CRANEMAN - 2ND SHIFT at Southwest Galvanizing, Inc.

Description

Brief Description

The kettle cranemen are part of a team of individuals that work at the galvanizing kettles. Kettle cranemen are responsible for moving material into and out of the galvanizing bath in a safe and efficient manner. The kettle cranemen must have a basic understanding of the properties of 840°F molten zinc when contained in heated baths. The supervisors give the galvanizing teams a tentative schedule and the teams must work with picklers and bow-up men to ensure the schedule is maintained. Kettle cranemen must receive training to become certified operators of remote controlled overhead cranes, and must operate and inspect cranes in accordance with their training. In certain instances, one kettle craneman must operate as part of a craneman team—2 kettle cranemen work individual cranes to move one load of material. Kettle cranemen are responsible for ensuring that scalemen have new material once weights have been obtained and paperwork has been completed on the prior galvanized load.

Special Qualifications and Responsibilities

Cranemen operate cranes in an environment containing potential hazards not present in other areas of the process. They must possess basic knowledge about the properties of molten zinc, and how it behaves when it comes into contact with non-molten material. Aspects of the galvanizing process that kettle cranemen must be familiar with may include but are not limited to:

· The quality of their crane and rigging equipment—damaged equipment and/or improperly rigged loads, can lead to accidents involving molten metal splash

· The center of gravity/other physical properties of suspended loads while being submerged in molten zinc

· The safe operating speed of the crane when submerging and removing the material into and out of the molten bath 

· The location and size of holes needed in material—molten zinc needs to enter the material through specific holes and gasses must escape the material through different holes

· Chemical residues, liquids, or other impurities that may be present on material—these present the potential for hazardous reactions when the material and impurities are introduced to 840°F molten zinc

· The temperature of the molten bath vs. the temperature of the material to be dipped—the extreme difference in temperatures presents the potential for hazardous reactions

· The viscosity of molten zinc at varying temperatures and its ability to cool and solidify rapidly—molten metal must not be allowed to solidify before the galvanizer is ready for the material to leave the kettle

· The depth and amount of the bottom dross in the kettle and how to avoid submerging material into the dross

Cranemen work on a galvanizing team and must be able to communicate effectively with each individual on the team in order to achieve a common goal. During the galvanizing process the team will encounter multiple instances in which communication is crucial. Some instances that require the kettle cranemen to communicate with other employees may include but are not limited to:

· All crane movement—material must only be moved in accordance with the galvanizer’s direction

· When working with an assistant kettle craneman in order to move material safely and efficiently into and out of the molten bath

· When working with a second craneman, each person must be able to communicate while simultaneously focusing on the movement of both cranes

· When moving material into and out of the molten bath to avoid placing the material in the skims

· To ensure schedules and kettle demands are maintained, communication with the pickler is necessary

· When the dipping process is complete and the material must be removed from the kettle and released to the scaleman