Preview: SC&RA Crane & Rigging Virtual Workshop

The Covid-19 crisis has created many challenges for the crane, rigging and specialized transportation industry, but it also has prompted a bevy of solutions. The SC&RA Crane & Rigging Workshop is a long-running event that has never been cancelled, even after the 9-11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

This year, amid the global pandemic, the event will also happen, albeit in a new virtual reality (VR) format, September 16-17, 2020 and feature the largest offering of educational sessions ever presented.

When many companies in the industry are using VR technology for training, SC&RA and A1A Software, along with show sponsors National Interstate Insurance Company and NBIS (NationsBuilders Insurance Services), are now extending that technology for the first time ever to the Crane & Rigging Workshop.

“The new VR format is being developed as we speak,” said SC&RA Crane & Rigging Group Chairman Randy Sever, PSC Crane & Rigging. “We are working with member company A1A Software to develop a workshop platform that will allow us to do most of the things we would normally do at the workshop, just not in person.”

Sever explained that in a year where social interaction has been limited and access to customers severely restricted, SC&RA wants to give attendees and exhibitors a unique opportunity to learn and share in a more dynamic way.

The Crane & Rigging Workshop will include all the educational forums and presentations normally expected, as well as a VR Exhibit Center.

“The Crane & Rigging Workshop Exhibit Center will feature the look and feel from past workshops that attendees have come to expect,” said SC&RA Senior Vice President Crane & Rigging Beth O’Quinn. “Whether attendees choose the VR option with glasses or use their computer, they will be able to visit booths and interact with booth representatives and other attendees for a fun, immersive experience. This is a chance for companies to show their products and services in a different way, across a longer time frame than the typical Exhibit Center hours, and hopefully to more attendees than ever before. And best of all, it is budget-friendly.”

Attendee and exhibitor registration is open at www.scranet.org/Workshop2020. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

EDUCATION SESSIONS

This year offers the largest selection of Crane & Rigging Workshop topics, including several key sessions on operations:

• Rigging and Lifting with Blocks, with TactiLearning’s Skip Ohman and Greg Kane, will train attendees on the principles of blocks including capacity, parts of line and mechanical advantage, reeving and selection and proper operation of block systems.
• What’s Your Synthetic Chain & Rigging I.Q.? will be presented by Mike Gelskey, Sr. and Mike Gelskey, Jr. of Lift-It Manufacturing. They will cover synthetic chain assemblies that are used for a variety of load handling (lifting) and load securement (lashing) applications.
• Rigging with Heavy Lifting Strand Jacks will be discussed by Michael Beres, Enerpac. The session will cover application considerations for electing to use a heavy lifting strand jack system along with application examples by market.
• AeroGo’s Randy Manus will address Safe and Fast: Rigging Heavy & Awkward Loads with Air Casters. He will demonstrate how to improve safety and reduce downtime on the job by learning best practices for rigging procedures when moving heavy and awkward loads using air casters.
• ITI’s Mark Parnell will discuss Bull Rigging Projects In-Action. Participants will witness first-hand how ITI, Barnhart Crane & Rigging, Omega Morgan and NessCampbell Crane + Rigging execute a bull rigging project, together.

Compliance and risk management topics are always popular and this year, the workshop features several:

• Kent Miller of National Interstate Insurance and Danny Cain of Edwards Moving & Rigging will present Developing Defenses. Attendees will gain a strong understanding of why accidents occur, and then the focus will be placed on methods to minimize accidents by developing defenses throughout an organization.
• Let B30 Work for You: Defend Against Personal Injury Actions, presented by Michael Rubin of Goldberg Segalla, and NCCCO’s Thom Sicklesteel, will take a deep dive into the B30.5 Standard to understand who is responsible for what (among the various entities/players on a crane jobsite) and how those responsibilities may be allocated for three main types of hazards: below the ground, at ground level and above the ground hazards.
• Crane Operator Qualifications: One Size Does Not Fit All will be presented by Bill Smith of Nations Builders Insurance Services (NBIS). He will explain how companies with one crane, to companies with a multitude of crane types, will benefit from taking a close look into each step of being compliant with OSHA Subpart CC so that crane operators are qualified.
• Jennifer Gabel, JK Crane, will present Construct Your Health. She will discuss how educating employers and employees on health-promoting behaviors and strategies can improve safety, save money from reduced workers compensation and insurance costs, and most importantly, save lives.
• In the session titled Take Control of Covid-19’s Impact on Your Business, TrueNorth’s Stuart Haker and USI Insurance Services’ Jeffrey Haynes will teach companies how to take control of their own underwriting using a qualitative and quantitative approach to assessing and managing risk.

Best practices for crane operators and crane companies are at the heart of every workshop. This year’s topics include:

• Understanding Crane Inspection Techniques and Equipment by Stephenson Equipment’s Ray Feidt will familiarize attendees with inspection techniques and equipment that can address hard-to-inspect components and areas, and by using ASME B30.30 Wire Rope Standard, recognize what classification of wire rope is correct per application and what is not.
• How Industry Companies Attract, Train & Retain Workers is a panel that includes NCCCR’s Dan Belcher, Lift & Move USA’s Tracy Bennett, Sims Cranes’ Bob Berry and Bennett International’s Kris Rzepkowski. This session will focus on real-world examples of programs being implemented in companies today and how to integrate such programs in local schools, build strong partnerships with workforce development organizations and create a pipeline for new workers while retaining existing ones.
• Tower Crane Contract Language: Lessons Learned presented by Morrow Equipment’s Peter Juhren, Bigge Crane & Rigging’s Thom Bostrom and NBIS’s Bill Smith, will cover contract language – what to avoid and how to remove terms from contracts, what language is necessary to protect your company and lessons learned from the field. SC&RA’s new sample contract, addendum and checklist will be featured as part of the session.