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Results from our State of the Industry 2022 Survey

Crane & Hoist Canada magazine took the temperature of the industry with our first online poll in November, and we took notice.

First off (no surprise here) – you folks are busy!

How busy are you with projects/orders?

A full 80 per cent of our respondents stated that you are “Very Busy” with projects and orders, with 20 per cent stating that you are about normal.

Our industry faces many challenges, but 75 per cent of you identified “Finding Trained Workers” as being paramount, with 25 per cent stating that “Servicing Equipment” was the real challenge.

There should be no surprises when we asked how you would describe the majority of your employees. Overworked and ready to retire!

Twenty-five per cent answered that your workforce are “Older and Experienced” with 50 per cent answering that you are “Understaffed.”

How easy is it to recruit new employees?

Matthew Friesen of ML Truck Equipment in Abbotsford, B.C., and Wes Rosa of North America Construction in Morriston, Ont., both wrote that it was “near impossible” to find qualified, trained workers.

The crane and hoist sector consists of some very hardworking individuals – but there is room for improvement. But what could be improved?

Matt McTurk of Grizzly Inspections Ltd. in Sherwood Park, Alta., sees the immediate problem being a lack of a Canada-wide approved certification process for inspectors.

“By requiring crane inspectors to be certified by a national board,” says McTurk. “Right now, it’s the Wild West. Pretty much anyone can say they are a crane inspector.”

Now we come to the real question:  What do you want to see from us, Crane & Hoist Canada magazine?

What topics we should cover in the magazine?

The big three subjects that kept coming up as being of great interest were: Crane Manufacturing, 3D Modelling and Lifting Gear.

Six other topics of interest were:

Crane Controls;

Inspections;

Mini Cranes;

Secure Worksites;

Smart Cranes; and

Tower Cranes.

To those who took the time to respond to our poll – thank you!

Your input and feedback only makes us better, and helps us to be a better voice not only for you, but for the industry as a whole.