Forty students participated in a field day class and watched the crawler crane be assembled and tested.

Heavy Equipment Colleges of America (HEC) students in Stonecrest, Ga., took part in an assembly safety class on May 19 that used a new Manitowoc MLC100-1.

Students spent the day watching the unit being assembled and tested at the school's field-testing site shortly after HEC took delivery of the new crane. Sixteen HEC instructors and staff conducted the operation, which focused on safety measures to ensure the proper assembly of the 110 ton lattice-boom crawler crane.

According to HEC President and CEO Bob Albano, students from the Lattice, Swing Cab, Fixed Cab and Signal & Rigging courses participated, as well as students taking classes focused on heavy equipment.

"We had a great day outside at our field site demonstrating assembly procedures and safety protocols to students," Albano said. "The comments we heard on the MLC100-1 were along the lines of ‘awesome machine,' and that it has ‘unbelievable control systems.' We're certainly pleased to be able to have students train on such an innovative crane with some of the latest technology in the industry."

Instructors also were pleased with the Manitowoc crawler crane. They described the machine as "easy to operate and teach on," according to Albano.

The MLC100-1 purchase was part of a two-unit acquisition — the other crane went to HEC's Oklahoma City location. The move is part of the school's strategy to have students practice on modern cranes currently being used by contractors nationwide, giving them real-world experience.

"These two new Manitowoc MLC100-1 cranes will reinforce to prospective students that crane operator jobs nowadays are highly specialized and often quite different from outdated perceptions of the industry," Albano added.

HEC is the only Department of Education accredited school for crane operation. The school purchased the two MLC100-1 cranes from longtime Manitowoc dealer H&E Equipment Services, headquartered in Baton Rouge, La.

For more information on HEC, visit https://heavyequipmentcollege.com/

For more information on the MLC-100, visit https://www.manitowoc.com/manitowoc/lattice-boom-crawler-cranes/mlc100-1

Students spent the day watching the unit being assembled and tested at the school's field-testing site shortly after HEC took delivery of the new crane.

This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.

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