All careers

Riggers

Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.

What you’d do

  • Test rigging to ensure safety and reliability.
  • Signal or verbally direct workers engaged in hoisting and moving loads to ensure safety of workers and materials.
  • Control movement of heavy equipment through narrow openings or confined spaces, using chainfalls, gin poles, gallows frames, and other equipment.
  • Tilt, dip, and turn suspended loads to maneuver over, under, or around obstacles, using multi-point suspension techniques.
  • Select gear, such as cables, pulleys, and winches, according to load weights and sizes, facilities, and work schedules.
  • Dismantle and store rigging equipment after use.
  • Attach loads to rigging to provide support or prepare them for moving, using hand and power tools.
  • Manipulate rigging lines, hoists, and pulling gear to move or support materials, such as heavy equipment, ships, or theatrical sets.

Skills that matter

  • Operation and Control
  • Active Listening
  • Coordination
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Operations Monitoring

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Machinery Erector
  • Machinery Mover
  • Motor Rigger
  • Rigger
  • Gantry Rigger
  • Hand Rigger

Related careers

See all careers

  • Hoist and Winch Operators

    Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Crane and Tower Operators

    Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.

    Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

  • Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines

    • Bright Outlook
    • Rapid Growth

    Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul mobile mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic equipment, such as cranes, bulldozers, graders, and…

    Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

  • Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

    Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar…

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Millwrights

    Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

  • Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

    Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads…

    Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one