Chamberlin at a glance
Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing is a commercial roofing and waterproofing contractor founded in Houston in 1978, with company roots it traces to 1897. It has offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley, and it serves Texas and Oklahoma. Its services include roofing and sheet metal, waterproofing and caulking, and building and garage restoration, on schools, hospitals, offices, multifamily buildings and public venues. Projects named in trade coverage include Dallas Love Field, Amon G. Carter Stadium at TCU and Parkland Memorial Hospital. The company website is chamberlinltd.com.
How roofing jobs use cranes
A large commercial roof can take many truckloads of insulation board, membrane rolls, cover board, adhesives and sheet metal. Unless the building is low enough for a conveyor, that material goes up by crane, often in a few concentrated loading days. Rooftop units and curbs sometimes get swapped at the same time.
Roof loading brings its own hazards:
- Wind. Insulation pallets and sheet metal act like sails. A gust can spin a light, broad load or push it into a parapet.
- Where the load lands. Stacking too much material on one area of a roof deck can overload it. The person signaling the crane decides where each load is set down.
- Blind picks. The operator on the street rarely sees the rooftop landing zone. Signals by radio or from a visible signal person are the only link.
- Occupied buildings. Hospitals, schools and airports stay open during reroofs, so picks over walkways and entrances have to be planned and controlled.
Restoration and waterproofing work on parking garages and building facades also creates lifts, from material bundles hoisted to upper levels to equipment set on structured decks with their own load limits. Garage decks in particular can't take outrigger loads anywhere a crane operator might like to set up, so crane placement is planned with the building's structure in mind, and the crew on the ground has to understand why.
For roofing crews, the practical skills are easy to name: estimating the weight of a pallet of insulation or a rooftop unit, picking a sling and hitch that won't let boards slide out, attaching a tag line, and giving clear stop and lower signals at the roof edge.
Courses that suit roofing crews
Signal person and rigger training first
For a roofing company, the most common need is a qualified signal person and a crew that knows how to rig pallets, bundles and units. OSHA's crane standard calls for a signal person whenever the operator can't see the load or landing area (1926.1419), which describes most roof loading, and 1926.1428 requires that person to be qualified. Our 28-hour course prepares students for the NCCCO Rigger Level I and Signalperson exams. Our 4-hour Level I class is a quicker school qualification for crew members who need the fundamentals.
Operator training for in-house cranes
If a roofing contractor keeps its own hydraulic crane for loading, the operator needs NCCCO certification for that crane type. The 40-hour fixed/swing cab course is aimed at people with some experience who need exam preparation. A new operator should plan on the 120-hour course.
Planning travel from other Texas offices
Training is held only at our yard in Seagoville, southeast of Dallas. Dallas and Fort Worth employees can usually commute. People from the Houston, Austin, San Antonio or Valley offices usually stay in the area during class; Houston is roughly 240 road miles south of the school. For longer courses, premium options with optional room and board are listed on the premium course page.
Enrolling a group of employees
Many roofing companies send people in small groups between projects or during slower weather. Start with company classes for how group training works, check the schedule for start dates, and reach out with the number of people, their offices and the course each one needs.