Background
An industrial contractor was running a planned shutdown at a grain and feed processing plant in Pennsylvania. The outage called for pulling and setting equipment, structural steel and process components inside a fixed window, with a 130-ton rough terrain crane doing most of the lifting in a confined plant layout.
The Challenge
The crane had to run around the clock for twelve days, which meant two operators, one on days and one on nights, both on 12-hour shifts and both through a holiday weekend. A shutdown is unforgiving about staffing: if either operator left partway through, the crane would sit while the plant stayed offline. The work also sat inside grain handling protocols, with combustible dust control, hot work permits and overhead lifts close to live equipment. The contractor’s usual operators were already committed elsewhere.
The Solution
Advastar searched for operators with recent seat time on rough terrain cranes in the 100-ton class or larger, rather than for crane certification alone, and verified each candidate’s NCCCO certification and TLL endorsement before submittal. Every candidate was asked to commit to the full outage window, including nights and the holiday, before their name went to the contractor, and those who hesitated were not put forward. Travel pay and per diem were agreed at the same time. Screening also covered daily crane inspection practice and experience working to plant permit systems.
The Outcome
Both operators started on the first day of the outage and stayed to the last. The crane ran 24 hours a day for all twelve days without a shift going uncovered, and the lifts the schedule called for were completed inside the window. The contractor has since used the same approach for its next two outages.