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Crane and Tower Operators

Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload.
    • Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records.
    • Weigh bundles, using floor scales, and record weights for company records.
    • Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery.
    • Direct truck drivers backing vehicles into loading bays and cover, uncover, or secure loads for delivery.
    • Inspect bundle packaging for conformance to regulations or customer requirements, and remove and batch packaging tickets.
    • Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.
    • Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage.
    • Load or unload bundles from trucks, or move containers to storage bins, using moving equipment.
    • Inspect and adjust crane mechanisms or lifting accessories to prevent malfunctions or damage.
    • Move levers, depress foot pedals, or turn dials to operate cranes, cherry pickers, electromagnets, or other moving equipment for lifting, moving, or placing loads.
    • Review daily work or delivery schedules to determine orders, sequences of deliveries, or special loading instructions.
    • Determine load weights and check them against lifting capacities to prevent overload.
    • Inspect cables or grappling devices for wear and install or replace cables, as needed.
    • Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.
    • Clean, lubricate, and maintain mechanisms such as cables, pulleys, or grappling devices, making repairs, as necessary.
    • Direct helpers engaged in placing blocking or outrigging under cranes.

    Skills

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 50600/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 24.33/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,090
    • Yearly Projected Openings 190

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Cooperation
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • All terrain cranes
    • Anemometers
    • Angle grinder
    • Ball peen hammer
    • Below the hook device
    • Bench vises
    • Blocks or pulleys
    • Blow torch
    • Box end wrenches
    • Bridge cranes
    • Calipers
    • Claw hammer
    • Demolition equipment kits
    • Demolition hammers
    • Draglines
    • Drum grabs
    • Ear plugs
    • Earthmoving buckets or its parts or accessories
    • Floor or platform scales
    • Force or torque sensors
    • Forklifts
    • Goggles
    • Grapples
    • Grease guns
    • Hazardous material protective apparel
    • Hoists
    • Hydraulic truck cranes
    • Impact wrenches
    • Jacks
    • Jib crane
    • Lifting hooks
    • Linear position sensors
    • Needlenose pliers
    • Oil gun
    • Open end wrenches
    • Paint sprayers
    • Pile drivers
    • Pneumatic impact wrenches
    • Power drills
    • Pressure or steam cleaners
    • Pry bars
    • Pullers
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Ratchets
    • Respirators
    • Rotary position sensors
    • Rough terrain cranes
    • Safety glasses
    • Safety harnesses or belts
    • Screwdrivers
    • Shackle
    • Sledge hammer
    • Slings
    • Slip or groove joint pliers
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Tape measures
    • Tinners snips
    • Tire pressure gauge
    • Touch screen monitors
    • Tower cranes
    • Track cranes
    • Track excavators
    • Turnbuckles
    • Two way radios
    • Wear testers
    • Welding masks
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire cutters

    Technology

    • Electronic mail software
    • Industrial control software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Spreadsheet software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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