Has anyone/do you know of anyone who has recently taken the above mentioned crane test? I have a few questions on the rumors of "automatic" failure, and what causes the failure. I have 20 minutes of scheduled practice on Monday and don't want to waste too much time asking questions about trivial things. I know it is nothing like the N.C.C.C.O. Lbt, Lbc, TLL, tests, (which I have passed with high numbers). Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance.
Hopefully you got some tips and advise. I have a buddy from North eastern coast and he has mentioned the complexity of the practical before. Good Luck with it.
For what it's worth I will post my experience with the test with the hope that someone else will benefit: I took my test today, the 18th of September,at a union facility which I am not at liberty to say. I am a non-union operator and there were 5 of us scabs including myself that took the test, I talked to many of union guys and they were all nothing but polite, they wouldn't give away any secrets but they were polite to me, even the instructors and retirees. The automatic failures are listed in your paperwork from NY, most everything you need to know is in that paperwork. I was allowed to use the swing brake as long as I didn't try to apply while swinging,(no-brainer) it was pretty straight forward, no one tried to play tricks on us or any of the stupid rumors that I've heard about. I would say it is more difficult than the cco test but not by much, basically because there is very little tolerance for mistakes, if you get a double horn blow, you're out. I was the only scab that didn't get a double horn. I believe there was 6 guys that didn't get blown out. So for those of you getting ready for the test, don't fret, it's not that bad, if you can run a crane you'll be fine, if you can't, keep practicing until you're ready. So if you're getting ready for you're test I wish you the best of luck.
Hey Bigshow, I appreciate the kind words. I was one of the 5 apprentices that took it that day and I never saw the point in being ****** to non-union operators. We were well prepared and, if I may say so, quite confident in passing that test. I saw the unfortunate souls that received the infamous double-horn, and like you said 'practice practice practice'. I am going for my NCCCO after the first of the year so here's hoping I can shine on those 4 tests as well.
I remember watching you, you did a great job. You should have no problem passing the N.C.C.C.O. The cone corridor for cco is actually pretty fun, we practiced on our cranes, basically we would just "throw" the weight and zing it through the course, I would average 20 seconds but got ~15 seconds a few times. Back to the N.Y.S. though, It's tough going somewhere to take a test on a rig you have never ran, around a bunch of people you are told will do nothing but try to mess your day up. So I figure I would try to disprove those rumors publicly and let people know of my good experience with you folks. Thank you personally for your kindness as it didn't go unnoticed, and good luck with the NCCCO. For what it's worth, Facebook has a few great crane pages, Crane operators of the world, Manitowoc crane enthusiasts, and Crane operators only, lots of great and super smart people and pictures there.
Plus one for bigshow!
Thanks for the kind words again bigshow. I plan on brushing up on my written skills for that test after the first of the year and hopefully will be taking a practical around April. The way I see it, crane operators are being forced to cert and re-cert and itemize and sub-qualify, so a young guy like me would benefit from hunkering down and getting all I can before elevating to journeyman level. I have always enjoyed the dirt and cranes alike, but the crane route seems a little more likely to get me work. I appreciate the insight on the CCO test and will be sure to post back here with my results. I am also familiar with the crane pages you speak of though I am not a member of them yet. Cheers to passing your test and here's to a hopefully prosperous next season of work.
Wish Louisiana had state testing... Know the right people and u can buy a CCO here... Good luck to y'all...
The more your capable of doing the more money your gonna make, get every license and cert. you can. I'll tell ya though, works pretty slim here in NY, at least in the southern tier. I don't know about up your way but this last section of route 15 is the last of the big road jobs down here, I doubt 219 out of springville is gonna get going for quite some time either. So for now it's all gonna be road rehab, mill and fill type stuff, crane work around these parts is even slimmer. I can count on my hands the number of licensed operators I know and most of them are doing the dirt scene, as am I. Thanks for the cheers on the test, I wish you a merry Christmas and prosperous next year.