Helena-West Helena Crane Training for River and Harbor Work

How Helena Harbor works

The harbor is a dredged channel about two and a quarter miles long with a turning basin and fleeting space near the river. That arrangement lets barges load and unload out of the main current, which is safer for crane work than a dock on the open river. Rail service returned in September 2016, with the Arkansas Midland Railroad serving the park and more than 15,000 feet of track in place. The port authority has also pursued more frequent freight rail service for Phillips County.

The best-known tenant in recent reporting is Enviro Tech Chemical Services, which dedicated a plant here in 2015 to make peroxyacetic acid and stabilized bromine products for food safety and water treatment, with about 80 employees by that time. The port targets transportation, warehousing, bioenergy, agricultural processing, light manufacturing and recycling, all of which use cranes for construction and many for daily operations.

The river sets the schedule

On the Mississippi, the water level decides a lot. High water can push the river toward flood stage for weeks, and low water in late summer and fall can make dredging and barge draft a problem. For a crane at a dock, that means the distance and height to a barge deck change through the year. A radius that worked in May might be over the chart in October.

Good river crews recheck the radius and the landing area every time conditions shift, keep tag lines on loads swinging over water, and use radios when the operator cannot see the barge hold. Those habits line up closely with what the operator and signal person written exams test.

Farm country lifting

Phillips County is a Delta farm county, so a lot of local crane work has nothing to do with the river. Grain bins, dryers, elevator legs and conveyors go up and come down on farms and at elevators. Center pivots and pump stations get serviced. That work is often done by boom trucks and small hydraulic cranes on soft field edges where outriggers can sink if the ground is not matted.

Levee work is another local job type. The Mississippi River levee system protects the city and the harbor park, and repair or improvement projects along it bring cranes, pile drivers and dredging equipment onto narrow crowns and slopes where setup room and ground conditions demand careful planning.

Certifications that fit Helena-West Helena

Arkansas does not license crane operators. Private employers fall under federal OSHA, which handles enforcement from its Little Rock Area Office. The rules are summarized in our requirements guide.

• Mobile crane operator for harbor and industrial construction.
• Signal person for dock hands directing loads into barges and rail cars.
• Rigger Level 1 for terminal and maintenance workers who sling equipment and bulk bags.
• Service truck crane operator for ag and equipment service crews.