The Many Guises Of A Mobile Crane

Mention a mobile crane and most people think of a truck with a crane attached somewhere. While the principle behind most cranes is similar, mobile cranes themselves come in many different styles, each designed to do a particular job. In some industries – for example, the logging industry – there are purpose-built cranes that are only suited to that job. Other types of cranes include:

• Rough Terrain Crane – designed to carry loads across a rough terrain
• All Terrain Crane – designed for use the highway and rough terrain
• Carry Deck Crane – this crane has a deck that holds a load for transporting
• Pick and Carry Crane – similar to a carry deck crane
• Telescopic Handler Crane – forklifts on a telescopic boom
• Crawler Crane – these cranes run on tracks (like a bulldozer) rather than wheels
• Railroad Crane – normally mounted on a flatbed rail car
• Floating Crane – normally mounted on a pontoon

These cranes can come in a range of sizes, for example, a floating crane can be the size of a ship and can be used to assist the building of oil rigs. Railroad cranes, while generally mounted on flatbed rail cars, can also have conventional wheels that can be raised and lowered over trolley wheels that can run on rails.

What is important for those interested in crane operations is that crane operator training for each of these cranes is the same. The principles of lifting are the same, the only difference being in the way individual cranes are stabilized prior to lifting. Like most machinery, this is specific to the type and brand of crane used, and requires basic on-the-job training for that specific unit, training that is provided by the employer. What a new graduate needs is a thorough introduction to mobile crane basics – from there a graduate can build on skills developed. Mobile cranes come in many guises, however, there’s only one form of mobile crane operator training required, and that the training providing by ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools.