A certified rigger is a worker who has undergone the proper training to become certified to move loads. The specific certification level depends on the individual’s training, knowledge, experience, skill base, and ability to handle functions that pertain to the proper selection, use, and inspection of rigging equipment.

A rigger is a skilled worker who specializes in the lifting, landing, and assembly of heavy or large objects. The task often requires the help of a block and tackle and pulley, crane, derrick, chain hoists, or capstan winch. Riggers are needed for a variety of building and construction projects, so it is a role that is in high demand.

Riggers work in various roles, including construction and shipbuilding. Vacancies in the construction field for riggers have increased by 9.46 percent across the U.S., and there is an average growth of 1.58 percent in the field per year, which means that there is a need for trained rigging professionals. According to recruiter.com, the average salary of a rigger is $43,500 per year. Those who work in professional, scientific, and technical services are paid somewhat more, averaging $62,680 per year for their services.

Rigger Certificate Training

To become certified so you can seek employment as a rigger, you will need to go to an established school where you can receive professional training. Associated Training Services (ATS) includes heavy equipment operation, trucking, mobile crane operation, and rigger/signalperson certification. ATS has an OSHA-compliant rigger training program that provides students with the optimal level of expert instruction, and practical and written testing.

With the ATS rigger training program, you will become qualified to be certified with the new OSHA crane mandate while having the skills that you need to perform rigging tasks. You will have the knowledge, the skills, and the capabilities to handle the job safely and help protect other workers from being injured while you are performing your job duties. To learn more about ATS Training programs, please call (800) 383-7364 today.

Rigging and signalperson jobs are in demand. You have probably heard those terms, but you may not know what the jobs entail. A rigger is an individual with the proper degree or certificate or someone who has extensive training and experience or knowledge that enables them to successfully demonstrate their ability to resolve issues that pertain to rigging loads. These are individuals who must have the ability to rig the load for a specific job and properly plan the process.

Topics covered by a rigger training course will include OSHA and ASME standards, the proper use of taglines, knots that are used in rigging, hoisting personnel, hand and voice signals, and the safe usage of slings, rigging hardware, wire rope, and chain and lever hoists. It also involves rigging procedures and practices as well as learning the basics of crane operations.

Signalpersons serve as the eyes and ears on the ground for the crane operator. They must properly signal and communicate with the crane operator so they can avoid crane accidents. Crane operators should never try to work without a qualified signalperson on duty working with them. According to OSHA, a crane operator signalperson must complete specific training to be qualified to perform the job.

Here are some responsibilities of a signalperson:

• Demonstrate their knowledge through practical, oral, and written tests
• Know the crane equipment, its limitations and the dynamics involved in boom and crane lifting and movement
• Know the different kinds of signals used at the job site and can use those signals competently

There are certain times that OSHA requires a signalperson to be on the job. Those times include:

• The load or area near or at the load isn’t within the operator’s full view
• When the equipment is moving, and the direction of movement is obstructed
• When the operator or the individual who is handling the load believes a signalperson is needed for safety concerns

Eligibility requirements to become a certified signalperson:

• Minimum of 18 years of age
• Pass drug screening
• Pass the written exam
• Pass a practical test
• Adhere to the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) Code of Ethics

Rigging and signalperson jobs are in great demand. There are websites where openings are listed. There are also different construction organizations that help companies recruit for the two different positions. Specialized training schools, such as ATS, can also help with job placement. To learn more about training programs for rigging and signalperson positions, contact ATS today at (800) 383-7364.

As of September 2009, there were 63,012 jobs in the oil and gas well drilling industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment in the Gulf Coast is most concentrated in several Louisiana parishes and Texas counties. In these areas, rigging job or jobs account for a bigger portion of employment in these localities than the whole nation. Almost one-fourth of those employed in this field in the U.S. are in Harris County, Texas, which is in the Houston area. That totals about 14,881 jobs and equals about .9% of private sector employment in that specific county. Lafayette Parish in Louisiana had about 3.2% of the nation’s employment in the oil rigging industry.

In 2009, Baker Hughes reported that it had 1,281 active rigs, with 55 of them being offshore. The specific position of rigger in the oil and gas industry is held by 21,000 workers. Riggers have a mean hourly wage of $24.17, which totals about $50,270 per year. Riggers tend to make anywhere from $13.91 per hour to as much as $36.22 per hour. There are several industry subdivisions in the oil and gas industry that require riggers. Here is a breakdown:

Ship and boat building employs 2,270 riggers, support activities for mining employs 1,900 riggers, and the federal executive branch (OES designation) employs 1,590. Other industries with high concentrations of employment in the role of rigger include inland water transportation, ship and boat building, other support activities for transportation, and building equipment, and contractors.

Location Effects Salary

If you are employed as a rigger, your location can affect your salary. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 45 of the 50 states have riggers employed in some form or fashion. Washington State has 900 people employed in rigger positions with an average annual wage of $55,470 while Minnesota has only 230 riggers with an annual average salary of $55,860. In New York, the average rigger salary is $75,910 while in Michigan, the average salary for a rigger is $65,490 per year.

What is a Rigger? What is a Rigging job?

A rigger is a person who specializes in the moving and lifting of extremely heavy or large objects. Often, they do the moving or lifting with the help of a crane, chain hoist, or derrick. To become a rigger, an individual must undergo extensive training both in and out of the classroom. ATS offers OSHA-compliant rigger and signalperson training and certification. The program includes written and practical training and testing. To learn more about the program, call ATS at (800) 383-7364.

In any construction site, no matter what crane is being used, from the smallest loader crane to the largest tower crane, there is a certain amount of danger once a load is off the ground. Safety is a crucial aspect of any crane operation, and riggers are central to that safety, with the crane operator making up a team that oversees every aspect of the crane operation on site.

The rigging team is responsible for all aspects of a lift, from the rigging of the load to ensure it has the required support and stability by organizing the cables and so on. This is where the rigging reference comes from, a throwback to the times of sailboats, but the rigger’s duties do not stop there, they also take part in the monitoring of the process throughout the lift. The other aspect of rigging that is incredibly important for safety is the signalperson. The signalperson relays the load condition, observations of the team, and other details to the crane operator themselves throughout the process.

Each of these positions is essential for site safety, the load riggers assess the weight, balance, and size of the load, setting up the pulleys and cable system to ensure a safe lift, so safety actually begins well before the lifting process is even started. During the lift, the signalperson will help control the lift and is an essential rigger position. With modern construction requiring ever larger and heavier loads to be moved, the rigger team is crucial to keeping the site safe during the lift, aiding and advising the crane operator throughout the process. Safe crane operation really is a team effort, and riggers are crucial to that team’s success.

Of course, for that team to work effectively and efficiently to maintain safety, training is essential, but the right training is even more important. There is specific OSHA qualification for riggers and signalpersons, and those qualifications can open doors to a new and rewarding career as a rigger or signalperson.

Here at ATS, we believe safety on site is one of the most important aspects of the construction industry today, and we are proud to offer OSHA-compliant courses for both riggers and signalpersons that go beyond the basic requirements.

Our qualification program for either rigger or signalperson meets OSHA requirements, and features both written and practical instruction and testing over 8 to 12 hours, resulting in each student receiving a qualification compliance card issued by Associated Training Services upon successful completion.

Moving on, our Certification Program for riggers and signalperson exceeds the OSHA qualification standard, and again, includes both written and practical training and testing over a 4-day period. Successful completion brings with it NCCCO Rigging Level One and NCCCO Signal Person Certifications, providing a valuable skillset that employers are actively seeking.

The rigger is a very important part of any heavy equipment team. More than just a driver, a rigger performs six different but essential heavy equipment tasks every day. Here are those six tasks.

1. Lifting – A rigger uses hoists and pulleys to lift heavy items such as equipment, loads, and cargo. To accomplish this task, they may provide the mechanical, electrical, and other tools to accomplish the lifting on the job site.
2. Moving – A rigger is responsible for moving heavy loads from one end of a work site to another. This may entail using a crane to lift and move large boxes, vehicles, or other heavy cargo on a dock, in a warehouse, or across a construction site.
3. Transporting – Riggers are also responsible for transporting heavy equipment, machinery, and cargo. This could involve the use of flatbed trucks, cargo ships, and other heavy industrial equipment.
4. Positioning – Sometimes, loads shift. A rigger is responsible for ensuring heavy loads do not shift during transport or, in the event that a shift has occurred, re-positioning loads for further transport.
5. Pulling – Riggers are responsible for pulling loads and heavy equipment or cargo. That may entail the use of wenches, pullies, dollies, jacks, and other useful mechanical equipment.
6. Security – Equipment security is very important. A rigger must ensure a load is safe and secure before, during, and after transport. This may involve securing a load with straps, bands, weights, and other equipment designed to keep cargo from shifting during transport or to ensure cargo isn’t burglarized or vandalized.

Heavy equipment riggers are a very important part of the heavy equipment team.

One of the most important jobs on the construction work site is that of a rigger. The rigger is responsible for the safety of personnel working on the site, especially mobile crane operations. But they are subject to regulation and the regulatory authority for riggers is OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Heavy Equipment School Rigging/Signalperson training program will prepare you to be a world-class rigger and pass all certification tests and safety requirements of OSHA. We have the best program in the industry.

So what makes it such a good training program? All of the below:

• It meets and exceeds the OSHA qualification standards for rigger and signalperson training
• You’ll receive written and practical training and testing on those standards
• The qualification program offers 8 to 12 hours of instruction, depending on the number of students in class
• The certification program offers a 4-day intensive of 32 to 36 hours, again depending on the number of students in the program
• All graduating students will receive a qualification compliance card upon successful completion of the Rigger/Signalperson Qualification Program
• Students graduating from the Rigger/Signalperson Certification Program will be certified by the National Commission for Certification of Crane Operators

Associated Training Services (ATS) offers several ways to take this training. You can come to us and be trained in our world-class facilities, or, if your company is certifying several riggers and signalpersons at once, then we’ll arrange to come to your work site and administer the training.

OSHA standards are tough, but they are necessary for a safe work site. ATS is committed to training riggers and signalpersons in the latest qualification and certification standards for crane operations.

Who are world-class Riggers are important people on the work site? Often employed in shipping yards, loading docks, construction sites, industrial warehouses, transportation depots, and other places where extraordinarily large and heavy objects or machines need to be lifted and moved from one place to another, riggers are responsible for much of the movement of consumer goods in the world.

We’re not talking about moving a piano here. We’re talking about moving huge pallets of pianos, computers, or other goods all at once. Heavy stuff.

Typically, riggers operate the machinery, hoists, pulleys, and ropes–and are responsible for their safe “rigging”–that lift and move material that ways thousands or millions of pounds. Huge, heavy stuff.

World-Class Rigger Steps

If you want to be a rigger and enjoy a long career in industry, you’ll need to seek OSHA-compliant training. You won’t get hired by the best employers in the workplace if you aren’t trained by the best schools. So here’s how you become a world-class rigger.

1. Sign up for rigger training at an approved heavy equipment school
2. Complete and graduate from your rigger training
3. Take the rigger certification exam
4. Receive your qualification card

Once you’ve been trained and qualified as a rigger, you can then begin to seek employment. Associated Training Services will assist you in finding your first job as a world-class rigger. In fact, we’ll not only feed your job leads, but we’ll train you on the soft skills you need to land job interviews and ace them. You’ll be gainfully employed and upwardly mobile before you know it.

Riggers are important people on the heavy equipment job site. If you are working heavy construction, a good rigger can save your life.

Recently, I spoke to a gentleman who told me a story about an accident he had on scaffolding. It wasn’t high off the ground, but he did step onto a plank that wasn’t secured properly and immediately was thrown into the scaffolding uprights. He hurt himself a little bit. No broken bones or serious injury, but it did bruise him fairly well.

His mistake: He didn’t inspect the scaffolding a fellow worker put together for him. If he had, he’d have seen his fellow worker’s error.

Rigger’s Save Lives

I don’t know if these workers were certified. They weren’t involved in the heavy equipment industry. They were painting a house. But on a heavy equipment job site, the rigger is the person who puts all the equipment together and inspects it for safety. They are usually an expert in tying knots, rigging hitches, and performing other tasks in lifting and securing heavy objects. That’s why they are so important.

Associated Training Services (ATS) offers a rigging certification course to train your riggers in all aspects of keeping your work team safe.

OSHA regulations require riggers to be certified. By enrolling in this course, you’ll learn how to be a good rigger and get your certification, which means you’ll be legal and qualified. There aren’t many schools that offer a rigging course. ATS is one of them.

Did you know that current Federal OSHA regulations say that ALL riggers and signalpersons must be qualified? That means if you want a job in this valuable field, you have to have the right credentials. Associated Training Services offers rigging/signalperson program that exceeds the OSHA requirement and is recognized as one of the best in the crane and lifting industries.

You Can Take It With You

The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) is the gold standard of the industry and ATS offers this certification as part of the available training options. It’s portable, so as long as you renew it every five years it’s good. If you let it expire, you have to take the NCCCO re-certification exam in combination with another ATS program.

So these are your benefits from this option:

Or It Can Be Part On-The-Job Training

If you want to be a rigger, you’ll have to learn two things: The language and the tools. Heavy Equipment School will teach you all about hooks, shackles, hitches and more.

What Kind of Hooks Do You Need To Learn?

First, you need to know that not all hooks are created equal. There’s a different kind of hook for different tasks, and HES will show you which ones you need to know about and how to deploy them. Here’s a sample list of hooks we’ll teach you how to use:

• Two-Legged connection hook
• Eye hook
• Swivel hook
• Hook block
• Overhaul ball

We’ll also teach you something about buckles and bridles. Next up, shackles (and we don’t mean the medieval kind).

What Kind of Shackles Should You Know About?

Just as their are different kinds of hooks, there are different configurations of shackles.

• Two-legged connection shackle
• Screw pin shackle
• Safety shackle

And if that isn’t enough, we’ll teach you all about hoists and slings.

A Bevy of Hitches We’ll Teach You How To Use

Hitches serve a useful purpose, as well. Here are a handful of hitches you’ll learn how to use in Heavy Equipment School’s Rigger Certification Course.

• Two-legged choker
• Choker hitch
• Basket hitch

Some of these hitches can be deployed numerous ways. And, of course, we’ll teach you how make a hoist too.

If you’re bent on being a rigger, let us teach you all about the tools and techniques to be a successful one.