Thanks for having me!
Hi im Ms Smith, born and raised in Melbourne, I am a lady tradie who works in commercial construction as a crane operator.
I enjoy spending time on cars and bikes, cooking, music, learning new things, making stuff and BBQ's with a side of Jack Daniels.
Cheers for the chat and feel free to ask me anything or teach me something can't wait to meet you all!
Thank you!
Welcome…..and where to start to be a crane operator usually?
Buy a crane. Get in crane. Operate it.
Oh I wish I had my own crane, I'd be hit up flat out off mates to do free work for them or to go for a ride in it
The 80m high club.
At the bottom of the ladder?
Yep definitely bottom of a long ladder!
Hey good question for me I did an apprenticeship in civil construction and got tickets for heavy machinery and on the job experience went onto commercial construction as a labourer, boss put me through a rigging course and then few months past and he asked if I wanted to do my crane licence.
Hi mate first off hassling worksites to give me a job haha! Start as labouring on construction sites, showing your keen to work hard, learn and listen. Its not an easy job and when your new, like most jobs, you have to prove your worthy of the position and people's time to teach you.
Everyday is new, no two lifts are ever the same and your always learning. You need to get licences in Rigging and Dogging and then you can go for your licence for Operating a Crane and they come in different forms as per type and weight of the crane. From small 1tonne spider cranes to Open Licence which is for tower cranes.
your name…
no more please
How did you end up in that gig? 💪🏾
Good for you. Frankly I’d have trouble with the heights, especially when it’s windy.
What site are you working on at the moment?
I've always been good with heights its the moving clouds sometimes that trick your eyes, as they move behind the boom. It can look like its moving when its stationary. And staring into the sun and glare off things.
I have to ask, do you have to climb down the ladder to go to the loo or are there “alternate” arrangements.
Sometimes it rains, sometimes it shines.
Exactly, if its not a drought it's a flood.
When I started out on mobile cranes I had this theory u want the sun to shine somewhere set up a crane looking in that direction!
Most crane operators will only leave the cabin of a tower crane at the end of a shift there's no up and down to go toilet or meal breaks. And your body soon learns to go with that schedule.
There is definitely emergency 2lt vessels most have in times of need.
Have you seen this video of a crane lifting a crane lifting a crane lifting a crane? https://youtu.be/gYpMz63WAjM?t=76
That's the definition of crane operation for me. Timing, skill, balance in motion i could go on and on ohhh i do love me some crane porn.
The music makes it
.
Is it a boys club kinda industry, if so what's it like working in it?
Yes. But you can't expect a cat club to be anything other than a cat club if they're only cats in it. Its been hard, but each of them has a mother, or sister some female in their life and they look out for me. I can honestly say the boys i have worked with and for have been fantastic. Im 55kg, slim and blonde, it was never going to be easy. But when they realise im not the cleaner and see after some time even the first day that I'm qualified, work my arse off, do a good job, willing to learn and listen, and have a joke too then you are treated with respect. Its about educating each other too and raising expectations of what all genders can do. When I'm not in a crane most days im doing labouring work from site clean ups, demolition, concreting anything really as Im still new at it I want to learn all parts of construction so I can be the best I can at it.
Yeah, I started in IT in the 80s, it could be a tad rough. Although I found the smoking worse than the naked pictures. I tended to be a bit of a novelty but nobody treated me like I couldn’t do the job. It does help to be an extrovert.
I grew up early 80's, parents smoking in the car..me hiding there smoke packets then I'd be the one hiding!! I could only imagine it at work for you would of been horrible, in such close proximity to others and your a non smoker.
And good on you for having the determination to step outside the so called norm, its paving the way for others and I believe we are stronger humans for doing so. I know its not easy at times but it makes me feel challenged, teaches me to acheive more and how to handle difficult situations better. That i only limit myself if I don't try, and to try open others up to this amazing opportunity hopefully one day I'll meet another female crane operator!
@Ms Smith: The smoking was awful, they even allowed it on public transport and “the sky was falling” each time it was banned somewhere. I lost both my parents to smoking related illnesses.
In my case I have an “ovaries out” mentality. I know I’m tap dancing on quicksand but it’s better to keep moving forward. It helps if you have a supportive partner, especially one that understands what you do. We both worked in IT. (We both managed to get packages and are, basically, retired now). He supported us after I quit my job to do my IT degree. I was part of a first year intake on a brand new course; it was brilliant. At the end I had seven graduate job offers to choose from. His “investment” paid off. Don’t be frightened to take the odd risk if it helps you move forward.
The advantage of IT in the 80s was, even as a graduate, you were expected to muck in and do a bit of everything so your understanding of the entire process was pretty good. Sounds like you you have the same idea. In the end I was involved in Project Management and contract quoting. Not at the coalface but using the knowledge I’d built up. Basically,I had a good idea when people were lying to me.
In your case you need to look after yourself physically as well, you have a lot of years ahead of you. You don’t want to carry injuries. You might want to get advice from a physio.
If I may, humbly, offer a few suggestions, which it sounds like you already have anyway.
- protect your reputation for delivery. It is the most important asset you have. It helps when you ask to do something different.
- network with as many people as possible. If you hit brick walls, which you will, it is always helpful to have friends to smooth the way to go somewhere else.
- if you see a way to improve things then think it through then offer suggestions. The worst that can happen is you get told why it won’t work.
- be a sponge, learn, understand, always think about what, where, how. Ask lots of questions, if you don’t know, but think first.
- step up, try different things, step outside your comfort zone.
- make sure you have lots of non work things to be interested in. It is too easy to get into “hamster” mode where the work pressure takes over. I found exercise helps. As does stepping back and getting perspective.
- regularly take stock of what you are doing. Are you enjoying it, are you doing it right, should you be doing something else, how do I do the next step.
- have someone, outside work, you can talk to who can help you with your perspective.
- make sure the guys understand you a friend not a target. Guys think women are bitchy but there is nothing more toxic than guys boasting about who they’ve screwed. It is sad the double standard is there but it is; you need to protect yourself.
- get yourself a posse of gal pal tradies so you can go out as a bunch and really let your hair down.
I spent a good deal of my life being the only woman in the room. However, I was very lucky, by and large, I was surrounded by people who were supportive of each other. The steps were, usually, sideshow freak, our sideshow freak, what sideshow freak.
Sounds like you have your head screwed on properly. Best of luck.
@try2bhelpful: That summary about sideshow freak was poetic in its mixture of simplicity and emotional depth. What a post.
@ozbjunkie: Thanks. I know is was a tad rambling.
TL:DR. It will probably be hard, but it can be very rewarding. It is all in your hands just do the due diligence and step up. Best of luck.
@try2bhelpful: Nah I wasn't even being sarcastic at all.
Words didn't apply to me, but I read them regardless, didn't sound like a ramble.
But the sideshow freak bit, how bloody charming!
@ozbjunkie: I didn’t take your post as sarcastic, I was touched someone thought I wasn’t just rabbiting on. I really should’ve put a TL:DR on it to begin with.
@try2bhelpful: [Trytobehelpful] Thank you for you comments, a lot of great advice and I will certainly agree with everything u said. Not often you hear wise words of encouraging advice and I appreciate it.
At 14 I lost my mother to cancer and later my father to a heart attack they are my role models. Mum was smart she went to high school at 11, moved out of home at 14, loved car racing and worked full time. My father was a champion on 2 wheels, drove trucks and was a mechanical and engineering genius always happy to teach others. Very supportive to 4 kids and we were encouraged to do our best, work hard and to just have a go. That we are all human, none of us are better or more entitled.
I am glad to be apart a few groups and clubs supporting women in trades and have taken the first break in years off work, it is well needed and overdue!
@Ms Smith: Yeah, encouragement from the family certainly helps. Neither of my parents got past 4th form but I think my mum had me “signed up” for University from the time I hit kindergarten. I’m one of five kids and, at one point, we had seven of us in a two bedroom house. Every one of my siblings had a crack at tertiary education and four of us have post secondary school qualifications. My mother’s attitude was not only could we do anything, we were expected to. With Uni I did factory jobs every summer to help pay the living expenses during the year. It certainly provided the inspiration to keep going with the studies.
Breaks are important they help you reassess and recharge. I took a few of them, especially after I had a melanoma removed. It sounds new agey but find the stillness, step back and let your mind work in the background. If you’ve got an issue then workshop it. I kept complaining they weren’t running a contract properly at work so they asked me to come back with a presentation on the issues and proposed solutions. I couldn’t get a handle on it during normal hours, and they were getting annoyed with me, so I took a long holiday weekend and just poured everything into series of power point slides; which I presented to them. It was incredibly painful to do but it knocked their socks off. My main thought was “if you do nothing you can’t complain you didn’t know”.
Keep the support network going, Olympic level venting, amongst friends, is what let’s you get rid of the mind’s toxic sludge. It is better than knocking back a bottle of spirits a day.
@try2bhelpful: I think the responsibility, hard work and realisation no one owes you or will do it for you as a kid is a lesson im glad I learned early. This often means I will hold a lot in and don't ask for help or concern others with my 'stuff'. Having support and knowing its normal to not be ok sometimes helps.
Your comment about having a supportive partner lingers in my mind. For me construction has not only been my passion it was my life saver. It helped me gain the confidence, financial freedom and knowledge I needed to leave a violent relationship with my high school love.
I am on my own, renting a place by the beach and starting to get back the friends and relatives i was isolated from. Learning to be on my own is hard but far better than how things could of been.
Each day I'm growing and living a happier life at times I question my path but I know I've done ok, mum and dad would be proud.
@Ms Smith: Yeah, listening to trust fund baby “hooray Henries” talk about people rorting “unemployment benefits” makes my blood boil. They think they are underprivileged if nanny forgets marshmallows for the cocoa. There is no shame, at all, with looking for help. I’ve had dark times, myself, where I wondered what the hell I was doing. It helps to talk things out with someone you trust.
I’m sad you had such a tough background but happy, and very impressed, you had the courage, and insight, to leave. Unfortunately abusive manipulating bastards cut you off from your support people so you think what they are doing is normal. Frankly, as a society, we are piss poor at assisting people in need. You sound like you’ve got it together, now, so you can look for warning signs.
Frankly I count myself blessed. My dad’s idea of punishment might’ve been to take a leather strap to us, but I’ve never been subject to real abuse. I lucked out with my guy at 18 and we’ve been together since. I’m 60 next year; it was meant to be in France, oh well. I’ve got so much Karma in this life I must be coming back as a slug in the next.
You are a very impressive person, may fortune rain it’s bounty into your bowl.
That attitude is inspirational, whether the reader is a man or a woman or a 16 year old gamer trapped in the body of 35 year old gamer.
I'd hire you… As a life coach, or a crane operator.
Thank you I am new to posting comments and group chats so I often rant on a bit. Im not working at the moment so I may take u up on that!
Lots of spitting and farting and stuff I bet.
Yeah the boys tell me off for doing it in confined spaces
How many years did it take to get to the crane level licence? How many hours are your shift in the crane? Do you crap yourself when you have to move items to where you can't see it land. I have a set of apartments going up and sometimes I wonder how the crane operator doesnt knock half the building off. Is there a camera at the end of the crane looking down to help you.
Its quite a short course to obtain your crane licence however it takes years and years to gain the experience to be a good operator. Its a profession that you are always learning in and you have a very stressful role, you have lots of lives in your hands at all times, you have to be safe and you are constantly under pressure.
Lots of things can go wrong.
Its an uneasy feeling when you can't see a load compared to when you can however you have a rigger or dogman (spotter), that communicates to you either by whistles, radio, or hand signals. He or she is my eyes and telling me what to do. You have to have a good relationship with them and they need to be good at their job to trust them is paramount.
Welcome!
Do you encounter many women in other trades on your job sites? Walking past job sites I've only ever noticed female traffic controllers, but obviously that's because they're on the outside of the sites.
Thank you, glad to be here!
They are few and far between. My last job i had one lady who was traffic control and one lady who was an electrician. You often feel an instant connection, its nice to have a fellow lady tradie!
You do often see women as traffic controllers but your right about them being outside. I often feel It's a great way for them, and others interested in construction, to get a foot in the door. They can then show they're keen to do more or learn other jobs that interest them.
C1 operator.
Welcome to OzB.
Hey! Nice to meet you. How long have you had you C1? I'm guessing you operate a maeda or gantry maybe….so much to ask you!
My first time crane operating was on spider cranes and I fondly named her Charlotte. I loved how intimate you are with what you are doing, normally you are so far away from the load.
Sorry
Don't know how I missed this.
I usually operate shipboard cranes, wharfie is my main job
Welcome