Tower Cranes
Program: Heavy Equipment Operation
Tower Cranes
Nothing goes up without the crane.
What it is. A mast, a slewing unit, a jib with a trolley, a counter-jib with ballast, and an operator two hundred feet up who cannot see the load half the time and works by radio.
How it grows. The crane climbs itself: a hydraulic frame lifts the top, a new mast section is slid in, the crane bolts it down and climbs again. Internal-climbing cranes ride up inside the building's core.
What it lifts. Steel, rebar, curtain-wall units, concrete buckets, formwork, the mechanical-floor chillers. The whole tower passes through the hook.
The rules. Load charts, wind limits, a certified operator (NCCCO), a rigger for every pick, a signal person, and a daily inspection.
The trades. Crane operator, rigger, ironworker (erecting the crane), electrician (power), mechanic (service).
Pay. $60k to $120k; the operator on a supertall is a specialist.
See it. The scale crane on the table lifts a real load; count the picks it takes to build one floor.
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