Danny Thiemens is a Safety and Health Professional with over 40 years experience in the Construction and General Industries. He followed his father’s footsteps into the construction trades as an Operating Engineer and Heavy Highway Road Construction Supervisor. His roots can be followed back as far as age 5 playing on an International CT130 Bull Dozer on one of his dad’s construction sites.
It all began back in 1972 when Danny started working for his dad. Eugene Thiemens was a heavy equipment operator and a General Superintendent for a heavy highway contractor, Max J. Kuney Company, from Spokane. During the summers, Danny worked as a general laborer. During those hot summers and hard, hard work, he set his eye on the heavy equipment, and especially cranes. So in 1977 he started his apprentice-ship as a heavy equipment operator and joined the Inter-national Union of Operating Engineers. Upon graduation of the program he started work as a Journeyman Operating Engineer for one of our nation’s largest and most successful General contractors Kiewit Pacific Company. During his years at Kiewit Pacific Company, from 1981 to 1991, he supervised heavy equipment operators and many other crafts in the states of Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.
In 1991, he brought his experience back home to Spokane, Washington, where he was appointed as Training Director for eastern Washington and the entire state of Idaho for International Union of Operating Engineer (IUOE) Local 370’s Apprenticeship Program, the same place he first began his career as a Heavy Equipment Operator. During his years there he was instrumental in further development of the program and helped establish the school as an Inter-state Licensed College. He developed, designed and supervised the construction of Western States Engineers Training Institute’s 60 acre college campus, training site, shop, class-rooms, office and dormitory. To help fund the project he crafted and administered grant funded projects for Washington State Employment, Washington State Workforce Training and Coordinating Board, Washington State Labor Council and Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. He administered the institutions business operations for 13 years.
The Campus became one of the nation’s most respected crane schools. It was during these years he started his long friendship with Ron Cowper of Toronto Canada one of North America’s best known crane consultants who became Danny’s mentor. Together they provided countless crane classes and seminars across the Pacific Northwest.
In recent years, he is most known for his involvement and help in the development of the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) certification programs and where he worked as a staff member. During his years at NCCCO he was appointed as their Washington State Representative. During that time he was instrumental in the development of the States Accredited Crane Inspector Program.
Most importantly he attended all the hearings in Washington States Legislators representing NCCCO while the States new Crane Operator Certification legislation was adopted into law. Also while at NCCCO he was often the Instructor for their Practical Examiners Education Program Workshops that accredits NCCCO Practical Examiners across the United States for Mobile, Tower and Overhead Certification Programs.
It was the direct result of his years as an apprentice and journeyman crane operator, his years as an Apprenticeship Coordinator along with his years in the classroom as well as the time out on the job that inspired him to start Fulcrum Crane International. Nothing pleases him more than to help young people in apprenticeship or to help others with skills, updating and training. Currently he continues instructing various safety and health courses most often Crane Operator Training and Certifications classes.
He continues to work as an Instructor and consultant for labor organizations, colleges, schools, contractor organizations, employers, public utility departments, state and city occupational safety and health departments and crane companies to name a few. He has lectured at countless safety and health conferences nationwide.
Over his career, Danny has helped in the Development of numerous books and training manuals. In the last several years he has been working steadily developing a new comprehensive Mobile Crane Manual, as well as a new Articulating Boom Crane Manual. When the Covid virus hit the country and people found themselves in quarantine in Washington state, it set up the perfect environment for him to give his books full attention. Happily married spouses Kathy and Danny Thiemens, along with the outstanding team at the Staples Print and Marketing Division at the Newport Highway store in Spokane, Washington, worked diligently for over a year to bring the first two full color books across the finish line. Since these books turned out so well, Danny and his team decided to continue the effort and produced two additional books. We added to our collection the Overhead and Gantry Crane book, and the Digger Derrick Crane book. All the books include a Power Point Presentation so each program could be delivered and instructed for Danny’s in-person classes across the US.
In the classroom the programs are Instructor led utilizing the student manuals and Power Point to illustrate all the pictures and graphics. Since he had four new books, all the Power Point presentations were updated, changed and material was added. This was a huge undertaking in itself. Without Danny’s dedicated team, it could have never been accomplished, especially at the very high quality and high standard that it is.
Then, Danny and his team made the big move. All of the books, Power Point presentations and the training materials were taken to a Production Studio. He teamed up with Mortimore Productions in Spokane, Washington. Every session, knowledge area and domain from each of his four books was professionally filmed in high definition and high resolution. The Mobile Crane Program took 22 sessions to shoot, each session includes sample test questions at its conclusion. Some sessions are as short as 15 minutes, others as long as 45 minutes. This was the challenge of Danny’s lifetime to complete. Without his team it could have never been accomplished.
The studio sessions took over a year to shoot and edit. So now all of Danny’s programs had gone virtual and made available to the Crane and Rigging Industry nationwide. Danny and his entire team insisted on excellence so every session was filmed in high definition using the latest technology to provide all the pictures and graphics needed to make the programs arguably the best Virtual Crane Training that can be found.
Back at home in Spokane, Washington, Danny enjoys life with his best friend and spouse, Kathy Thiemens, who helps administer their family owned businesses, Fulcrum Crane International and Fulcrum Virtual Crane Training.
Since they both love hockey, you can often find them together checking out a local hockey game with their home team, the Spokane Chiefs. Together they enjoy gardening and travel.
At home it’s all about their 2 dogs, Romeo, a German Shepherd, and Fox, their Pomeranian.
