He used to be afraid of heights, but observing his uncle's pieced-together roofs as a child and eventually working with them has helped him get over that fear fast.
Now, Tony Rowe enjoys working at almost 200 feet in the air for eight hours straight.
Rowe, an oiler for Columbus-based Smoot Construction, this year will complete his four-year internship about how to operate the red tower-crane. Smoot is one of the companies building the new Baker University Center across from Bird Arena.
The T-shaped crane stands at about 200 feet and is visible from various parts of campus and Court Street. It takes Rowe and Tony Banfield, who currently operates the crane, about 15 minutes to climb up the stairs leading to the 189-foot perch. Once Banfield climbs for the day, he stays there until 3:30 or 4 p.m., Rowe said.
Rowe is known as little Tony
because he is learning the craft from Banfield.
As an oiler, Rowe currently is responsible for maintaining the crane. He greases and oils the crane, ensures it is running properly and operates it alongside Banfield.
The best part about the job is the quality of the crane itself, said Rowe, of Ashland.
It's a brand new crane. There's only three like it in the world said Rowe, a construction worker since 2001. It's a nice crane; it's new clean and it's got heat and air. The last one me and (Banfield) were on together
there was no heat or air.
The Manitowoc crane was purchased last year, said Bob Fredelake, project manager for the student center.
It's a new model of the same thing that's been out there for years
he said. It's like buying a 2004 model Camry instead of a 2003.
To operate the crane on his own, Rowe must be an apprentice for four years and attend a two-week school in January. The requirements are getting more difficult because it is the most dangerous job on a construction site, Rowe said.
You have more responsibility than anybody; it's all up to him
any move he wants to make
Rowe said, mentioning that sometimes the operators do not have radios and must rely on good depth perception and instructions from workers on the ground when moving heavy objects with the crane.
He said his job is most difficult when two ground workers are trying to give him instructions about how to move the crane at once.
But it is worth the challenge, he said, because he has always had an interest in machines and looks forward to becoming a full-time crane operator.
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Michelle Simakis
