A Bigfoot Crane Academy instructor providing training in classrooms
On the ground: students learn with hands-on instruction at Bigfoot Crane Academy
ABBOTSFORD – Bigfoot Crane Academy is providing boots on the ground training to help crane operators get a better vantage point on their work from above.
While Bigfoot Crane Company sells and services cranes, their sister company Bigfoot Training Academy travels throughout western Canada to provide training for crane operators, where they are, when they’re needed.
“The Academy has grown to six full time employees servicing Western Canada,” says Bigfoot Crane Academy Manager Ralf Notheis. “Our instructors have been everywhere from mines near the Arctic Circle to generating stations in the most remote parts of B.C. We’ve been in business for 10 years now, and we are really just getting started.”
Big Foot Crane Academy is always building training courses that were unavailable and aren’t currently.
“We’re identifying areas where workers tend to be unqualified and finding an effective training solution is one of our specialties,” he explains. “Two examples are our Civil Works Rigging Course and Supervisor Crane and Rigging Awareness Course. We’ve offered these courses for many years, and it seems now companies are finally seeing the critical need for this training. Regulatory enforcement has drastically increased, which is also driving demand.”
Bigfoot Training Academy offers world class crane and rigging training programs as well as specialized courses that include on-site corporate training and advanced similar training.
A Bigfoot Crane Academy instructor providing training in classrooms
Current programs include Rigger Certifications, Equipment Training, Simulator Training, Crane Operator Certifications, Hoist Operator Certifications and On-Site & Corporate Training.
Major corporate clients include BC Hydro and the Trans Mountain Pipeline, and everything from a military base to smaller system crane operators.
Courses range in length from one week to one month, and cost anywhere from $1,200 to $25,000. Once certified to WorkSafeBC requirements, graduates typically earn $50 per hour on the job.
“This is not like taking a discount skydiving course,” he states. “This is serious business and we have serious people and we pay them well.”
Bigfoot Crane Company incorporated in October, 2014, and Notheis arrived as Manager of the Training Academy in March, 2015.
“My role at Bigfoot has evolved from solely looking after every position within the Academy to devoting almost all my time to business development,” he recalls. “Connecting with different companies, associations, Indigenous groups, young workers and people with injuries are the focus. It feels great to help people navigate the path from dreaming of being a crane operator to seeing them achieve Red Seal Certification a few short years later.”
Bigfoot Crane Academy recently added a training simulator
Up until last year the Academy grew at a calculated pace based on the company’s crane and rigging training services.
“We recently purchased a crane and heavy equipment simulator, plus started offering other safety training services like small equipment certification courses,” he adds. “This has doubled our volume of work, and we are busier than ever. We are currently looking for another instructor to start immediately as we are almost booked solid for several months. We are experiencing unprecedented growth.”
Notheis says from the beginning, Bigfoot Training Academy’s success has been a result from the team it has built.
“The instructors are true industry experts with exactly the right personality and values required to be the best in this business,” he says. “We don’t believe in the ‘Train-the -Trainer’ option when it comes to the critical knowledge and skills required to be a qualified crane operator or rigger. All of our people hold the same cultural values of the business itself. They are patient, and they share their actually lived experiences that people can rely on.”
