Rigger Level II: Planning the Pick, Not Just Hooking It

Topics in this prep

• Working out the weight of a load from drawings, dimensions and material densities
• Locating the center of gravity on uneven and off-balance loads
• Sling angle and tension: why a flat bridle overloads the legs
• Spreader bars, lifting beams, chain hoists and load-equalizing setups
• Rotating, turning and upending loads under control
• Scoping and planning a rigging job before anyone touches a sling

Where Level I stops and Level II begins

NCCCO pitches Level I at someone who can rig a routine pick once the weight and rigging method are known. Level II assumes you start with less: an object, a drawing or a nameplate, and a crane to work with. You are expected to figure out what the load weighs, where it balances, how the slings should be arranged and what capacity each piece of hardware needs.

The two levels are linked. You can test for both in the same window, but your Level II certification is only valid while your Level I is current, so let one lapse and the other goes with it.

How the written exam is weighted

NCCCO divides the Level II written exam into six domains. Selection of Rigging Components is by far the largest at about 34 percent. Scope of the Rigging Activity and Planning the Rigging Activity are about 15 percent each, Technical Knowledge and Execution of the Rigging Activity are about 13 percent each, and Inspection makes up about 10 percent. You have 60 minutes.

That weighting tells you where to spend study time. A third of the test asks whether you can choose the right sling, shackle, beam or hoist for a given load, which means you need to be comfortable with rated capacities, angle reductions and how hitch type changes them.

The arithmetic, in plain terms

NCCCO has supplied basic calculators for the Rigger Level II written exam. Check the rule for your testing method when you schedule.

• Weight: volume times material density, with care over hollow sections, attached fittings and anything left inside a tank or vessel.
• Center of gravity: on a symmetric load it sits in the middle; on everything else you work it out from component weights and their distances from a reference point.
• Leg tension: as the angle between a sling leg and the horizontal drops, the tension in that leg rises. Below about 30 degrees it rises fast.
• Unequal legs: when the hook is not directly above the center of gravity, the shorter leg carries more. Level II expects you to calculate the share, not guess it.
• Hardware capacity: everything in the load path, from the hook block to the lifting lug, has to be rated for the force it will actually see.

Florida lifts that need Level II thinking

Precast concrete is everywhere in Florida construction, from parking decks to bridge beams, and long members with lifting inserts set by the manufacturer still need someone to choose spreader length, sling type and angle. Port terminals handle generators, yachts, transformers and steel that arrive with little documentation about where the weight sits. On high-rise condo and office towers in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, mechanical equipment often goes onto a roof that the crane can only reach at long radius, so every pound of rigging counts against the chart.

Wind adds another layer. A planned lift that works on paper can become unworkable when the afternoon sea breeze arrives, and large flat surfaces like cladding panels or signs catch it first. A Level II rigger should build wind limits and stop points into the plan rather than leaving the call to the moment.

What the course gives you

Lessons follow the written exam domains with step-by-step weight, center of gravity and sling tension examples, then practice questions in the exam's multiple-choice style. You study at your own pace, any time, on a phone or laptop. The practical exam is taken in person with an accredited examiner and calls for real rigging under observation, so pair the online work with hands-on time. Companies can enroll a group of riggers through the enrollment form.