Building on the High Desert
On the dry side of the Cascades, Bend has spent decades growing as newcomers arrive for the trails, rivers and slopes. Crane work has grown right along with it: subdivisions and custom homes, resorts and hotels, clinics, and commercial buildings in Bend and neighboring Redmond. Wood-products shops and log home builders carry on the region's timber roots.
Few of those projects call for huge lattice cranes. Instead you'll see knuckle booms, boom trucks, telehandlers and mid-size mobile cranes, so crane operator training in Bend, Oregon usually focuses on those machines and the people who run them.
Trusses, Beams and Tight Residential Lots
Central Oregon builders lift roof trusses, glulams and big timbers almost every day. Those pieces are long and light for their size, so a breeze catches them easily and they can swing into framing or workers. On hillside lots or in older neighborhoods, there may be barely enough room to put outriggers down.
For knuckle-boom truck crews, our articulating boom crane prep targets the NCCCO ABC, ABL and ABW exams. Operators landing material on framed decks with a telehandler can prepare for THO in the telehandler certification course. Mobile crane operators with experience can certify in our monthly Friday-to-Monday class.
On small building crews, one person often takes turns at the controls, on the rigging and giving signals. Training that person in all three roles and keeping a record of each qualification means the work doesn't stall when the lead hand is sick or leaves.
Snow, Freeze-Thaw and Smoke
At Bend's altitude, winters are snowy and the ground freezes and thaws over and over. Soil that's rock-hard at 7 a.m. may be soft by mid-afternoon, changing how mats and outriggers carry load. Snow piled on materials also adds weight no delivery ticket will mention.
Summer is sunny and dry, though smoke from regional wildfires can cut visibility and affect crew health. Work out ahead of time how the operator and signalperson will stay in contact if they lose sight of each other.
Quick checks for mountain-town lifts
- After rain or a thaw, inspect ground support again.
- Knock snow and ice off loads, rigging and the crane's access points.
- Test the radios whenever glare or smoke cuts visibility.
On-Site or the Trip to Seffner
Our home base is Seffner, Florida; there's no Crane School office in Bend. Builders with several operators can have our instructors and accredited practical examiners come to their yard to teach and run practicals on their own machines. In Central Oregon, outdoor testing is usually easiest from late spring into early fall.
Individual students can connect from Redmond's airport to Tampa and join an open-enrollment class. Look at the upcoming class dates before buying tickets, and visit our lodging page for the discounted hotel rate near the school.
Oregon Rules for Crane Work
Oregon handles workplace safety through its own program, Oregon OSHA. Its crane rules have to protect workers at least as well as the federal standard and may include provisions found only in Oregon. Review the current Oregon OSHA requirements for your type of work, keeping in mind that an employer can ask for more.
Under those rules, an NCCCO card is one of the most widely accepted ways to demonstrate operator qualification. Our Oregon crane certification page has statewide details.
