Filling the Void

Tracy Bennett

It's a sad paradox during these times when it is so hard to get your hands on iron, to actually have new cranes sitting in your yard, but have no operators to run them. That's just one of the issues crane owners were talking about last week in Kansas City, Mo., at the SC&RA's Crane & Rigging Workshop.

For as long as I've been writing about this industry there has been a shortage of qualified technicians, but the inability to find operators is a more recent development. The problem is partially due to more people leaving the industry than are entering it. An article by Mark Avera, posted this summer on TopBuildingJobs.com, draws on statistics from several sources to explain this trend. He highlights crane operation specifically as the barometer for construction as a whole.

According to Avera, “Crane operating has been a big issue in the news during the first half of 2007, and we are likely to see it continue into 2008. There have been countless reports on the shortage of not only cranes, but more importantly the experienced workers qualified to operate them. Due to this, crane operator wages have increased as their supply has decreased. Take crane operators as the bellwether of the skilled construction job market: other disciplines are soon to find themselves in the same situation.”

 

I would argue there are also other forces at work. Many employers are setting more stringent hiring standards. Increased demand for certified operators is just one factor. Crane owners who put a priority on safety want more than just a warm body occupying the seat inside the cab for the sake of safety and profitability.

 

You don't become a crane operator over night. It takes training and practical experience, which takes time • all ingredients for compounding the crunch.

 

At the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association meeting, which drew nearly 400 attendees, safety topics were at the forefront. I would guess the same is true for companies that take time to attend a meeting such as this. One crane owner told me that he has taken delivery of several new cranes and expects more in the coming months, but the equipment will not be used until he can hire enough qualified operators. Safety is his first priority, and he won't jeopardize his business with less than top-notch operators. His help wanted search has extended all across the U.S., and response to his ads draws few with the training and experience he requires. Yet interest is high among the under-qualified.

 

That tells me there is a major training gap. Vocational organizations, such as those belonging to the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools, will be ever more critical in meeting the need. The Oklahoma College of Construction, one of NAHET's newest member schools, offers a crane operator course. But it too is selective, explains Wade Vakulick, the school's director of industry relations. With a 4:1 student to instructor ratio, the school wants to turn out good-quality graduates. According to Vakulick, applicants are screened along the way to make sure they have the desire and aptitude for crane operation. Students who are not strong in math, for example, may be encouraged to shift toward other types of heavy-equipment operation where math skills are less critical.

 

Until we slide into the next economic slump, I'm not sure we'll ever catch up. In the meantime, I have to applaud those companies that put safety before profits, choosing instead to be selective in their hiring practices. And in reality, safety is all about profits, as I'm sure the insurance experts who spoke last week would argue.

 

Next year's Crane & Rigging Workshop will be held in cooperation with the Crane Rental Association of Canada in Toronto. For information, go to www.scranet.org.