Appreciation post: Running a crawler crane on that Texas wind farm job changed my mind on travel work

I used to think traveling for crane jobs was just a hassle, but now I'm convinced it's the best way to grow your skills. Last year, I took a contract setting up turbines in West Texas, where the winds were crazy strong every afternoon. We had to plan lifts around gust forecasts and use different rigging techniques I never learned on steady city sites. Operators who skip these jobs are playing it safe and missing out on real problem-solving experience. That Texas job taught me more about load control in three weeks than a decade of local work. If you want to be better, you need to get out of your comfort zone and take on these tough, moving jobs.

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_lopez107d ago

Spot on! I had a similar wake-up call on a coastal bridge job. The constant salt spray and tide changes made us change our rigging every day. We used rust-proof gear and timed lifts for when the wind was low, things you never deal with inland. That job taught me to read weather and water conditions like a second language. Getting out of my normal work area pushed me to fix problems I didn't even know were there.

cole1037d ago

My cousin did tower crane work in Chicago for twenty years without ever leaving the city. Made great money, never had to live out of a hotel. All this talk about special skills sounds good, but how often do you actually use that West Texas wind rigging back on a normal site? Seems like a rough way to learn a few tricks you might never need again.

paul_fisher193d ago

Makes you wonder if staying in one place too long makes you worse at your job. I'd probably freak out if the wind changed more than five degrees.