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Crane and Tower Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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

Related: Excavating & Loading Machine & Dragline Operators, Surface Mining Hoist & Winch Operators Industrial Truck & Tractor Operators Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics Operating Engineers & Other Construction Equipment Operators

Industries: Construction Manufacturing Transportation & Storage Wholesale/Commercial Sales

Summary
Details

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

Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
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.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
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.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
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.
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.
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.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

Less than 5 years work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

96870/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

46.57/hr

Currently Employed

1,540

Yearly Projected Openings

170

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

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

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

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Crane and Tower Operators

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