Dean Tuttle's Trinitoninan Columns

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December 6, 2002

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Man on top delivers goods
to workers below, literally

He's the man at the top, overseeing the entire campus. While extremely visible, he has very few interactions with those below him. It is easy to make assumptions from a distance, but we really know little about him. For example, most don't know that he has made a very deliberate and conscientious decision not to display "girly" calendars in his workspace. It would be offensive to guests.

Meet Andy Willis, crane operator at the Northrup Hall construction site.

Andy is 51 years old, has two sons and a daughter and has been married for 18 years. He loves Harley motorcycles, and he is a patriot and a loyalist. You can tell by the way he decorates his crane - the American and Texas flags, the University sign - and by the way he talks respectfully of his family, company, and supervisors.

Andy invited me to climb up and see his cab (with appropriate clearance of course). I had to decline because of my fear of heights. Actually, I like heights; it's death I fear. Anyway, Andy tells me he has the following in his crane cab: a calendar (of mythical beasts), hunting magazines, a radio, and an exercise band for handgrips - for rare breaks.

As with most upper level jobs, there are politics involved in being a crane operator. I have walked past the site and heard workers grousing about whether or not Andy has turned off his two-way radio or not. Sometimes he doesn't answer, he says - if there are squabbles between the subcontractors below. Andy's primary job is to do things called "picks" which means he moves items around on the site. During busy times, he may have as many as ten picks waiting and he performs up to 50 picks a day. It is usually his call as to how the picks are prioritized. The man not only has stature, he also has power.

Andy climbs up the ladder to his cab, 116 feet in the air, four times a day: two times up, two times down - that's over 400 rungs of potential missteps. If he needs an additional bathroom break, he makes more trips. There are little platforms adjacent to the ladder, so if he ever fell, he wouldn't hit the ground - right away anyway.

Watching him climb down the ladder, one wonders why he only puts his hard-hat on at the bottom. He says it would blow off otherwise, and besides, a hard hat from his height wouldn't do much good.

Meet Andy Willis, crane operator at the Northrup Hall construction site. ... Andy invited me to climb up and see his cab (with appropriate clearance of course). I had to decline because of my fear of heights. Actually, I like heights; it's death I fear.

The hand-eye coordination skill he has learned is helpful to him, especially playing the little crane games in which you try to grab a toy at carnivals where he says he wins all the time.

Most important to Andy is the safety of those below him. He says he respects the height and that one mistake could be disastrous. He takes great pride in his safety record.

Members of the Trinity University community can rest assured that with the man at the top, the new Northrup project is in good hands, literally.

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