In One Week, Crane Operators Receive A License to Learn - ENR | McGraw-Hill Construction

Description:
The air conditioner was buzzing and blowing to keep up with the desert sun, but the small window unit had already lost its cool. My hands—shaky and slippery with sweat—were having trouble keeping a grip on the controls. Nestled high in the cab of a 100-ft-tall crane, I was about to take my final exam on a blazing Friday afternoon in early October. I had just spent a week at the Tower Crane School of Phoenix, a one-acre facility in Apache Junction, Ariz., learning the ropes from Ronald M. Gray, the school’s owner. If I passed the test, I would be in most parts of the U.S. perfectly qualified to run a crane on a real jobsite. Despite this reality, many experts believe that a licensed operator is incomplete without experience.

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