Crane and Rigging Manager

The Prolift Rigging Company•Memphis, TN

About The Position

The Crane and Rigging Manager provides technical, operational, and safety leadership for the Company’s crane, lifting, and rigging activities. The role establishes consistent standards for lifting operations, equipment integrity, inspections, maintenance coordination, workforce qualification, lift planning, and field execution. This role serves as a visible technical leader in the field, mentoring crane operators and rigging personnel, strengthening operational consistency, and supporting safe execution of complex lifting activities across branches and projects. Working with Fleet Operations and Maintenance, Safety, Branch Operations, Training, Project Management, and field personnel, this position improves crane operations, reduces downtime, manages lifting risk, and ensures operations comply with Company requirements, manufacturer guidance, project requirements, and applicable safety standards.

Requirements

Ten or more years of progressively responsible experience in crane operations, rigging, lift planning, crane maintenance, or crane fleet management.
Demonstrated experience with mobile cranes and relevant lifting equipment, including hydraulic truck cranes, all-terrain cranes, crawler cranes, rough-terrain cranes, boom trucks, or equivalent equipment.
Extensive knowledge of crane load charts, crane configurations, rigging capacities, sling-angle calculations, below-the-hook devices, ground-bearing considerations, and lift planning.
Strong knowledge of OSHA crane and rigging requirements, manufacturer guidance, load-chart application, lift-planning practices, and relevant industry standards.
Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop crane operators and rigging personnel through field leadership, hands-on coaching, technical instruction, and practical performance evaluation.
Experience leading field crews, coordinating branch operations, managing contractors, or supporting multi-location crane and rigging programs.
Ability to interpret technical drawings, equipment manuals, load charts, lift plans, inspection reports, and project specifications.
Proficiency with fleet-management, maintenance-management, inspection, and document-control systems.
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with executives, project teams, mechanics, operators, customers, vendors, and field crews.
Ability to travel to branch locations, vendor facilities, project sites, and incident locations as required.

Nice To Haves

Current or prior NCCCO certification, or equivalent crane operator credential, in applicable crane categories.
Qualified Rigger and Signalperson credentials, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
Experience as a lift director, crane supervisor, crane inspector, crane mechanic, or technical crane consultant.
Crane, rigging, or below-the-hook lifting-device inspection experience or credentials.
OSHA 30-hour certification or comparable safety training.

Responsibilities

Serve as the Company’s technical resource for crane operations, rigging, lift planning, crane and rigging inspections, operator qualification, signalperson qualification, and field lifting safety.
Establish and maintain crane and rigging procedures, inspection standards, equipment-control processes, field audit practices, and lift-plan approval requirements.
Define requirements for routine, critical, engineered, tandem, personnel, specialty, and other high-risk lifts.
Review and approve, or establish approval requirements for, critical and non-routine lift plans and lifting operations involving elevated risk or unusual site conditions.
Ensure qualified personnel are assigned to crane operations, rigging, signaling, assembly/disassembly, inspections, and lift supervision.
Support investigations involving incidents, near misses, equipment damage, dropped loads, or lifting-related events; lead root-cause analysis and recommend corrective actions.
Conduct field audits of crane operations, rigging practices, jobsite setup, equipment condition, and lift documentation.
Monitor relevant manufacturer, customer, insurance, industry, and regulatory updates affecting lifting operations; communicate applicable changes to leadership, Safety, Training, and branch teams.
Maintain accurate records for cranes, attachments, counterweights, rigging, below-the-hook lifting devices, spreader bars, personnel baskets, and other lifting assets.
Manage equipment identification, tagging, inspection, certification, quarantine, retirement, and supporting documentation, including manuals, load charts, inspection histories, repair records, and test certificates.
Partner with Fleet Operations and Maintenance to maintain accurate equipment records in fleet, maintenance, inspection, and document-control systems.
Support equipment procurement, specifications, vendor selection, acceptance, lifecycle planning, transfer, disposition, and replacement decisions.
Evaluate fleet composition, utilization, availability, condition, lifecycle needs, and total cost of ownership for crane and rigging assets.
Coordinate with Fleet and Logistics on crane mobilization, equipment configuration, counterweight movement, and specialized transportation needs.
Support preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance standards for cranes, lifting accessories, and rigging equipment.
Coordinate with Fleet Maintenance, branches, OEMs, dealers, and qualified service providers to complete inspections, repairs, rebuilds, certifications, warranty work, testing, field service, and emergency response.
Ensure required operational, periodic, annual, post-assembly, post-repair, and other applicable inspections are completed, documented, and retained.
Establish controls to remove damaged, defective, expired, altered, or uncertified rigging and lifting devices from service.
Provide technical support for crane selection, load-chart application, rigging selection, boom and jib configuration, crane setup, outrigger requirements, ground-bearing conditions, and other field operating constraints.
Coordinate with Operations to improve equipment deployment, mobilization readiness, utilization, and availability for scheduled work.
Partner with Safety and Training to develop and deliver practical training for crane operation, rigging, signaling, lift planning, equipment inspections, crane assembly/disassembly, and emergency response.
Mentor and coach crane operators, riggers, signalpersons, lift directors, and inspection personnel through field observations, hands-on instruction, competency evaluations, and equipment-specific familiarization.
Establish practical evaluation and authorization processes for crane operators, riggers, signalpersons, lift directors, and inspection personnel.
Ensure operator familiarization and equipment-specific evaluations are completed before personnel operate assigned equipment.
Deliver technical training, toolbox talks, field coaching, refresher training, and lessons learned based on audits, incidents, near misses, equipment damage, performance concerns, and regulatory changes.
Maintain a skills matrix identifying qualified personnel, authorization limits, expiration dates, training needs, and development priorities.
Mentor branch and field personnel to strengthen internal capability in crane operations, rigging inspection, lift planning, assembly/disassembly, and field leadership.
Prepare reports for leadership addressing crane and rigging compliance, equipment condition, inspection completion, utilization, maintenance cost, downtime, training status, incidents, corrective actions, and budget needs.
Identify and implement practical improvements that increase equipment availability, reduce maintenance expense, improve field execution, and mitigate lifting risk.
Maintain and periodically review crane and rigging policies, forms, technical standards, inspection criteria, and vendor performance.
Support annual budgets for maintenance, inspections, certification, training, fleet replacement, and specialty lifting equipment.
Establish consistent best practices across branches for safe, reliable, and cost-effective lifting operations.