Students in Hibbing Community College’s (HCC) Industrial Systems Technology program participated in a weighty learning exercise recently.

The lesson was lifting more than 1,000 pounds by crane.

“What the students are learning, in addition to safe rigging and operating, is proper use of hand signals, teamwork and mathematics to calculate the center of gravity of the load,” said HCC instructor Rick Mayerich.

The load was a 1,200 pound engine module frame from a mining truck. Students in Mayerich’s mechanical systems class used a Broderson crane purchased from Ziegler CAT to maneuver the iron frame.

The crane was bought four years ago to use as a training aid, said Mayerich. It cost approximately $125,000.

“The largest cost single piece of equipment in the history of HCC,” he added.

The crane can lift up to 17,000 pounds and reach 46-feet high.


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