Congratulations, you have picked a job where the tools weigh more than the building they are working on. This first course, Core I: Meet the Crane, is where everything starts. We will go slowly, we will use pictures, and we will explain every word before we lean on it.

Here is the plan for the whole program. There are four Core courses, and you take them in order. Core II opens only after you finish Core I. Finishing means every lesson done and the final exam passed. Core III opens after Core II, and Core IV after Core III. No skipping ahead, and no, the crane does not care how much you already know.

Each Core teaches new material and quietly brings back the important rules from the earlier ones. That is on purpose. Some ideas, like a crane is weakest over the side, will show up again and again, in different words, until you can say them in your sleep.

Each lesson is a mix of short reading blocks, pictures and knowledge checks. A knowledge check is a single question that shows up right after the material it is about. Pick an answer, read the explanation, and move on. Nothing is graded on those. They are there to catch a misunderstanding while it is still small.

You can also listen to any lesson. The text is read aloud and the words light up as they are spoken, so you can follow along on a break, or let your eyes rest and let your ears work. Everything is written in short sentences for exactly that reason.

The callout boxes you will see are there to add spice: a funny aside, a tip, a rule we want you to remember, or a short, sharp story about what happens when a rule is skipped. If the animated effects bother you, there is a switch to turn them off.

To operate a mobile crane on a construction site, an operator must be qualified, and the most common way is to be certified by an accredited testing organization. Certification is built from written exams and a practical exam on a real crane. This academy prepares you for the written side. First comes a Core exam, which covers knowledge that applies to every mobile crane. Then you take a specialty exam for the kind of crane you will actually run, such as a swing cab crane, a fixed cab crane, a lattice boom crawler, a lattice boom truck crane or a boom truck.

The Core exam is built around four areas. Think of them as four hats.

• Site. Setting up safely: ground, outriggers, power lines and hazards.
• Operations. Planning and making the lift, signals, travel, weather and shutting down.
• Technical knowledge. How cranes work: parts, wire rope, inspections, rigging, and load weights.
• Load charts. Reading the manufacturer's chart to find what the crane is allowed to lift.

The questions are multiple choice, and some ask for numbers. Where a standard gives a number, learn the number. Where a standard gives a reason, learn the reason. The reason is what lets you work out the number if your memory blinks.

Core I has no load chart reading exercise. We only talk about the chart in words, because you cannot read a chart properly until you know what stability is. That comes first. You will meet real chart reading in Core II.

Everything here is for training only. Nothing in these lessons is a substitute for the crane's own manual and load chart, your employer's rules, or the law. If a lesson and your crane's manual ever disagree, the manual wins. We will say that a lot.

Most questions on the Core exam give you four choices and one best answer. A few tips will save you points without teaching you anything you do not already know.

Read the whole question, then all four answers. The first answer that looks right is sometimes only half right. Watch for the words "always" and "never". In crane work there are a few real nevers, like standing under a suspended load, but most rules have a condition attached. When a question asks for a number, think about the reason behind the number. The reason usually points to the right choice, even if your memory of the digits is fuzzy.

Look for the safest answer that is still a real action. If two answers are both careful, ask which one the standard actually requires. And when the question mentions the manufacturer, remember the rule you learned today: the manufacturer comes first.

You are learning a lot of new words at once: superstructure, radius, deflection, fulcrum. Nobody remembers them all after one reading. That is why each lesson ends with a check, and why the same ideas come back later in different words. If a check makes you miss, read the explanation and move on. Missing a question here costs nothing. Missing the same idea on a real lift costs a lot.