Volume 9 Issue 2
MARCH/APRIL 2018 $5.00
MINING
CRAC NEWS
Women in the crane industry Three former chairs of the CRAC reflect on their careers, growing up in cranes, and their experiences as women in a male-dominated industry BY MATT JONES
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ranes and heavy construction have long been stereotyped as “men’s work,” and the demographics of the industry could enforce that perception. The industry is fairly dominated by men. But that perception is changing, as more and more women are establishing themselves as driving forces within their companies and within the industry as a whole. We spoke to three such prominent women about their experience growing up around family-owned crane businesses, their terms serving as chairperson of the Crane Rental Association of Canada, and their experiences as women in the crane industry.
Photos courtesy of All-West Crane & Rigging.
Crane operators prove themselves with Brucejack Project
SHEENA BAKER CANADIAN CRANE RENTALS “I’ve been exposed to the crane industry since a very, very young age,” says Sheena Baker. “Growing up, most people had Tonka toys, I had real life-sized heavy equipment and that’s where my love for the equipment started.” continued on page 6
B Y L AU R A S U T TO N , A L L - W E S T C R A N E & R I G G I N G , LT D.
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Canada’s abundant natural resources are just beginning to be tapped, and, as a greater exploration of mineral and energy sources ramps up, the country will have a need for more heavy construction equipment, including cranes, crane trucks, and related equipment. One recent project that illustrates the need Canada’s growing mining industry has for industrial machinery is the Brucejack Gold Mine, a major mining project in British Columbia with proven reserves of about US$2 billion in gold in the main body of the mine. Pretivm Resources, the company in charge of the Brucejack mine, says that the mine likely has four times that much gold altogether, along with a huge deposit of silver. Substantial funds have been spent to develop the mine, but it is expected to provide an excellent return on investment. Big projects require big equipment, and All-West Crane & Rigging, Ltd. played a major role in the Brucejack project, providing cranes and staff to help in the construction of mine facilities. The company began work on the project in June 2016 with two
Sheena Baker, Canadian Crane Rentals
INFRASTRUCTURE
Cranes do heavy lifting at Crowchild Bridge in Calgary B Y S AU L C H E R N O S
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ranes will be modest in size, but hard working, when crews refurbish four bridges on Crowchild Trail, a major roadway in Calgary over the next two years. The pier-and-girder bridges, all connected and flowing into one-another, cross the Bow River, two rail lines, smaller roadways and walking paths. But, built in the 1960s, they have weathered significantly. “You can see the concrete starting to deteriorate and there’s some exposed rebar,” Jeff Baird, a senior City of Calgary transportation engineer who is managing the project, told Crane & Hoist Canada. The bridges also needed expansion, given Photo courtesy of Graham
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