Rigger Level II Study for Arkansas Lead Riggers

Topics in this course

• Working out a load's weight from its size and material
• Finding the center of gravity on uneven or hollow objects
• Leg tension when pick points sit at different distances
• Spreader bars, lifting beams and when to use each
• Equalizing arrangements and load sharing between legs
• Rotating, upending and flipping loads in the air
• Hoists, lever pullers and jacks as part of the rigging plan
• Rated capacities of below-the-hook devices
• Checking a lift plan and talking it through with the operator

Jobs where the numbers aren't on a tag

Northeast Arkansas has one of the heaviest concentrations of steelmaking in the United States. Nucor has run plants in Mississippi County for three decades, including the Nucor-Yamato structural mill on the Mississippi River east of Blytheville, and U.S. Steel's Big River operations at Osceola expanded when the company chose the site for a second electric arc furnace flat-rolled mill. Outages and rebuilds at plants of that size are full of non-routine lifts: rolls, drives, furnace components and structural pieces where the rigger has to estimate weight and balance before anything moves.

Industrial work along the Arkansas River adds more. The Port of Little Rock sits inside a large industrial park, Pine Bluff's port has a public terminal for barge transloading, and Fort Smith's port moves mainly steel. Plant installations, tank work and heavy equipment moves at these sites are the kind of picks that call for Level II thinking, with multiple attachment points, uneven legs or a load that has to be turned.

The math, in plain terms

Most candidates who struggle with Level II do so on the calculations, not the gear. Expect to estimate weight from dimensions and material, which means knowing approximate densities for steel, concrete and similar materials and working out volume for plates, pipe and blocks. Center-of-gravity questions ask where a crane hook must sit so the load hangs level.

Sling tension is the other big piece. When pick points are not the same distance from the center of gravity, legs carry different shares of the load, and the sling angle makes that worse. The course walks through these problems one step at a time and then mixes them into practice sets so the method sticks.

• Volume times material weight for load estimates
• Balance-point location on two- and three-point picks
• Unequal leg loading from off-center pick points
• Angle factors and their effect on each leg

Exam structure and the Level I link

The Level II written test has 50 multiple-choice questions and a 60-minute limit. NCCCO's practical portion has two tasks: a level lift, with a 15-minute limit, and a frame rotation, with 30 minutes allowed. Either exam can come first, and once you pass one you have 12 months to pass the other.

Level II only stays valid while your Level I is current. The upside comes at renewal: NCCCO lets a Level II holder keep both levels active by passing the Level II written exam. Rigger recertification is written only, inside the final 12 months before expiration, and a lapsed card means starting over with both exams.

What OSHA asks of the person running the rigging

Federal OSHA's crane rules, enforced in Arkansas from the Little Rock Area Office, require a qualified rigger for assembly and disassembly work and for any lift where crew members in the fall zone hook, unhook or guide the load. The employer decides who qualifies, and the standard does not name a certification. On complex picks, though, contractors usually want their lead rigger to hold something more than a general sign-off, and Level II gives them that record.

Level II does not make you a lift director or replace an engineered lift plan. It shows you can read one, check the rigging side of it and catch a problem before the load is airborne. See the Arkansas requirements guide for how the federal pieces fit together.

Studying while you work

Lead riggers rarely have spare days to sit in a classroom. The course runs on any device, around the clock, and saves your progress so you can pick up between shifts, during an outage week or after a storm delay. Practice questions follow the written test format, and the calculation drills can be repeated until the steps are automatic.

Leveling and rotating a real load in front of an examiner is the only way through the practical, so get time on those tasks with your crew or employer. Bring a calculator you know well; it matters on the written test too.