Step one: prove you can rig and signal
On most crane jobs, the first certified role a laborer can earn is rigger or signal person. It's also the role where you learn how a crane really behaves, because you watch the load, the boom tip and the operator's reactions every day.
Two options exist. Our 4-hour Level I Rigger/Signal Person class gives you a Miller Crane Works qualification, useful for employers who want a documented baseline. The 28-hour certification course goes further and prepares you for two NCCCO exams, Rigger Level I and Signalperson, which travel with you from one employer to the next.
Step two: learn what the operator is thinking
Good riggers already know a lot about cranes, but operating adds a new layer: capacity changes with every foot of radius, the chart you read depends on how the crane is set up, and the weight of the hook, block and rigging comes off what you can lift. Signal persons who understand that make better calls, and they make the move to the seat easier.
Spend time with the practice questions on our site. If load chart problems make sense, you're ready for an operator course.
It also helps to start noticing set-up on your own job sites: how far the outriggers extend, what goes under the pads, and how the operator checks level before the first pick. Those habits carry straight into the operator course.
Step three: choose an operator course
Someone moving up from the ground usually has no official seat time, so the 120-hour fixed/swing cab course is the normal choice. If your employer has already had you running a crane under supervision, ask us whether the 40-hour version makes more sense. We'll be straight with you about which fits.
Either way, you'll finish by taking NCCCO's written and practical exams. Practical exams are held in our own yard, on the same cranes you train on.
Lift work around Hurst and the mid-cities
Hurst sits in the middle of Hurst-Euless-Bedford, next to DFW Airport and along SH-183 and SH-121. Bell has made helicopters along SH-183 on the Hurst and Fort Worth line since the early 1950s, and the nearby airport and its cargo and hangar buildings, plus constant highway and commercial construction in the mid-cities, all depend on cranes and the crews around them. Ground crews in those settings are exactly the people who tend to move up, because they already know the job sites and the companies.
Talk to the operators on your site. Most will tell you how they got their start, and many began exactly where you are now.
Getting from Hurst to Seagoville
It's about 45 miles. Many students take SH-360 south to I-20 and head east; others go east on SH-183 into Dallas and continue south and east from there. Plan on roughly an hour in the morning. For a 28-hour rigging course, commuting is simple. For the 120-hour course, some Hurst students choose a premium course with optional room and board so they aren't fighting Metroplex traffic for weeks.
Practice your signals at home or on the job before class. Hand signals are standardized, and knowing the basic set (hoist, lower, swing, boom up, boom down, stop and emergency stop) cold lets you spend class time on the harder parts: judging load weight, choosing slings and hitches, and spotting worn hardware. The exams test all of it.
Paying for each step
Contractors often pay for rigging training because it makes their crews safer right away, and some will sponsor the operator course for a rigger they trust. Hurst is in Tarrant County, so Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is the place to ask about WIOA support. GI Bill® benefits apply to approved courses. See funding options for tuition.
Keep copies of every certificate and card you earn along the way. Each one supports the next step.