On December 7–11, LGH hosted three Industrial Training International (ITI) courses at its 100,000-square-foot rental center in Bridgeview, IL: Rigging Gear Inspector (Levels I & II), Lift Director, and Critical Lift Planning.
LGH and ITI partnered to offer these courses in order to give students a unique opportunity to learn directly from two of the most trusted organizations in the lifting and rigging industry. Participants also had the chance to observe LGH’s equipment testing and inspection processes and gain hands-on exposure to an extensive inventory of rigging, jacking, and material-handling equipment. The shared mission of ITI and LGH was to educate riggers and promote the use of the safest equipment and best practices available in the field.
“The joint venture was created by Mike Parnell, Zac Parnell, and Jonah Hobson,” explained Bob Schumacher, ITI instructor. “They met with Patrick Clark, the National Rental Support Manager of LGH, and discussed the possibilities of hosting training courses at LGH. We agreed that Chicago would be a good market for this, so with contacts through Patrick and through us, we got the word out on these courses.”
The first class, Rigging Gear Inspector – Level I & II, focused on the inspection of wire rope, hoist rope, chain slings, and hardware. Designed to build or enhance in-house inspection skills, the course prepares students to become qualified rigging gear inspectors.
“This is the first time I’ve ever trained with ITI and I think it was extremely important because you can’t put a price on safety,” said Christina Clausen of Clausen Structures, Inc. “I’ve learned a lot… I’m able to inspect my own rigging. My company is investing in its own rigging so it’s nice to be able to visually inspect it myself. It’s been a priceless experience and I’m thinking about doing it for more of my employees.”
The second course, Lift Director & Critical Lift Planning, addressed the responsibilities of a Lift Director as defined by federal OSHA (29 CFR 1926), ASME P30.1 Lift Planning, and ASME B30.5 Mobile and Locomotive Cranes. Students received an outline of the knowledge and skill areas needed to become competent Lift Directors and completed a hands-on exercise that included developing a lift plan using a manbasket followed by a trial run, test lift, and personnel hoisting exercise.
“I attended the Lift Director course and I think it was a fantastic course,” said Jeff Huckaby of The Walsh Group. “We’ve been working on critical lift plans and the people here have been fantastic. LGH has been a fantastic host and our instructor, Bob Schumacher from ITI, is very hands-on and very thorough. I have nothing but great things to say about it. I highly recommend taking the course.”
The third class, Critical Lift Planning, focused on assessing risk, developing lift plans, determining crane operating areas, selecting rigging methods, verifying personnel competencies, creating contingency plans, and preparing safety checklists—all aligned with ASME P30.1 Lift Planning recommendations. Students were challenged to produce multiple lift plans based on varied job scenarios and resolve real-world issues affecting incomplete plans.
The Lift Director and Critical Lift Planning courses also served as preparation for the NCCCO Lift Director certification exams, while the Rigging Gear Inspector course provided a three-year qualification. All students received CEUs, and each ITI course was LEEA accredited.
“Overall, all three courses were successful,” Bob Schumacher concluded. “We gave the students a sling tour where they saw sling fabrication—most had never seen that before. They learned technical information such as the proper usage of slings that they could take back to their shops. The Lift Director course highlighted the responsibilities of each role involved in a lift. The information they received was phenomenal. They have excellent tool kits and reference cards that they can take back with them, and word of mouth will spread to bring even more people in for future training.”
