Bullock County Crane Certification, Studied on Your Own Time

Food plants are the crane customers

Business Alabama reports that poultry processing is Bullock County’s largest industrial employer, led by Wayne-Sanderson Farms in Union Springs. The plant has gone through production expansions, and the company bought adjoining property to grow further. Expanding a processing plant means new building shells, ammonia refrigeration equipment, rooftop air handlers and conveyor lines, which is steady work for operators and riggers.

Bonnie Plants runs a trial garden in Union Springs and is the other big agricultural name, and together the two companies employ close to one in ten county residents. In Fitzpatrick, To Your Health Sprouted Flour produces organic sprouted grains and flours for large commercial buyers. Grain bins, silos and processing equipment at facilities like that are set and serviced by crane.

Where to focus your study

Small-county work rewards versatility. An operator who can also rig and signal fills more roles on a short crew, and a utility lineman with a digger derrick card is useful to every co-op and contractor in the area.

If you are new to cranes, rigging and signaling are also the fastest way onto a lift crew, because contractors always need qualified hands on the ground even when they bring their own operator.

• Mobile crane operator: the core credential for plant expansions
• Rigger Level 1: basic hitches, sling angles and load control
• Signal person: standard hand signals and radio communication
• Digger derrick operator: setting poles on rural power lines

The legal picture in plain terms

There is no crane license from the state or from Union Springs. Federal OSHA covers private workplaces in Alabama, and on construction jobs it expects your certification to come from an accredited organization such as NCCCO, plus an evaluation by the company you work for. Riggers and signal persons need to be qualified as well. Public employees are a different case, since Alabama has no plan covering state and local government workers, so county and city crews should check their own employer’s policy.

Certification is good for five years. Recertifying takes a written exam, and with 1,000 hours of crane-related experience in that span the practical retest is waived. The Alabama requirements page explains each rule.

Getting to testing and handling the weather

Union Springs is in the Black Belt southeast of Montgomery, and most candidates head toward the Montgomery area or another larger central Alabama city for practical exams. The written portion can be done through online proctoring or at a computer test center.

Summers here are hot and sticky, with thunderstorms most afternoons in July and August. Black Belt clay soils hold water and lose strength when wet, so mats and careful outrigger placement are a must after rain. Spring tornado watches are common across the region.