Free study guides

Crane and rigging guides for Alaska crews

Before you book a written test or a flight to a practical, read up here. These pages cover the route from first lesson to card in hand, NCCCO exam formats and fees, and the hands-on knowledge — signals, chart reading, rigging angles, line clearances, deep-cold lifting — that every exam assumes you have.

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Crane study guides

  • Becoming a crane operator in Alaska

    The realistic paths into an Alaska crane seat, what a certifier expects before you test, and how to schedule exams around rotations, seasons and long trips.

  • Crane certification cost

    Where the money goes when you certify from Alaska, why travel can outweigh exam fees, and what federal law says about employers covering the bill.

  • NCCCO written exam online

    How remote-proctored NCCCO written exams work, what your computer and room need, and how to make it go smoothly on a rural connection or during a rotation.

  • NCCCO practical exam

    A walk-through of the hands-on crane exam, the skills it scores, ways to build seat time beforehand, and how Alaska candidates schedule and travel for it.

  • Crane hand signals

    Each standard crane hand signal described in words, the federal rules behind them, and practical ways to keep signals clear in Alaska's cold, dark and wind.

  • Reading a crane load chart

    A plain walk-through of the parts of a load chart and the order to read them in, with the Alaska conditions that a chart quietly assumes away.

  • Rigging sling angles

    The flatter a sling leg, the more tension it carries. Learn the multipliers, a field method for finding the angle, and how riggers apply it to real Alaska picks.

  • Power line clearance

    The OSHA clearance distances by voltage, the planning steps required before a crane works near a line, and the Alaska conditions that quietly shrink your margin.

  • Cold-weather crane operations

    What changes when a crane works in deep cold, darkness, ice fog and on frozen or thawing ground, and where the manufacturer's manual and the OSHA rules come in.

  • Boom truck certification

    Boom trucks fall under the federal crane rule, and the right card depends on the boom and the operator station. Here is how to match truck to certification.

  • NCCCO vs NCCER

    Four organizations issue accredited crane operator certifications. Here is how they differ, what accreditation proves, and how to choose for Alaska work.

  • Crane operator pay in Alaska

    How to read federal wage estimates for crane and tower operators in Alaska, what the last clearly published figures showed, and why a job offer can differ from the survey.

Pair a guide with a course

Start with whichever guide matches your next step, then move to the course it points to; that is where the material is broken into lessons with exam-style practice questions you can work through between shifts or on a slow camp night. Questions about which agency covers your site — AKOSH, federal OSHA on the water, or MSHA at a mine — are answered on the Alaska requirements page.

Line up your crane certification prep from anywhere in Alaska

Let us know the card you need — operator, rigger or signal person — and the community you work out of, whether that's on the road system or off it. An enrollment advisor writes back with a matching course and a plan for getting your written and practical exams on the calendar.

  • Lessons open around the clock, on any phone, tablet or laptop
  • Practice questions shaped like the NCCCO written tests
  • Help mapping out where and when to take your hands-on practical

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