How many guys do work with cranes

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chadjacobs

ArboristSite Member
Joined
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Messages
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Location
PA
Hi all I'm new to the site.
I'm a wannabe logger and a full time crane operator. I run bigger cranes now but i ran a 40 ton for a while and did allot of tree work. I was wondering how many guys do removals with a crane.

I've worked with good guys in the tree and I had some terrible guys.
What do you like to see in a operator?
 
The Company I'm working for has a small knuckle boom crane and we use it a lot. On some big removals well hire a crane.
Cranes scare me a little because the operator has your life in his hands. I've work with some great skillful operators, but many crane guys don't have much experience with trees and a mistake can easily crush you. Cranes are great and most operators are pretty good at what they do. I just don't want to be part of some new guys learning curve on some monstrous hairy removal.
 
Never done a tree with a crane but many other jobs with one. I would think you want the same type of operator as with anything. A great one! Its just like other jobs sometimes you have a small space to work in and a heavy large object to place or pick with little margin of play, The hairy part is that with a tree your butt is usually tied to it.
 
willingness to ignore the beeping, and make the pick anyway......lol

1) respect for the climber.
2) skill and a soft touch.
3) free travel time..........

well put! lol..what beeping?? There should be a key for an over ride?? I have worked with only 3 different operators , one is freakn awesome and I KNOW i can trust him with my life. The other two are good enough but I must say I prefer it when either of these two are using a 40 ton an we r nice n close cuz then we r often just limited on pick size due to room on ground. I dont worry about over weight picks then. That 40 ton is a beast,atleast it is in my world. If I had to pick one trait to look for in a good operate it would prolly be...calm. Being able to always stay calm. Not getting a big fired up hurry waving freakn arms around yelling like some flippen idiot. And also of course...if a pick does turn or flip over or something we didnt want it to do....just be cool...ease the boom over alittle ...cable up...nice n easy...there we ggooooo....
 
I try to hire Owner Operators or Smaller Companies. I have hired a union employed "large" company before and the only thing they're worried about is their next lunch break. I also like to see a scale on the crane so I can instruct how much pre-load to put on a given branch/trunk. We usually have a 30 ton rear mount but have used 45 and 85 before. I would say the combination of safety/speed/smoothness determines if I will hire a company again. Biggest pet peve is an operator that doesn't raise the block after giving me the strap. I was bumped in the head a few times (union op), thank goodness for brain buckets.
 
As a Crane operator I like good communication. I like to have a notch to the trunk then as they start there cut I stand it up and take it away. I hate guys who just start hacking away. 40 ton cranes you aways have to watch the computer wire on the side of the boom. I also never see the point of taking huge pieces then fighting to find room on the ground to land them. Cut um a little smaller and ill put them right on the chipper
Just my thoughts
 
As a Crane operator I like good communication. I like to have a notch to the trunk then as they start there cut I stand it up and take it away. I hate guys who just start hacking away. 40 ton cranes you aways have to watch the computer wire on the side of the boom. I also never see the point of taking huge pieces then fighting to find room on the ground to land them. Cut um a little smaller and ill put them right on the chipper
Just my thoughts

Good thoughts. Good communication is huge. The more a climber n a operator work together the better. The notch on top with an under cut n standing str8 up often works great. I have mostly proffered smaller cuts. Except when there is a TON of room and I think I can shave enough time off of rental to make it worth it.
 
Hey chad, glad to see what an operator looks for in a climber, that was more interesting to me than what i look for in an operator.

But to answer your question (may be a little long winded):
I go out with a crane every day, been doing this for several years now, also spent a year and a half working different cranes crews across the country. I have a few things i like to see-most is just personal preference.
I will choose a woman op over a male every day of the week. In the list of the top five ops i've worked with, three of the slots belong to women. Women seem to get more in sync with a climber, quicker. I've also worked with ops that basically look at us like meat on a string, the women seem to care a little more.
I hate a jerky op. I work with chains so expect a knock or two from the hooks. If i'm getting beat up or am having to "catch" the slings on every return, words will be said. Speed isn't as important to me as smoothness.
I love an op that will do even the little things the right way every time. It's one of the things i like about my everyday op-there are shortcuts we could probably get away with, but he will do things the right way every time, even if i'm champing at the bit. I do appreciate this, shows me he'll do the important things right too.
This is a tricky one, i like a confidant op. There's a line between a scaredy op and a fearless one. Neither are a ton of fun. I like an op that if i ask him, he'll give me a yes or no, and not because he has no fear and will say yes to anything or is scared and will say no to anything. One that knows and is confident.
Which kind of leads into an op that knows his machine. If i ask a question, i better not get an "i don't know." I may not know for sure but expect him to know when it comes to his machine. Which can also cover i like an op that knows his chart without having to look before he makes every move. I'll try to bone up on the charts of cranes i'll be working the next day, and i know the chart of my everyday backwards and forwards. But i've run across a couple cranes that have an odd spot in the chart, i like the op to know these.
I also like an op that's not afraid to say no. I know you guys get told that the climber is the boss on the job, but to be honest, i have a tendency to skate closer to the edge than i should. I like an op that will tell me no.
I hate chatty kathy ops. Communication is good, but i'll do most of the communicating i need to with about a dozen words. The radio is not a phone, i'm not there to gossip with you, and i really don't need to hear about your wife's yeast infection while setting slings. Also, if i'm in view of the op, i don't expect to have to talk the chains back to my hand every time, i kind of expect you to be able to get them to me when i'm in view.
 
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the crane guy we normally use has done 600+ (he keeps track for some reason) crane removals in the last few years, he's good which makes my job easy.
 
As a Crane operator I like good communication. I like to have a notch to the trunk then as they start there cut I stand it up and take it away. I hate guys who just start hacking away. 40 ton cranes you aways have to watch the computer wire on the side of the boom. I also never see the point of taking huge pieces then fighting to find room on the ground to land them. Cut um a little smaller and ill put them right on the chipper
Just my thoughts

Thanks for input.. glad to hear from the ops.. so often the climber is boss. and we never hear the other side.
 
I don't like cranes that have the anti-two block wire. Go wireless if you can. Its a pain working around that wire. Which is yet another reason to hire certain companies over others.
 
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I like crane operators who are laid back and safety conscious. The company I have been using tends to send me 2 different guys. In a pinch they send out this one guy who is a good guy, but he takes pieces that are way too big, and I think he's a bit wreckless when it comes to that stuff. The other operator, who I prefer to use... he's very laid back "you want to kill yourself, that's fine by me... but you won't be taking me with you." I often ask him to get into some ugly spots, and he'll always give it a try.
 
Hey chad, glad to see what an operator looks for in a climber, that was more interesting to me than what i look for in an operator.

But to answer your question (may be a little long winded):
I go out with a crane every day, been doing this for several years now, also spent a year and a half working different cranes crews across the country. I have a few things i like to see-most is just personal preference.
I will choose a woman op over a male every day of the week. In the list of the top five ops i've worked with, three of the slots belong to women. Women seem to get more in sync with a climber, quicker. I've also worked with ops that basically look at us like meat on a string, the women seem to care a little more.
I hate a jerky op. I work with chains so expect a knock or two from the hooks. If i'm getting beat up or am having to "catch" the slings on every return, words will be said. Speed isn't as important to me as smoothness.
I love an op that will do even the little things the right way every time. It's one of the things i like about my everyday op-there are shortcuts we could probably get away with, but he will do things the right way every time, even if i'm champing at the bit. I do appreciate this, shows me he'll do the important things right too.
This is a tricky one, i like a confidant op. There's a line between a scaredy op and a fearless one. Neither are a ton of fun. I like an op that if i ask him, he'll give me a yes or no, and not because he has no fear and will say yes to anything or is scared and will say no to anything. One that knows and is confident.
Which kind of leads into an op that knows his machine. If i ask a question, i better not get an "i don't know." I may not know for sure but expect him to know when it comes to his machine. Which can also cover i like an op that knows his chart without having to look before he makes every move. I'll try to bone up on the charts of cranes i'll be working the next day, and i know the chart of my everyday backwards and forwards. But i've run across a couple cranes that have an odd spot in the chart, i like the op to know these.
I also like an op that's not afraid to say no. I know you guys get told that the climber is the boss on the job, but to be honest, i have a tendency to skate closer to the edge than i should. I like an op that will tell me no.
I hate chatty kathy ops. Communication is good, but i'll do most of the communicating i need to with about a dozen words. The radio is not a phone, i'm not there to gossip with you, and i really don't need to hear about your wife's yeast infection while setting slings. Also, if i'm in view of the op, i don't expect to have to talk the chains back to my hand every time, i kind of expect you to be able to get them to me when i'm in view.

Thanks for your thoughts I think we would get along fine. I tell guys that running a crane is not real difficult . If you can run equipment you can run a crane. The thing is being able to keep your head together when things get bad.

Guys tell me you don't ever get excited and I tell them if you ever see me getting worked up you better be worried because lives our in jeopardy.
I tell new operators you have to be able to say NO. No matter what it's always going to be the operators fault so feel good about the job.

My favorite climber doesn't say more than a couple words. Points at the piece were taking, motions what way he wants it to stand, and nods to let me know he's making final cut on the piece.

:time-out: I say all this and its been probably a year since I did a tree! Don't have many trees in a 150 ton crane. However I did my share!
 
I don't like cranes that have the anti-two block wire. Go wireless if you can. Its a pain working around that wire. Which is yet another reason to hire certain companies over others.

Two-block wire is a pain. I agree wireless is the way. No matter what when i was doing trees I would get into it. I like to know if the cut rolls I can yank it up above the cutter and that stinking wire always got in my way.
 
Another thing I like is an OE who knows, on a gut level, that the load has to move away from the climber. While I only do a few jobs a year, I hate having to tell the OE to move the hook off center of the load.

Being ably to ride the cable up is always nice, most climbers expect it. Only the big companies say "no" in the Metro area.

A willingness to work outside the box of normal boom op's. I have hinged limbs up that are outside the reach of the sheave. This means bulling the ball out to the end of the limb, I've seen an OE freak out with this type of action.

I have to reiterate the "light touch", there are few things worse then the OE tying to rip a big chunk off as i am cutting.
 
willingness to ignore the beeping, and make the pick anyway......lol

1) respect for the climber.
2) skill and a soft touch.
3) free travel time..........

OK, where's my rock smiley...

I like an operator with some nuts! I've been doing crane removals for nearly 20 years and I'm not gonna tear up your crane... Just listen to me!!!

Started out with a 12 ton truck crane and pushed it to the max...

Crane OP's are just like climbers, if they are green at it it makes for a long day on a crane removal. At least 1 needs to be experienced. Two greenhorns is an accident waiting to happen.
 
i love using the a crane have done over 30 trees with one makes big jobs easy for the climber and the ground crew best way to start is to know all the hand singles and a good set of eyes on the ground reassuring the weights and balance points would use on on every job if i could. recently missed on a job removing a tree in a cemetery in the middle of the grave stones because the committee was scared of me using a crane rather than an aerial lift
 
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