| 71 McLeod Cranes CONTRACTING McLeod Cranes fleet included 31 cranes, 50 hiabs and a number of semi-truck and trailer units for transport. Leverage Training is in its ifth year of operation providing professional training and assessment services for crane operators and dogman riggers throughout New Zealand. Founded by Norman Kete and his wife Jessica, Leverage Training has continued to grow year-on-year through word of mouth and Norman’s reputation as a highly skilled crane operator, with 18 years’ experience in the crane industry. Norman’s path into the training side of the industry, resulted from a non-work-related injury in which he lost his right eye. “I had been working as a crane operator for McLeod Cranes for three years. Their health and safety standard was at such a high level and that taught me a lot. After my accident a training company o ered me an opportunity to become a subject matter expert in cranes.” Very much a people person who has always enjoyed helping others, Norman Kete is perfectly suited as a trainer and assessor in the high-risk industry of crane operation, where technical skill, attention to details and adhering to strict health and safety standards count for everything. Based in Taupo, Leverage Services provides training and assessments the depth and breadth of New Zealand with a diverse range of customers that Leverage Training include mobile crane companies, dogman rigging companies, structural steel companies, sawmills, and the geothermal drilling industry. To expand its customer o ering, Leverage Training has just purchased a small crane unit for use in on-site training. “The crane is deemed as a light vehicle and is mounted on the back of a Toyota Landcruiser and operated remotely,” says Norman. “We can now o er our clients the option of using their own crane for training or bringing ours.” While training and assessment are separate elements, they are normally done in connection with each other. “The training aspect is a mix of theory and practical operation to bring the student up to speed with safe crane use, before assessing their capability and competency and issuing their certi icate. Many courses will run one or two days but some courses might last for one to three weeks, depending on the operator’s needs. It is such a high-risk industry and there’s a lot of knowledge that has to be handed out. We treat it very seriously and if I feel people need more time that’s what they will get.” Norman says that at least ninety percent of the company’s work has been gained through reputation and word of mouth, because of his past life as a crane operator. www.leveragetraining.co.nz • Mini Crawler (Spider) Crane • Cab Controlled Overhead Crane
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