Melony Akins: Women in Construction
“My name is Melony and I’m a crane operator.”
Until 2016, Melony Akins stayed home with her kids. Now, she handles a 130-ton crane on job sites, safely controlling massive renewable energy assets.
Akins got her start in construction in 2016. Married to a lifelong construction worker and crane operator, she’s been familiar with the industry for years. When her kids got older, she saw a chance to dive into a new industry and she took it.
Beginning her construction career, Akins started with flagging, forklifts, fire watch and more – anything she could do to get her foot in the door. With no previous machine experience, Akins never went into the field expecting to become a crane operator. Her husband, Daryl, a current IEA employee as well, consistently encouraged her to learn how to run a crane as an operator himself. One day in 2019, she decided to take that leap.
“We were working in southwest Louisiana, both of us. Daryl was running crane and I was flagging traffic, said Akins. “Finally, when I was there, I was like, I'm tired of this… So at lunchtime, I would go over and he started teaching me how to run the crane.”
Akins earned her certifications that December. The following year, she worked her first job running a crane. Her first pick was a track for Manitowoc 16,000 Crane – she certainly didn’t start small. Akins has been showing off her meticulous work with massive equipment on jobs ever since. She's been with IEA for most of her crane operating career and has nothing but positive things to say about the company.
“IEA is awesome. They have been good to me as an operator,” said Akins. “I don't have any complaints when it comes to IEA, I love this company. I've worked for two other wind industry companies and IEA by far has treated me better.”
Only about 5% of crane operators are women across the entire construction industry, it’s a noticeable difference from Akins’ perspective. “There are very few of us women and I wish there was more. I've only ever met two other women crane operators.”
As a woman crane operator, Akins paves the way for women in construction. She sets an example for future women crane operators and shows women belong everywhere – especially on a job site.
“There needs to be more of us [women] out here plain and simple,” said Crane Operator Melony Akins. “I mean, anything men can do, we can do, too.”
All Corporate News
.jpg)
