Who Alterman is
Alterman is an electrical contractor that has been working out of the San Antonio area since 1923, when Nathan Alterman started the business. It has been employee owned since 1999, and in recent years it opened a headquarters campus in Live Oak with fabrication space and offices supporting its field locations around Texas. You can read about the company on its own site at goalterman.com.
Published profiles describe a wide spread of work: design-build electrical installation, high voltage distribution, primary substations, cable splicing, light standards, fire alarm, and voice and data systems. Past project lists include data centers and hospitals in San Antonio.
Where lifting shows up in electrical work
Electricians don't usually think of themselves as crane people, but a lot of electrical scope arrives on a truck and has to be set. A few examples from the kind of work Alterman does:
- Substations. Transformers, breakers, switchgear lineups and steel structures are set by mobile cranes. The electrical crew is often the one hooking up, tagging lines and guiding the load onto anchor bolts.
- Data centers. Generators, UPS modules and large switchboards go onto pads or into buildings in tight sequences with little room for error.
- Light standards and poles. Setting tall poles means choosing a sling and hitch that won't let the pole slide, and controlling it as it goes vertical.
- Cable reels. Heavy reels get lifted on and off trailers and stands, and a reel lifted wrong can roll.
In all of these, the person on the ground decides how the load is rigged and communicates with the operator. That is the job that rigging and signal training covers.
Courses that fit an electrical crew
For most electrical foremen and journeymen, the right starting point is rigging and signaling, not crane operation.
Rigger and signal person training
Our 28-hour course prepares students for the NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson exams. It covers sling types and capacity, hitches and angle loss, hardware inspection, center of gravity, and the standard hand signals from ASME B30.5. Anyone who will be rigging transformers or giving signals on a substation pick is a candidate.
If a crew needs basic rigging awareness without sitting NCCCO exams, the 4-hour Miller Crane Works Level I Rigger/Signal Person class is a shorter qualification taught in our classroom. It is a school qualification, not an NCCCO certification.
Mobile crane operator training
Some electrical contractors keep a hydraulic crane of their own for poles and equipment. An employee who will run it needs NCCCO operator certification under OSHA 1926.1427. The 120-hour fixed/swing cab course is for someone new to the seat; the 40-hour version suits an operator who already has hours and needs exam preparation.
Working near energized lines
Electrical crews know the hazard of power lines better than anyone, but crane rules add their own steps. OSHA 1926.1408 sets minimum clearances for cranes near power lines and calls for planning meetings, a dedicated spotter in some cases, and marked encroachment limits. Our classroom time covers how those clearances apply to the crane and the load line, not just the person. It also covers why a tag line can become a conductor and how the signal person keeps the operator informed when the boom tip is out of view.
Sending a group from San Antonio
All training happens at our yard at 304 Tunnell St in Seagoville, southeast of Dallas. We don't train at customer sites. Crews coming from Central or South Texas typically drive up I-35 and stay nearby for the length of the class. For premium operator courses, room and board is optional; see the premium course page.
To book seats for several employees, use our company classes page or contact us with the number of people, which course they need and the weeks that work for the crew. We'll come back with available dates.