Career Mirror -- by Mark Sproxton

Carefully moving the boom of the crane along the side of a building lifting pieces of what will become a tower crane, the operator thinks back to his days as a youth.

Controlling the crane from a comfortable cab, Belder lifts all kinds of vessels and equipment.

"If you were a kid who that liked big toys, this is the job to have," said Ed Belder, a journeyman mobile crane operator with Stampede Cranes & Rigging Inc.

At the controls of a 200 ton, five axel crane, Belder uses the machine mainly for commercial construction projects including moving materials from the ground to rooftops, but also for loading train cars, or propane tank-like vessels for the oil and gas industry. This gigantic vehicle can reach speeds of 70 kilometres per hour on its own, but the boom has to be trucked separately.

Working for Stampede, which is a crane rental business, means Belder and other operators work year-round for whichever client needs their services. While Belder now enjoys the comfort of his cosy operator's cab, it was his experience working outside that turned his mind to heavy equipment operating.

"I used to work in construction as an iron worker," he said. "We always used the cranes to move material. I always liked that guy's job better than mine. I'm outside, he's in a nice warm cab." Fifteen years ago Belder took the plunge. He found a company to apprentice with and completed his three-year mobile crane training to become a journeyman operator.

Now he thoroughly enjoys the view from the cab. "There's lots of variety. You're always on a different site lifting different materials. Most of our work, 90 per cent, is in the city. I'm home and it pays well." While Belder's able to stay close to home, other operators chose to work in a plant such as the Joffre gas plant.

But like operators of other heavy equipment, he doesn't get away from putting in long hours in the summer, the busiest time of year, and working unpredictable hours. "It's a 24-hour job," Belder said. "I could never be a hockey coach or a ball coach because my hours vary. I never know from day to day."

Ed Belder's 200 ton crane has a top speed of 70 km/h which allows him to travel from work site to work site quickly.

While each day is different, most days include showing up at the office well before the job is supposed to begin to allow the crane to warm up. From there Belder will pick up the rigging -- the equipment needed to attach the load to the crane's boom -- and drive off to that day's work site. Once there he'll work with riggers, people who use the rigging to attach the load, and move the required load to its required destination.

The 200 ton crane has a separate cab used to operate the machine's boom and another cab to drive the unit from one site to the other. The technology in the cab is so advanced, Belder doesn't even have to tilt his head to look up. Controls allow him to turn the cab so he can see to the top of the boom.

"The operator is responsible for the way it's rigged," Belder said. "If you see something that doesn't look right, you go look at it. You look to make sure it's safe to lift." Understanding how items should be attached comes through experience and apprenticeship training, which Belder recommends. "I would try to apprentice under a company with more than one or two trucks. That way you get more exposure to different types of machines. Your goal is to run bigger and better things. But any way to get in is a good way."

Once someone becomes a journeyman crane operator, he can expect to be well paid. "It's one of the highest paying trade jobs," Belder said. "Even the 'low-end' guys make over $20 per hour." And now appears to be a good time to get into the industry. "There are lots of opportunities," he said. "A lot of guys are retiring."