I see for women is sensitivity. In construction you have to be able to take criticism and it isn't going to be given with any concern for feelings. It is often about life and death or big money concerns so being direct is important. If you can take it criticism and give it, you can do it!
+juggernault71 No Sir. I've climbed cranes over and over when erecting them and no issues with the legs. On the straight ladders that run 90 degrees to the ground, your arms can get tired because you have to pull in tight to the ladder. I was pushing it on time once on a crane and climbed a 278' tall crane in six minutes. But that's sweating and going for it. 10-12 minutes might be a leisurely climb for 278 ' or 85 meters.
+Ethan Sunder Big Mobile cranes. When they are really tall you have to "Climb" them down. Sunday I am involved with a climb. Maybe I'll go in early to get some video of how that works. Here is a link to what I mean by big mobile cranes. images.cranenetwork.com/rcn/cranes/image/f2f2a7520c42850585bd3c7a0.jpg
+Jose Mourinho Here, I would suggest being an electrician. The labor contracts are better for electricians. When construction slows down, it's easier to find work as an electrician. As a tower crane operator you really need to stand out and have a known name. If you are aggressive enough to be in that top 15% in a big city, you'll always have work. Fall out of that upper echelon, you'll be moving around to find work and that isn't the best family life.
Do you find that when you get used to driving a particular crane, it's somewhat difficult to adapt to a different crane that you're not so used to driving?
It depends on a few things. If you live in a union area, you can just join the local operating engineers and let them know that's what you want to do. You'll go through a process and maybe work some jobs for a couple of years that aren't what you want to do, like running bulldozer or backhoe before you get the right timing and opportunity. But you'll make a decent living and get good training along the way. If you live in an area that is mostly non-union, you can either spend your own money and time on a tower crane training program like Morrow Equipment or there is another tower crane school, or you can just go and apply for jobs with general contractors and crane owners. Usually they would work you as a rigger for quite a while until you get an opportunity as a crane operator. It's a critical position that they don't just give to anyone. You do need to earn it unless you are working for someone terribly irresponsible. Let me know if I can help further. I'd need to know what area you are in for anything more specific.
Bottles for urine. Camping toilets for defecating. I would suggest that you don't want this job if you don't have a clockwork stomach. On highrise work, it's so busy that you don't have time to poop.
A crane like this is a five minute climb. You might take longer for a better inspection. In a hurry I have climbed cranes twice this height in 6 minutes (Total of 278 feet). But that's breathing heavy and getting sweaty.
We have a crane that is nearing 800' tall downtown. If I am doing an annual inspection I would budget 1.5 to 2 hours for the mast. An hour for the daily would be someone pretty far out of shape. I have seen it though. Climb a section... rest. Climb a section... rest. More of a normal pace is 6-7 sections and rest just to prevent getting sweaty. Oh... and if it's 30 year old crane with straight ladder, that will double your climb time for sure.
Man, I'm a climber and that vid have me an adrenaline rush. Particularly when you stepped out on the jib at the end. That was the best Via Ferrata I've seen. How long does it take to train up for a job like this? Great job
+Bobby Davro In Washington State specifically you need 500 hours of supervised training to operate a tower crane. You can run one with less time. But to know what is going on and how the job should run, a typical operator should have more than a few years in the field too. Otherwise you might not really know what is going on and you'll be at the mercy of those who also don't know what they are doing. Funny thing is that you can actually obtain a Helicopter pilots license in like 50 hours. We are a bit strict here. In many states you don't need anything but permission. That is changing, but it hasn't as of yet.
+Bobby Davro The good and the bad. Not sure what pay is as a crane driver in the UK. Long hours. Early hours. There are no sick days. Lots of sitting so diet is important. But if you are a laborer, it doesn't rain in the crane. You are central to the job and will generally be treated as such. Injuries are not common so longevity is good. It's a mental challenge to do everything as quickly as possible yet stay safe because there is so much to watch for. Good luck!
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx 65 feet in that configuration (265' of boom). To 93' with 93 feet of boom. A 630 set up with two trolley's can take 88,000 out to 46 feet with the same tower. 12700 lbs to 267' in LM2 Mode with a single trolley. That number has always impressed me.
This is a solid point. The honest answer is that if you aren't a clockwork pooper, this isn't the job for you. Some people have those camping toilets. I've heard worse stories about bags. But when you are stuck up there for 12 to 14 hours, you need to have a stomach that can roll with that.
I always thought running a tower crane would be cool but after watching you hanging off the side of the jib I think I'll stick with mobile cranes instead. I've got an opportunity to start my apprenticeship there. Any advice you could give me? Thanks, love the videos btw!
***** Pattern recognition. Attention to detail. You are the captain of the ship. Running cranes well and safely really is about pattern recognition. For example, you are hoisting up and the block jerks one way. Either you are off and not centered over the load, something snagged the rigging, or you have a rigging problem. It's nuanced stuff like that. Attention to the details will save you. Our cranes have safety factors built in and it's when we ignore them that we get into trouble. Did you put the out riggers out while you are swinging around and just setting up. A guy in Tacoma a decade ago had the swing away jib on a crane erected and swung his crane around like he would do so when it was stowed. He was a the Narrows Bridge deck (big suspension bridge) and he rolled his crane. One erred move and he endangered himself, his crane and everyone on the bridge. You are the captain of the ship. You are responsible for what happens. You are the final call. Always keep that in mind. Don't wear it like a puffed out chest, but know it. From your morning inspection to your shutting it down at night, you are the responsible party. It's important you do it all as a professional.
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx In 2 part. If you set up a 550 or 630 ECH 40 (4 part two trolley) you have 88,000 in capacity. I have only seen that on a suspension bridge in Vancouver BC. The old 550's have 30 millimeter line.
This last weekend we dismantled a crane at 800' up at 5th and Columbia in Seattle. Walking out over the street caught my attention and I've been doing this for 16 years.
Tayyab, if you wanted to work on cranes in Seattle, you should reach out to Operating Engineers 302. It's a local union that can get you training and find you a job in the market. Operations, tech support... that's where we hire from. Best of luck on the search!
When you stepped out on the side of it I was like "NOOOOOPE" hahaha. You are great at describing how everything works with your crane. Love the videos!
Watching this video has increased my respect for crane operators tremendously. I find jobs like this to be very cool, but I would never, ever have the courage to walk around the top. Thanks for posting this, and keep up the great work!
MY OLD MAN, WHO IS 91 NOW, USED TO BE A TREE TOPPER AND THE HIGHEST HE CLIMBED A TREE WAS 180FT...HIGH RIGGERS KICK ASS!....THIS IS PRETTY BASIC ONCE YOU EXERCISE SAFTEY EVERY DAY...LOGGING/TREE TOPPING...A SPECIAL BREED OF MAN DOES THAT...ESPECIALLY BACK IN THE 1950S...
It's actually not bad at all. Me and my friends climb them for fun and it's pretty safe
I watched riggers building and dismantling a tower crane a couple of years ago,and although I did scaffolding work on building sites,my respect for those riggers went through the roof! Walking along the boom while it was swinging! My heart was in my mouth,but for him,just another day at the office!
I'm retired now but when I was still working I ran a hose & funnel system to the ground in the 70's but switched to a composting toilet in the 80's and kept upgrading my toilet until 2011 when I retired .
When you stepped out side of the frame onto the outer rails. I almost pooped myself.
thank you very much...im operating system one of them now and there a lovely piece of machinary to drive. ..
thanks again for info. ..
This was amazing. I love stuff like this.
My son has been a tower crane operator for 4 yrs now. I finally questioned him on who and how someone inspects the crane. He said he did and I about flipped as he told me had walked the distance. He tends to kid with me a lot so I took to youtube and found your video. You are very detailed and informative! I enjoyed it and have actually watched it about 4x...however every time you make "the walk" I still have a panic attack!!!! He works on newer cranes and starts another job tomorrow, his tallest so far at 280'. Loves his job and well, I pray every day for the safety of everyone! Thanks for sharing your video!!!
What a great comment. I completely understand your discomfort. I can say this about how dangerous it is. In 14 years on tower cranes only, I have never seen anyone fall and test their harness or static line (which is very strong by the way).
Be happy that he is conscientious enough and responsible enough to care for the safety of himself and everyone on site. Some operators don't inspect their own crane (I understand why) but it is our experience that should be utilized out there. If someone thinks he is responsible enough for this very key position, he is impressing someone out there. You've done well as a parent.
Thanks I try! He works for McCarthy. I believe they've been in business for about 150 years. He is very conscientious and takes his job serious! I think tower crane operators need to make a hell of a lot more money for the stress you are under!!!
Patricia Trexler BTW, I shared this on FB and I had a couple of friends take my word for it as they are afraid of heights...I am too! I showed it to a couple of my tow truck drivers the other day and both said HELL NO!
loool
@@rotyag my dad is now 25 years in the buisness in Switzerland. The company he works for is Käppeli AG
Thanks a lot man for taking you time to make this video and show us every aspect of your crane, especially with the go pro camera to see things just like you. Keep up the vids!!
Excellent video! Nicely narrated and good camera angle. You can't be afraid of heights and have that job! lol.
I just about screamed with excitement when I learned this was Seattle! I drive by you numerous times a day! My one and only dream in life is to become a crane operator and I think it shows (here I am at 9:40PM watching crane videos). Thank you so much for making this video and know every time I drive by, I will have a huge smile on my face.
The one that is up across the street is a different crane. This crane was where the PCC market is now.
If you seriously want to run cranes, I would contact Local 302 in Bothell. They can get you paid training with benefits as you go. There is a huge demand in town. We have 34 operators working across town for oyr company and we have trouble finding new ones. It won't always be this busy, but with the build out of mass transit stations we should have consistent work for 20-30 years as neighborhoods change from Everett to Tacoma.
+rotyag I will go talk to them. Thank you for the information.
Sorry I had not noticed the video was posted a long time ago! LOL So yes the PCC one is the one I see!
This is awesome. I run a boom truck crane on railroad bridges right now but I just turned in my application to local 302. Love my job so much!
Jordan J. That's a great thing to hear! I will likely have to start on a boom crane and work my way up. If I never end up in one I will die a sad sad women
Very informative! Thank you! Was curious since I see so many of these tower cranes where I live in Downtown Los Angeles. We must have a couple dozen high rises going up right now.
Impressive video. I work in Seattle and recognize the project this video was shot at. I've heard that the Seattle area now has the highest number of tower cranes in the world. Crazy how much growth there is.
I was an Electrician for 35 years, commercial and industrial. Put food on my table and more than paid my bills. Worked mostly in western Washington. Interesting work and pay was good.
ill stick with good'ol crawlers lol...great vid man
awesome video and very interesting about the tower crane nice one.
The 550HC model your running was on the Hibernia oil platform during the base construction. The lugs on the tower top legs were added so the erection and dismantle of this crane they picked the tower top and turntable in one pick that was the purpose for the lugs. I worked for Morrow Equipment Co for over 30 yrs and actually erected and dismantled that exact crane two times and the reason I remember that is the four lugs added to the tower top. There were several other cranes Morrow ended up buying after the Hibernia oil platform was finished. The pin and sleeve connection are not suppose to move and the channel the pins go thru are not suppose to be in contact with the leg of the tower section there should be 1/8-1/4” gap between channel and tower leg open the manual the next time your on 550HC tower section and it shows the proper installation procedures, but you had the torque correct and if you don’t put a lubricant between the tapered pin and tapered sleeve I’ve seen where the connection had to be lanced out and believe me that’s the most expensive mistake you can make with that connection. If I’m remembering correctly that one complete connection 2X pins, 2X sleeves and channel is around $4,000-5,000 ten years ago. One other thing the swing brake caliper is from a Volkswagen and it’s just a holding brake I’ve been out of town repairing swing brakes and had to go to auto parts stores and bought new calipers and hydraulic brake cylinder to repair the brake system and used Volkswagen parts and they matched perfectly. Remember Liebherr tower cranes are made in Germany been to the factory there several times also the old Piener factory in Trier Germany. Nice video.
Nice observations. There is an old VW place up here that I have went to and ended up going to a guy's house to pull one off of his VW truck because they were out of stock.
I feel like we have ran across each other., maybe twice. Once outside of Truckee and one other time in Beverly Hills with a 550 where a card had failed and wasn't giving any overload feedback.
You still doing cranes, or did you retire?
I'm getting butterflies in my stomach just watching XD
Knox me to
Kudos to you for being able to do this job. I'm getting queasy just watching a video of being that high in the air, and the steel grates for floors. Those are another thing that makes me queasy, not sure why i have always hated those though, never had anything happen to me on em before.
I love all your videos!! Im an apprentice and can't wait until i get in a tower crane
it's good fun. Good luck on your journey!
Wow!! Great video total respect for your job!!
great video man, I'm a crane tech on the east coast, we deal mostly with peiner and some comedil its good to see old liebherr vid the only liebherr we deal with are Mobil and crawler thanks man
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx Actually, Comedil longevity/reliability is a question that I have. I have started supplying cranes. I'm trying to position myself differently from others that exist here. I'm wondering about the Comedil and Saez lines. I hear support from Comedil isn't very good and the life of their cranes is noticeably suffering after 5 years. What has your experience been?
I know someone has to do it... Just NOT me.. great video and your page rocks.
Enjoyed the Video . Thank you for sharing your World. Went into favorites list.
you know......at 20:37 I'd feel more comfortable if I was wearing a parachute
hi bro can you tell me how to release the slew brake on a liebherr 280 EC-H so it can swing freely at night
Thanks
+David Wright Sir, I would say that at 3:45 of this video to about 4:15 you'll see the process. Let me say, that I am guessing about the the 280. I have erected them, but I've never ran one. I think that the braking system should be the same since they are of the same era as this 1992 550 HC. Pull the arm to the right, depress the button on the left, release the arm, then release the button. You should be able to turn the brake disk by hand from there.
Sorry for not being 100%, but that's my best shot at it.
Hi rotyag
I Passed my tests and currently working on a liebherr 132 hc in Yorkshire.
Having passed my test I can understand more of your tips now.
I just need to get some proper experience now.
David Shanks Congratulations. The 132's are a good little crane. Quite a bit of tower deflection, but I like them nonetheless. It's good for teaching you to be smooth in your acceleration and deceleration. Great size to be getting your feet wet in. Cheers.
I wish that I could type a better response, but my palms are all sweaty from watching this! 😲
You got balls of steel my friend love the job would love too do it 1 day love your vids
great vid. thanks for posting i enjoyed it very much.
Excellent job!
Thanks for that! Scared me to death but I could not take my eyes off the screen, Riveting stuff !
I have to say that I'm more comfortable doing it versus watching someone do it. I'm entirely comfortable doing it. But those videos of people hanging from cranes makes my palms sweat. I've totally done that from as high as 660', but with a harness on.
Very cool, what a great video!
so in winter do you have to go smash off ice and stuff shovel off the jib and what not
No. The cranes can generally get thorough common snow quite easily. If the temps drop below zero Fahrenheit, they really shouldn't be ran. The steel has structural temperature limits as do most of the electrical panels. I mistakenly left a crane 100% off one cold night. It took like 30 minutes for everything to warm up enough to start running. The modern ones have "computers" that power the motors and they can't run if they are cold.
Another question. When moving the trolley, does the hoist need be constantly adjusted. How else could I word this question? Does the position of the trolley have any effect on the hoist?
Used to do some 175ft climbs but since I retired can't climb at all.
Passed my luffer and saddle cranes today.. Was not easy so much take in.. But I got it.. I start work 3rd January as tower Crane operator..
Fantastic. You are going to feel a lot of pressure for quite a while. It eases and it really becomes a great way to earn a living. Today it was snowing in Seattle. While everyone else was bundled tight, I was in shorts and socks. The hardest part is not becoming a 100 kilo operator due to sitting all day.
***** He means putting on a lot of weight due to sitting all day.
Been just over a year .. Working at start it was ..but after month my nerves left me.. I've since done my nvq I have blue card and added a pedestrian crane ticket to my saddle and luffer.. Next I'll do lift supervisor .. How time flys...
no
Really nice Video, thanks. The two dislike came from Potain employees ;-)
Hi rotyag
I,m booked in for luffer and saddle cranes test early next year in the UK.
Any extra advice would be very welcome.
You certainly seem to know and enjoy your job.
Where are you working at present?
Cheers
Dave
Hi David. Do you have time running other types of cranes? Are you a banksman now? I ask to help me understand where you are at in the process of learning the trade.
I know the job because I was a tower crane erector, signal person, operator, then crane inspector, and then went back to operating. The variety of exposure really helped me understand the whole picture. Dig, ask questions until you annoy people. The more knowledge you end up with, the better you will be able to assess situations quickly and accurately over the years. You will be looked at as the resident expert as few other people on jobsites understand the big picture.
I am working on a 21 story building in Seattle Washington. We are working 60 hour weeks because we are doing one concrete floor per week. Up to the 10th floor now so we should be done with the structure in late December.
Thanks for the reply rotyag.
I have done nothing on tower cranes before, The only thing I have done is operate overhead cranes with my present job in a foundry.
Looking forward to it but I know it will be hard work until I get complete confidence in it.
Your background sounds like the perfect training for an operator.
Cheers
Dave
I managed to get some videos done showing some tricks and dynamics you'll have to adjust to. It'll be a few more days until I can get it all tossed into a video for you. Hopefully I'm not too chatty. I could talk all day about cranes and different approaches so sometimes I have to shut myself up. I'll get you a message when it's all done. Maybe Sunday. I have some skydiving classes in the afternoon, but hopefully the morning will be quiet.
rotyag Thanks for your advice in advance and videos.
I am really looking forward to the course.
What's the easiest/best way to check the hoist brake? The old liebherr was easy to locate and check, this linden different.
I can't say that I have been on one of the new Linden Comansa's. The last time we had one in town was 2006. Then before that, one contractor in Portland owned one and I only erected it once. I'm afraid that I don't know. I could get you the phone number of a Linden Tech now because they are moving into our area with factory support.
Gaytor Rasmussen Thanks for the offer, I'll call a tech that should know. Linden is new to me, and it seems like a lemon. The slew and hoist fault often, trolley cable rubs a section of the jib, and the auxiliary trolley wheels seize - needing replacement every two months +/-.
Good to know. I have been curious about them. Got a quote on the price of a new one for future consideration. The new cranes in a few years are going to not only have sensors and potentiometers that tell the crane what the load and reach is, they are also going to have to have redundant backups. The Litronics have had that for a few years which is why they throw out errors quite often. They don't always agree so we get error codes.
Gaytor Rasmussen Well put, "they don't always agree"
This (21 LC 450) was new before this job and is on it's third software update. Also worth noting, it has swung to the right twice in 5 months - motors engaged. Once with brakes engaged and once without. If it happens again I'm going to find another job before injuries or damages.
Interesting. On the new (2015) and newer Litronic Liebherrs, they have a similar potential problem. But only if you actively running the crane. What seems to happen is that if you bump the controller left or right for the small easy movements like we have always done, the sensors for torque and the programming don't really know what to do with it at certain times. It will give you like 50% power back in the opposite direction you are hoping to lightly drift into. And you can't correct it. Same fear with bumping the swing to open the brakes.
The solution in that case has seemed to be two options. The swing parameters have two settings. So if you have it happen, you can have a tech put you in the other setting and see if you can run it in the other style. In our case (multiple operators over multiple shift job), we just learned to run it by engaging and holding the control. treated it more like running a hydro crane.
Not sure any of that is applicable to the Linden's, but there is my experience with the new Liebherrs. I'm with you on bailing on a unsafe crane. Our name is everything career wise. As an expert witness I can tell you that it's not terribly uncommon for operators to climb out of the seat and start vomiting. We carry a lot of responsibility here.
Do you actually need to be up there can it be operated by remote control from the ground
It's possible to operate cranes by remote. I own 6 and 5 of them are optionally by remote.
Hi roytag. Can you tell me how much mechanical vibration is experienced on a tower crane during operation due to the motors. Thanks
nawabumar If a hoist motor is properly aligned, it's smooth. When you run at high speeds, especially with a load on like a bucket of concrete at 8800 lbs, the rope can get a good vibration at the kick point (where the rope is shoved over). You really shouldn't feel too much on a properly shimmed (aligned) motor unless you are really cruising with the hoist. New cranes that run at 900 feet per minute can get some bouncing going just due to the velocity of the rope moving. It's usually a lateral twist as the rope gets forced horizontally which in turn forces your shoulders to twist as well. A bad motor alignment is a vertical bounce.
Gaytor Rasmussen Hi, thanks for answering. I have a further question, thing is I work for a telecommunication company that provides solutions to oil and gas companies. We want to install wireless antenna directly on to a tower crane. The wireless equipment has a certain mechanical vibration limit. So I wanted to know how significant is the vibration on tower itself. Please check you account's discussions section. Thanks
nawabumar I don't know how to quantify it honestly. There is a substantial amount of movement based on elevation and crane design. In terms of movement, I've seen cranes that will yield a full meter forward and backwards depending on the load moment. .6 meters is pretty common and if the operator is too fast during the loading or unloading of that weight it can be a little violent.
As to specific vibration limits, it will vary by design and crane health (sheave bearings wearing out can get egg shaped) and I just don't have a frame of reference to even take a guess. I think that you'd have to measure it to see if it's within your threshold and feasible. Best of luck.
What are the 5 things u check before operating the tower crane?
Structural connections for displacement. Welds on mast as you climb. OIl levels at all gear boxes. Rope lay on drums. Motion limits on all functions. A quick look at any pin connection the jibs or pendants to be sure no movement is going on there
How are the counter weights held in place on the crane?
Some have large steel pins through the weights. Others sit flat on the concrete weights and are locked in place.
@@rotyag What locks them to the crane?
@@luddy11 when on pins, they usually slope back. Gravity and them weighing 3 metric tons will hold them. When they sit flat, they hole is tight enough that they cannot twist out. Some older cranes use bolts or structure to hold them in place.
@@rotyag Thanks for the explanation
What does it mean by "steps"? Does the motor only run at a fixed speed (before the gearbox)?
And I would like to know if you have much experience about Terex/Comedil cranes.
Cranes prior to 2005 ish ran via contactors. You would engage set speeds and that was it. On the Liebherrs, the better operators would quickly alternate between speeds to get the optimal speed between two different ones. You can see me doing that in the rebar column video as I am sending it down. 4th step was a bit too fast for what I was doing. 3rd step is too slow and it would generate heat in the resistor bank due to running slow. They only had set speeds. The larger cranes today have PLCs that are often variable in speed. The smaller cranes still have set speeds for the most part. But they are VFD controlled on the power which is way better for the motor, and you don't have to worry about heat building up.
You also asked about Comedil's and I'm not finding the actual question. My experience with them is somewhat limited. They are alright to erect. The tower bolting on the HD23 towers is just miserable though. But overall as a crane, my experience has been that they constantly have issues. Now almost all of these are used cranes. I helped supply five of them in town last year and at one point, three of them were broken down and need of service. A contractor put one up two years ago and couldn't get it to run. 12 weeks later they brought in another one.
A supplier is coming into town with them now. Hopefully they are bringing in newer gear. Another owner that I have chatted with says that he's had good luck with the new ones. I couldn't say which ones to avoid. It's not a brand that has been well represented, yet, here. It's possible that the ones from the used market are just abused prior to getting here.
So does it do a full 360 at night or just go like 180 back and forth ??
360 degrees. Heavy winds changing directions quickly is the biggest concern for tower cranes. Think swirling winds. The cranes lean back into the wind and often are fine up to 140 mph. If you turn them around the wrong direction, that might be more like 80 mph (total guess, but probably in the ball park).
W O W . . . I always wanted to try running one of those.
I have run about all the Other kind... BUT.. I certainly DIDN’T want to go that far
Out on the boom..!! 🙄😎
Yes I know what you mean even in training.. I felt pressure.. And in real world will be more.. But as my new Boss said I will be put with experienced driver for week.. And not thrown to wolves.. Yes in cab with heater on in from cold wind rain is real nice.. I'll get few years experience and go Canada lots work there or Australia.. Only way to deal with 100 kilo weight gain is to train 4days week cardio and gym. Lol
very cool video that's the truth the life of a hammerhead tower crane walk around..😎
Nice video! I really enjoyed the insight on the career I want to pursue. One quick question: What's an operator do incase of an earthquake or any other emergency?
If no load was on the crane and the hook was clear, I'd hoist up to limit the hook swinging around and hit the horn to remind people to get away. If I had a load near a person, I'd do my best to get it away from them because it's going to be violently swinging. Preferably I'd set it down and get loose, maybe even set the block down. The cranes are flexible enough that they often absorb earthquakes unless they are shallow. Sometimes they collapse a boom. In Taipei two got shaken off a building, but that wouldn't be the norm. You are going for a ride and the only thing you can do is protect everyone else as best as possible.
rotyag Great! Thanks for more information. You sound like you've been doing this for quite sometime now. Hopefully, Ill be in your shoes someday
How do they get fuel up to the motor?
Noah Komar the motors are electric. They run via 400v or 480 depending on the country.
comedil are a lot of problems, we have a few 630 and some 181 and 182 they are a easy assembly but a lot of problems in the panel , your pretty much on the phone with Italy every build trying to diagnose one thing or another
On all cranes do you have to go thru the control room? And do they get locked at night? Im planning a crane climb
Not on all of them. It would be near impossible to get around a large liebherr cab. I would discourage you in doing so. It happens. It's happened on my cranes a few times. One of our operators found a beer can on one of our cranes Monday. But what you don't see often that I do is that people die doing that. 5-10 a year. It's difficult to see well up there at night. You have lights below and if you don't have good moon light, you'll just be looking at blacked out metal. You won't be able to see trip hazards. If things aren't properly secured you could have live power and 400 or 480v will not be kind.
I know that I can't change what you are going to do, so be careful once you hit the top side.
+rotyag ok thanks
good video my friend. i like you page.
The hoist motor has another smaller motor on it for air cooling
Absolutely. And a set of fans blowing air on the resistor panel too. It's amazing how much heat they generate when running at slow speeds.
Hey looks great.. I'm from Ireland I'll be doing my saddle and luffer tower next week.. Learning theory atm I'm good now lookin forward to gettin up on Crane and learnin my course is week to 10days.. Any other info you could suggest a novice like me would be great..
I would take it slow and work on my accuracy first. Getting the depth perception and all the visual cues as to your load's location is most important. Watch for shadows. I love sunny days. Load control is second. Your brain will eventually just get into a rhythm with each crane's speed. Always pay attention to the load as you are hoisting. Riggers have a lot to watch and you need to work as a team. If as you are hoisting the block shoots in one direction, something is wrong. Speed is critical for longevity. A slow tower crane is worthless to the job. Accidents are even worse. But you will have to push for speed over time. Not immediately, but as soon as you safely can.
Controls vary by crane. There is often a need to engage controls rapidly for short bursts. to control swing. I've seen operators who never learn to feather the controls and the load swings all over the place. One thing that is universal is that control inputs with speed have tom come with a rhythm. starting a fast swing isn't just full power, full stop. It's hard on the crane and the load will be all over the place. You ramp it up and down. It's true for all controls. Good Luck! I really enjoy it as a career. If you are comfortable saying, what's a common salary in Ireland for a Tower Crane Driver?
Well thanks very much for that interesting information.. Yes depends on the company or agency.. Best I saw for tower Crane was 23 Euro hour.. Generally 14 to 23. And in your home bet it's 30 to 50 dollars hour
Mark Foley Roughly $50 for full package. $38 USD in hourly, $8 for pension and another $7 or so for health insurance. That varies a lot by state and union status though.
Mark Foley My wife is Czech and kept her EU Citizenship so Europe will one day be my home. Maybe later in life when I will have a pension income and work as well.
I see yes as you know any big cities will have work. Also in America and Canada? can I use a European cpcs Crane licence for those countries do you know.. ? As its different
Ali's that scary u have to have guts to climb up there
здоров будь ! в какой стране работаешь ?
Я работаю в Соединенных Штатах.
Need to make a little landing pad so you can launch a drone to take some scenic flights when you're at lunch break.
Awesome, Thanks very Much!
that is one hell of a chart, is that crane anything like the new 1000 liebherr
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx Morrow has the chart listed now. mx.morrow.com/sites/default/files/datasheets/1000%20EC-H%2040%20Litronic.pdf
The line pull is the same. Presume the same hoist as the 550's and 630's. KW rating is same. Weight is different but the potential for more line due to 4 part may account for that. The moment capacity is double. 25,350 lbs in 2 part LM2 mode. We have a Kroll 1400 working in town servicing tunnel work. Seems to me that one can pick 134,000 in 6 part and 34,000 to 250 feet. The towers are 13' across. They took a couple weeks to throw it together because it was new out of the box. I did a little blog on it years ago. towercraneaccidents.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-26th-2011.html
I dig the big iron.
ohhh.....I can't feel my legs.
I could never do it. My stomach was turning somersaults just watching this. I seriously struggled to watch this through the end.
loool
What if you have to shit? Seriously if your up there all day what happens?
+Shawna Graham Some of us are just delicate little flowers who never poop.
I would be lying if I said that didn't know of people using 5 gallon buckets or camping toilets. I'd also be lying if I said I never saw anyone crap themselves on a crane because they waited too long. An old boss didn't make it. (back in the crane erecting days a decade ago) Got to the toilet on the ground and heard a guy passing by. Asked him for his pliers (with a cutting blade) and just cut his underwear off. When he went to hand the pliers back to my co-worker, "Nah.. you can keep those." That same guy made me signal my first tower crane apart because he had to poop. I'm a better crane erector because of his drinking and poor eating habits.
If one is a drinker or has IBS, this is not the career for you! 13 hours or more is not uncommon at a stretch. One really needs to be in control of their bowels and eat healthy for this job.
A very thorough and well explained video, however, I think you may have overlooked one small item.....barf-bags. Where are those located, and how often are they used? LOL Maybe not on a daily basis, but haven't you experienced some kind of nausea, or motion sickness on breezy days?
Haha just saw the imgur pics of you stood on that peg! .........thats some cool shit.
Keiran Jones In my career I have been paid to do many things I would do free.
Would you be safe in a crane if it got hit by a bolt of lightening?
Yes. In the crane in this video, I was hit. It's loud. The crane is grounded so the electricity has an easy path out. The metal transfers the energy more easily than it does through us. To that end, we are safe. One of my cranes had a zoning system failure that we struggled to replicate. It got hit by 26 kv a few times before the grid shutdown. There was relatively little damage. Few hours of panel work, then replacing ropes. The grounding had to be rebuilt. But the operator was safe despite that level of energy hitting multiple times.
Is it possible the tower crane can be operated by a lady? because this job is really extreme! and i love tower crane.
+Syu Syuhada Absolutely. We have a female operator working for us. It's not a physically demanding job. Even as an ironworker I worked with women. There are physical strength differences that may limit some tasks, but accommodations can be made. The biggest difficulty I see for women is sensitivity. In construction you have to be able to take criticism and it isn't going to be given with any concern for feelings. It is often about life and death or big money concerns so being direct is important. If you can take it criticism and give it, you can do it!
+rotyag thanks for this advice.. it really motivated me a lot. thanks again.. i need to be though to work in this kind of environment. Haha.. 👍🏻
Legs ever get soar? how long can it take to walk up that high
+juggernault71 No Sir. I've climbed cranes over and over when erecting them and no issues with the legs. On the straight ladders that run 90 degrees to the ground, your arms can get tired because you have to pull in tight to the ladder. I was pushing it on time once on a crane and climbed a 278' tall crane in six minutes. But that's sweating and going for it. 10-12 minutes might be a leisurely climb for 278 ' or 85 meters.
How do they take down the crane
+Ethan Sunder Big Mobile cranes. When they are really tall you have to "Climb" them down. Sunday I am involved with a climb. Maybe I'll go in early to get some video of how that works. Here is a link to what I mean by big mobile cranes. images.cranenetwork.com/rcn/cranes/image/f2f2a7520c42850585bd3c7a0.jpg
Should I be Crane driver or electrician?
+Jose Mourinho Here, I would suggest being an electrician. The labor contracts are better for electricians. When construction slows down, it's easier to find work as an electrician. As a tower crane operator you really need to stand out and have a known name. If you are aggressive enough to be in that top 15% in a big city, you'll always have work. Fall out of that upper echelon, you'll be moving around to find work and that isn't the best family life.
+rotyag Thanks! I have an aptitude test for nestle as an electrician soon so I'm going to focus on this career
Do you find that when you get used to driving a particular crane, it's somewhat difficult to adapt to a different crane that you're not so used to driving?
So frickin cool!
I love cranes...
I'm assuming you take shits up on that counter jib Haha
how do I become a Crain operator
It depends on a few things. If you live in a union area, you can just join the local operating engineers and let them know that's what you want to do. You'll go through a process and maybe work some jobs for a couple of years that aren't what you want to do, like running bulldozer or backhoe before you get the right timing and opportunity. But you'll make a decent living and get good training along the way.
If you live in an area that is mostly non-union, you can either spend your own money and time on a tower crane training program like Morrow Equipment or there is another tower crane school, or you can just go and apply for jobs with general contractors and crane owners. Usually they would work you as a rigger for quite a while until you get an opportunity as a crane operator. It's a critical position that they don't just give to anyone. You do need to earn it unless you are working for someone terribly irresponsible.
Let me know if I can help further. I'd need to know what area you are in for anything more specific.
I’m looking for job like this
What do you do if you need to go to the toilet?
Bottles for urine. Camping toilets for defecating. I would suggest that you don't want this job if you don't have a clockwork stomach. On highrise work, it's so busy that you don't have time to poop.
my father is curently in a ec b110
how long does it take to reach the top
A crane like this is a five minute climb. You might take longer for a better inspection. In a hurry I have climbed cranes twice this height in 6 minutes (Total of 278 feet). But that's breathing heavy and getting sweaty.
+rotyag thank you I. heard that some take an hour
We have a crane that is nearing 800' tall downtown. If I am doing an annual inspection I would budget 1.5 to 2 hours for the mast. An hour for the daily would be someone pretty far out of shape. I have seen it though. Climb a section... rest. Climb a section... rest. More of a normal pace is 6-7 sections and rest just to prevent getting sweaty.
Oh... and if it's 30 year old crane with straight ladder, that will double your climb time for sure.
+rotyag thank you for the info
Man, I'm a climber and that vid have me an adrenaline rush. Particularly when you stepped out on the jib at the end. That was the best Via Ferrata I've seen. How long does it take to train up for a job like this? Great job
+Bobby Davro In Washington State specifically you need 500 hours of supervised training to operate a tower crane. You can run one with less time. But to know what is going on and how the job should run, a typical operator should have more than a few years in the field too. Otherwise you might not really know what is going on and you'll be at the mercy of those who also don't know what they are doing.
Funny thing is that you can actually obtain a Helicopter pilots license in like 50 hours. We are a bit strict here. In many states you don't need anything but permission. That is changing, but it hasn't as of yet.
+rotyag Thanks for the reply. I'm in the UK and looking for a career change. This looks great fun
+Bobby Davro The good and the bad. Not sure what pay is as a crane driver in the UK. Long hours. Early hours. There are no sick days. Lots of sitting so diet is important. But if you are a laborer, it doesn't rain in the crane. You are central to the job and will generally be treated as such. Injuries are not common so longevity is good. It's a mental challenge to do everything as quickly as possible yet stay safe because there is so much to watch for. Good luck!
Super video! Great Job!
44000 how far out
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx 65 feet in that configuration (265' of boom). To 93' with 93 feet of boom. A 630 set up with two trolley's can take 88,000 out to 46 feet with the same tower. 12700 lbs to 267' in LM2 Mode with a single trolley. That number has always impressed me.
great vid
Go with the Phoenix brand tower crane has toilet in it now
Very hard to believe the question you get asked the most is, Is it dangerous. Seems to me they would ask you where do you take a shit?
This is a solid point. The honest answer is that if you aren't a clockwork pooper, this isn't the job for you. Some people have those camping toilets. I've heard worse stories about bags. But when you are stuck up there for 12 to 14 hours, you need to have a stomach that can roll with that.
rotyag ...Nice reply thanks.
I always thought running a tower crane would be cool but after watching you hanging off the side of the jib I think I'll stick with mobile cranes instead. I've got an opportunity to start my apprenticeship there. Any advice you could give me? Thanks, love the videos btw!
***** Pattern recognition. Attention to detail. You are the captain of the ship. Running cranes well and safely really is about pattern recognition. For example, you are hoisting up and the block jerks one way. Either you are off and not centered over the load, something snagged the rigging, or you have a rigging problem. It's nuanced stuff like that.
Attention to the details will save you. Our cranes have safety factors built in and it's when we ignore them that we get into trouble. Did you put the out riggers out while you are swinging around and just setting up. A guy in Tacoma a decade ago had the swing away jib on a crane erected and swung his crane around like he would do so when it was stowed. He was a the Narrows Bridge deck (big suspension bridge) and he rolled his crane. One erred move and he endangered himself, his crane and everyone on the bridge.
You are the captain of the ship. You are responsible for what happens. You are the final call. Always keep that in mind. Don't wear it like a puffed out chest, but know it. From your morning inspection to your shutting it down at night, you are the responsible party. It's important you do it all as a professional.
Thanks for the advice, its appreciated!
awesome.
44000 is that 4 or 2 part
+Blackkflagg Tripplsixx In 2 part. If you set up a 550 or 630 ECH 40 (4 part two trolley) you have 88,000 in capacity. I have only seen that on a suspension bridge in Vancouver BC. The old 550's have 30 millimeter line.
you have got to have balls of steel to do that stuff
This last weekend we dismantled a crane at 800' up at 5th and Columbia in Seattle. Walking out over the street caught my attention and I've been doing this for 16 years.
Good day good job
Can i join your company ?
Tayyab, if you wanted to work on cranes in Seattle, you should reach out to Operating Engineers 302. It's a local union that can get you training and find you a job in the market. Operations, tech support... that's where we hire from. Best of luck on the search!
@@rotyag sir thanks for replay. i want work as a crane operator . can you share your company email address or whatsapp .
@@tayyabshah622 we only hire out of the union. You would need to reach out to them.
Wait u own that crane?
+Urban 101 No. I own a smaller tower crane called a San Marco SMT550.
Cool
crane
ummm. ummm. ummm