Let's be straight about the location
Alamo Heights has no crane yards or heavy industry of its own. It is a few square miles of homes, schools and shops along Broadway, just north of downtown San Antonio. If you live here, the crane work you would do is spread across the wider metro, and the training you would take is in Seagoville, southeast of Dallas. There is no closer Miller Crane Works site; every class we teach is in that one yard.
So this page skips the sales pitch and covers what a career changer needs to know before deciding.
What three weeks of training actually covers
The 120-hour fixed/swing cab course is built for people without operating experience. It runs about three weeks of weekday training, and it moves in a deliberate order:
- Rules and the machine. OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, ASME B30.5, crane components, and what the operator is responsible for before the first lift.
- The load chart. Radius, boom length, configuration, and the deductions for rigging and attachments that many beginners miss. Expect plenty of worked examples.
- Simulator hours. Your first time on the controls happens in the classroom simulator, where a mistake costs nothing.
- Yard time. Set-up on outriggers, swinging and booming smoothly, landing a load where it belongs, then the moves of the NCCCO practical exam course.
- Exam preparation. Review for the NCCCO written core and telescopic specialty exams, followed by the practical in the same yard.
NCCCO grades the exams and issues certification. We prepare you; we cannot certify you.
Questions worth asking yourself first
- Are you comfortable working outdoors? Crane work in South Texas means summer heat, early starts and wind checks.
- Can you step away from your current job for about three weeks? Classes run full weekdays.
- Do you know where you want to work? Telescopic cranes cover most commercial and industrial jobs, which is why most beginners start there. Tower and lattice crawler work need their own certifications.
- Would a smaller first step help? Our 28-hour rigger and signal person course is a shorter way to learn how lifts are planned and communicated, and it prepares you for NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson.
Getting there and back
From Alamo Heights, take Loop 410 east to I-35 and follow it north past Austin and Waco into the Dallas area, then head east toward Seagoville. Plan on four and a half hours or more. Dallas Love Field and DFW are the airports if you would rather fly, though you will still want a car for the daily drive to class.
You will need lodging for the whole course. Arrange your own, or pick the Premium Plus course, which follows the same 120 hours and adds an option for room and board in Seagoville.
Paying as a newcomer
Career changers usually self-pay or look for workforce funds through Workforce Solutions Alamo, which serves Bexar County. Fort Sam Houston sits close by, and if you served, the Post-9/11 GI Bill® or VR&E may apply. All options are on funding options, and admission lists what you need to enroll.
After the exams are behind you
Passing the NCCCO exams gives you a certification for the crane type you tested on. NCCCO certifications are valid for five years, after which you recertify. Certification is not the last step, though. Under OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1427, an employer must also make sure an operator is qualified to run the specific equipment on its site, so a new hire is usually evaluated and may work under closer supervision at first. Expect your first employer to watch how you set up, read the chart and communicate with the signal person before giving you bigger lifts. Keep your training records and exam results organized; contractors often ask for copies. If you later want to add tower or lattice crawler work, each needs its own specialty certification.