By Khalida Sarwari
Like most people, Curt Howard starts his day off by climbing out of bed. And then, unlike most people, he climbs a ladder 150 feet high and gets into the cab of a tower crane to begin his workday.
It’s a task Howard has been doing nearly every day for the past nine months, but it gets no easier by the day. This is the part of his job as crane operator Howard dislikes most.
And still on Oct. 8, as Howard maneuvered the crane, a 316 Liebherr model, on its last day at the Merrill Gardens construction site on Winchester Boulevard, a feeling of sadness came over him.
“You get connected to the job site and the guys,” Howard said. “This is what I know; it’s my comfort zone. When this crane comes down, it takes a part of me with it.”
The crane will be disassembled and taken to another construction site, possibly in Livermore, and Howard will likely follow suit, taking with him lasting memories from his time in Campbell.
There was the time he invited personnel from the county fire department to conduct a mock rescue from atop the crane and another time he took up curious police officers. There’s been plenty of curiosity on the ground about the crane, too, from folks in the business community to bystanders stopping to gaze up at the 265-foot crane.
“People will stand here for hours and watch,” Howard said. “They don’t know how it works, but they just like to watch.”
Some have burning questions for him, ranging from “Aren’t you scared of heights?” to “Where do you go to the bathroom?”
Howard has found a way to tackle both–his fear of heights, he says, has helped him become a safer operator and it helps also that he doesn’t look up to see how high he is.
As for the bathroom, well, he’s found a way around that problem, too, by using makeshift toilets.
It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it, right?
“It’s like being in a giant video game,” he said. “I mean, I never have to dread coming into work.”
This is Howard’s second stint with SRM Development, a real estate development and construction company, but he has been in the crane operating industry for 10 years.
Originally from San Diego, he’s traveled as far as China and Saudi Arabia for work and came close to going to Antarctica. In China, he worked on the construction of the new consulate compound slated to open by the end of this year.
“The job in China was exciting because it was top secret before it was done,” he said. “The Chinese government watched us 24-7; it was like being in a spy movie, except you had to work.”
Though he continues to find work regularly, jobs in the industry are not as abundant as they were when the economy was booming, Howard said.
“In one way or another, construction is a telltale sign of the economy,” he said. “It employs a lot of people and covers such a vast array of skills, from labor to operator. The construction industry gets hit the hardest.”
Having to work around increasingly strict regulations doesn’t make things easier. In Northern California, for example, workers must contend with stringent noise abatement policies.
“It seems like not a big deal, but it does affect our ability to build,” said Howard.
In the beginning, residents in neighborhoods around the Merrill Gardens construction site weren’t too happy about the sight of the crane, either, bringing forward concerns about the its stability on windy nights. What most don’t know, however, is that the tower sections of a crane are bolted to a concrete slab base laced with rebar for structure strength. Each slab is designed and poured specifically for the crane based on the crane’s height, boom length and model. The slab stays in the ground and is covered over after the crane has been removed.
And because tower cranes are all-electric and powered by a generator at the base, they are much quieter than truck cranes. They also are more efficient and get the job done more quickly because, unlike truck cranes, they have the ability to reach anywhere on the job site. And the height of tower cranes give operators better visibility of the building materials that are being moved around, therefore making construction sites safer.
Cranes are inspected once every six months by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A well-maintained crane can last from 30 to 40 years if not longer, said Howard.
In the U.S. they are used mostly to build high-rises, but there has been a move toward using them for the construction of smaller buildings. Cranes that don’t pass the administration’s tests are typically sent to Third World countries where regulations are less strict than in the U.S.
Built in 2006, the crane on Winchester Boulevard has the capability to swing 360 degrees and a maximum lifting capacity of 26,460 pounds. All that power and efficiency comes with a monthly lease price tag of $17,000, including the operator.
Howard’s fear of heights aside, he said he finds the job at once challenging and rewarding.
“I have a passion for it,” he said. “Even though it’s a job, it’s not like any job I’ve had before.”
Howard and the crane will move on, but construction will continue at Merrill Gardens. Once completed in May 2013, the 16,000-square-foot retirement community will include 99 independent and assisted living units, 28 apartments and 21 Alzheimer care units.
And plenty of bathrooms.
