Malvern · Brick Capital · I-30

Crane Certification Study for Malvern and Hot Spring County

Malvern calls itself the Brick Capital of the World, and the label still fits: Acme Brick has operated three plants in town, and building materials have shaped the local economy for generations. Arkansas Business has also listed medium-density fiberboard, aluminum foil stock, packaging and soft drinks among Malvern's manufactured products. With I-30 cutting through the county between Little Rock and Arkadelphia, Hot Spring County crews work both the plants at home and construction jobs up and down the interstate.

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Building products and the lifts they need

Brick, board and foil plants are full of large rotating equipment: kilns, presses, dryers, rolling mill components and conveyors. When that equipment is replaced or a plant adds a line, contractors bring in mobile cranes and riggers for the heavy pieces. Delivery of finished brick and building materials also runs on truck-mounted knuckleboom cranes, which is why articulating crane prep is a practical choice for drivers here.

One point worth knowing: the clay pits that feed brick plants are surface mines, which fall under MSHA rather than OSHA's construction crane standard. Construction on the plant side follows OSHA Subpart CC.

A gas-fired plant and other big equipment

Hot Spring County also hosts a large power station. The Hot Spring Energy Facility near Malvern, a combined-cycle natural gas plant that began operating in 2002, was bought by Entergy Arkansas in November 2012 for about $253 million; Entergy lists it at 620 megawatts. Combined-cycle plants have gas turbines, heat recovery steam generators, transformers and cooling equipment that come out for overhaul on planned outage schedules, and those outages bring in large hydraulic and crawler cranes along with outside rigging crews.

Manufacturing adds more. Prime-Line, which makes MDF moulding, announced a $6.7 million expansion in Malvern in 2013 with 50 added jobs. Mills like that run long production lines, dust collection systems and dryers that get replaced or rearranged over time. For a local operator, a mix of power plant outages, plant installs and highway jobs means you may move from a 30-ton boom truck to an assist role on a much bigger crane in the same season, so a TSS or TLL card plus a rigging qualification covers a lot of ground.

Interstate and corridor work

I-30 carries a large share of Arkansas freight, and interchange, bridge and widening work along it calls for crane operators, riggers and signal persons who meet federal qualification rules. Malvern also sits close to Hot Springs and Benton, so local tradespeople regularly travel to commercial and residential jobs in Garland and Saline counties.

Commuting crews from Rockport, Bismarck and Magnet Cove tend to be generalists who run a boom truck one week and rig for a larger crane the next. Holding both an operator certification and a rigging qualification makes it easier to move between those roles without re-explaining your experience at every gate.

Smaller state routes matter too. ARDOT closed Highway 84 between Malvern and Social Hill beginning August 12, 2024, for roadwork, one of several projects on the county's two-lane roads where cranes set drainage structures with traffic detoured around them.

The regulatory side, briefly

There is no Arkansas crane license and no Arkansas OSHA State Plan. Federal OSHA's Little Rock Area Office handles private-sector enforcement, and 29 CFR 1926.1427 sets the operator certification and employer evaluation requirement. Written exams can be done through Online Proctored Testing or at a test center; the practical is always hands-on at an accredited site arranged through the certifying body. Little Rock is under an hour northeast on I-30. Our requirements guide has the details.

Questions people ask

Do brick delivery drivers with a truck-mounted crane need certification?

Delivering materials to a construction site can be exempt when the crane only places the load on the ground, but setting materials into position on the structure usually is not. Check the specific tasks with your employer.

Which course should a plant maintenance worker take first?

Rigger Level 1 is a common starting point, often followed by Signal Person.

Do power plant outage contractors expect certification?

Generally yes. Construction and major maintenance work at a plant brings in Subpart CC, and large outage contractors usually ask for accredited operator certification and qualified riggers before you get a site badge. Each plant also has its own site safety rules.

Does this page cover Rockport, Magnet Cove and Bismarck?

Yes. It is written for workers anywhere in Hot Spring County.

Suggested courses for this area

  • Articulating Crane Operator

    Written exam prep for the three NCCCO articulating crane designations, for Arkansas drivers dropping building materials, running log loaders or handling scrap with a grapple.

  • Mobile Crane Operator

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO mobile crane Core and your LAT, TLL or TSS specialty, aimed at Arkansas operators on hydros, all-terrains and crawlers.

  • Rigger Level I

    Self-paced study for the NCCCO Rigger Level I written test, covering slings, hitches, hardware checks and signals for crew members who rig everyday picks with a known load weight.

  • Signalperson

    Study for the NCCCO Signalperson written test on any device, covering standard hand signals, voice and radio communication, crane behavior and the federal OSHA rules for directing a lift.

Towns covered in Hot Spring County

Neighboring areas

Start your Arkansas crane certification prep

Name the card you need (operator, rigger or signal person) and the part of Arkansas you work in. An enrollment advisor writes back with the matching course and what the exam steps look like from there.

  • Self-paced lessons that open on any device, day or night
  • Practice questions written in the style of NCCCO written tests
  • Crew enrollment for Arkansas contractors and plants

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