Normal?

After the grand opening of all of the casinos, life became a little less hectic, but only a little less. The various hotel towers still needed to be completed so that the casinos could be filled with happy (overnight) guests.

And it was about this time that I was asked to be the foreman for the framing and drywall on the Circus Circus tower. Sure! The Money Tree could be completed in just a few weeks and since the two jobs were only a few blocks apart, I could walk between them to make sure everything was going well. And the two jobs had the same general contractor and project manager. I already knew everyone!

The Circus Circus was the second ‘flying form’ post tensioned slab building I had worked on and so I knew a little about how it would go together. But, what was different this time was the fact that we were supplying the exterior ‘skin’ of the building as well as all the interior partitions.

It wasn’t long before my duties were expanded to oversight of the panel crew. These were the guys that were installing those panels that I had worked on while at the panel plant during the previous winter. I knew the panels and I had a general idea of how they were installed. This might be fun… and it was.

First, I had to get used to working with a tower crane. Luckily, the crane operator, Dennis was a great guy to work with. Serious, while he still had a relaxed manner about him. And he told me, ahead of time, what he wanted from me. Most of the time, a tower crane operator is working ‘blind’. He can’t always see the load and/or its final destination. When the crane is used for pouring concrete on a deck, he can see the entire operation. But we would have him swinging out to a spot he might not be able to see. We would be his eyes. And as he said, “When you’re signaling me…it’s your crane and you are the operator. Pay attention. I’m just your tool.” Scary! Normally, we used our radios to direct him, but there were times when you had to have both hands ready to grab onto something… anything at all! A radio would only get in your way, and then it was time to use hand signals. Something new for me to learn.

Here’s how it would work. First we would determine by measuring and leveling, just where we wanted the panel to be. Then we would weld angle iron clips at the floor level. We had already installed steel backing plates in the concrete forms and now we had a secure place to weld our angles. A truckload of panels would arrive on the jobsite, but since there was no room for the truck and trailer, we would block a lane of traffic with safety cones while we unloaded them, one at a time. I would have 4 people in the tower itself, ready to clamp and hold the panel in place once it reached them. On the ground we had the truck driver and two men to secure the chokers and hold the tag lines once Dennis started the lift.

I was usually on the floor above the top of the panel, so that I could see the whole operation. I would call Dennis, “Trolley out. Easy, high...hold the trolley. Swing right. High. C’mon down… down. Easy now. High.” (The word 'high' stops the crane) The guys on the trailer would hook up the chokers with a clevis through the studs and then hook the chokers to the hook that was now swinging just above their heads.

Now the guys on the trailer would use hand signals to direct Dennis to raise one end of the panel while swinging the boom slowly and smoothly. The panel would slip off of the trailer without disturbing or damaging the one below it. Then it would hang in place for a moment or two while the tag lines were attached to the bottom of the panel. Once the two men had moved across the street with the tag lines and we had traffic stopped, Dennis was given the signal to raise the panel.

Tower cranes are powered by electric motors and so they are very quiet. On the ground, you ccould only hear a faint whine as the panel would quickly rise to its spot on the building. The tag lines would be released and I could then guide Dennis as he maneuvered the 24’ long panel closer to the building. Close enough, someone would reach out and with a come-along hook, begin pulling it closer. Because of overhead obstructions, Dennis couldn’t get the panel tight against the building; we had to pull it over and then clamp it.

As soon as we had 4 clamps on it, we would release the chokers and let the crane go back to the ground and prepare for another hoist. The 8’ x 24’ panel was held to the building by 4 clamps and nothing else while we pried and pushed to align it with our layout marks. And once we had it where we thought it should be… we welded it in place. Just a few spot welds, as we had to get the next panel, which was already flying up towards us. The real welds would come later, after the truck and trailer were empty and the traffic was back to normal on the street below.