What Does A Crane Rigger Do?

11 February 2015 by Marvin Carroll

Have you ever watched a crane lifting a heavy load and wondered why the load doesn't just slip right out and fall down? After all, some of those loads can look rather precarious. It's not just random luck that keeps all those loads on the crane's hook safely and keeps them from falling down. It's skill. That skill belongs to people called riggers. 

What Is a Rigger?

These are people who deal with the safe loading of cranes so that the loads can be placed where they need to be. The name comes from days when sailing ships were powered by wind. The people who would climb up and down setting the sails and working with the ropes were the riggers. 

What Does a Rigger Do?

Lifting a load that is one single piece is much easier than lifting something like a lot of bricks or pipes. The load needs to be balanced properly so that it won't swing dangerously. That means that the rigger has to know where the balance point on any load is. Once they have figured out where the balance point is, the rigger will attach the crane's hook to it. 

Before the crane lifts the load, the rigger will also make sure that the load is properly packaged together. Pipes will be bundled up so that they can't slip out, and so forth. Anything that slips out of the load would become a danger to anyone standing below. 

The rigger will also be the person who decides if any load is unsafe to lift. Things that could cause a load to be unsafe to lift would include being overweight, as well as one without a good balance point. The rigger also helps to direct the crane operator in picking up and putting down the load so that it is handled safely. 

How Does a Person Become a Rigger?

In order to become a rigger, it is necessary to go through an OSHA certified course. There are technical schools that specialize in courses relating to the construction industry, including a rigger training course.There are two levels of rigger training. They are rigger qualification and rigger certification. The qualification courses tend to be shorter and not as involved; however, once the person leaves the course, they should meet OSHA regulations. 

The certification courses generally take several days. At the end of those courses, the person should have a certification from the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators, stating that they meet all pertinent requirements. 

Without a rigger no crane load should ever be picked up. They keep everyone safe, from the crane operator down to the person who is standing on the ground. Riggers have an important job, and they are trained to do it well.  So next time you rent a crane from a company like Mr Boomtruck Inc, make sure you have an experienced rigger on hand to make sure the crane is used safely. 

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