So you think you can operate a crane?

Logistics professionals put a lot of time and effort into finding the best tools for the job, but in many operations, one crucial element is taken for granted—the user.

On-road load handling equipment vendor Hiab is looking to address that oversight. This fall, the company will host the World Crane Championship, which aims to give crane operators a chance to showcase their skills and test their chops against operators from all over the world. The event kicked off with a series of preliminary rounds in March. The finals will be held at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany, on Sept. 22.

Contestants will use a Hiab X-HiPro 232 crane to move water cans from a truck around a circuit of obstacles as quickly and accurately as possible. The contestant with the fastest time and fewest faults will be crowned the winner. The champion receives a $25,000 credit toward buying a Hiab crane as well as a $6,150 traveler's check.

Hiab, a part of Cargotec Corp., held the first crane championship in 2015 and says interest ran so high that it decided to make it a biennial event. "The competitors take their entry into the competition very seriously," Lotta Sjöberg, the company's global marketing manager, loader cranes, said in a statement. "I have been told that some set up a replica course in their work yards and practice on a daily basis to hone their skills."