Hydraulic Crane Operator is a person who operates any hoisting device or structure incorporating a power-driven drum and wire rope that is designed for raising, lowering or moving material and is equipped with a hydraulically supported boom capable of moving in the vertical and horizontal plane and mounted on a base or chassis intended to provide mobility and such mobile hydraulic crane may be crawler or wheel mounted, but excludes boom trucks, side booms and rail mounted tower or gantry cranes.

What do these workers do?
(Source: BC Work Futures)

There are three types of crane operator in B.C.:

1.) Tower Crane Operator. Operates the tall cranes made of steel lattice work that are seen at high rise construction sites.

2.) Mobile Crane Operator (Construction Industry). Operates large cranes that have tracks or wheels and can move under their own power.

3.) Hydraulic Crane Operator. Operates telescoping cranes that are raised and lowered by hydraulic jacks. These are sometimes mobile but are more often mounted on trucks. This category includes boom truck operators and HIAB (a type of compact truck-mounted crane) operators.

Each type of crane requires its own set of skills, so crane operators usually specialize in one type of crane. However, there is a lot of common ground and duties for all three include:

Safely lift and position loads. Crane operators must have a good understanding of how loads respond when suspended from a single point. Loads that swing out of control can injure workers on the ground.

Communicate closely with a ground crew. Tower crane operators never touch the loads they lift and this is usually the case for operators of other types of cranes. The operator must maintain communication with the ground crew so everyone is clear about what is being moved, where it's being moved, and when. Tower crane operators who have to drop their hook into areas they can't see from the control cab must rely on a spotter to tell them where the hook is and to then hook the load onto the crane. If crane operators and spotters make a good team, the might work together for many years.

Maintain and trouble shoot the equipment. Operators usually perform all but the most mechanically intensive maintenance on the cranes they operate. Pulleys and wire reels require frequent greasing and inspection, and power systems and electrics require ongoing maintenance.

Work with construction schedules. Understand and be able to work with the project management tools that keep a project running smoothly and on schedule.

Climb up and down stairs and ladders. You'll do this a lot. Every day, tower crane operators might climb hundreds of metres of ladder. With this job, there's probably no need for a gym membership.

Use a dredge bucket and pile driver. These attachments are used in waterways and on foundation work for bridges, docks and large buildings. Cranes with these attachments are often mounted on a barge.

Read the full Hydraulic Crane Operator Profile (36kb pdf).

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