The safety of crane operations depend on a team approach, careful lift planning and continued training to stay current with industry rules and regulations.Ĭranes can be the most expensive and productive pieces of equipment at a construction site. Experience alone may not be enough to operate cranes safely and in compliance with applicable regulations and standards.

Navigating Your Business Through COVID-19Īs construction projects become more complex and the demand for lifting larger loads grows, the size of cranes and the complexity of lifts increases.

Use tag lines to assist in controlling the load while keeping personnel away from the load. Verify outrigger placement and the use of load distribution mats, and confirm that the terrain is suitable to support the crane and the load.Īssign a spotter for the operator and stage lookouts on the perimeter to prevent personnel from entering the area during the lift. Place barricades around the swing radius of the crane to prevent injury to personnel. Verify that crane operator and rigger certifications are current.ĭocument inspections of the crane and all rigging prior to use, and make sure the crane model matches the one proposed on the lift plan. Plan and host a pre-lift meeting to review safety procedures and lift plan sequence.ĭesignate a Competent Person to oversee the lift. Lift safety plans can include the following tasks: Included in the lift planning process is a Job Safety Analysis to create a plan for safety. For equipment replacement projects, this includes detailing the loading, unloading, and transportation sequence since new and old equipment might be transported and staged some distance away. Once the lift plan is reviewed and approved, the project manager outlines where equipment will be staged on the ground so that it will end up in the correct position in the air.

Software-generated lift plans rely on information such as equipment weight, equipment dimensions, and site conditions to create a scaled drawing of the project site including proposed crane locations, lift area, boom length and angles, and locations of equipment being lifted. Lift plans include necessary details for the crane operation sequence and a plan for job safety.Ĭontractors begin the planning effort by working with a crane company to develop a lift plan.

At SEFA, we recognize that there are number of conditions that can make a lift “critical,” such as tight site constraints, people working in lifts next to a suspended load, or awkward loads that might shift during rigging. A critical lift is defined by OSHA as a lift that exceeds 75% of the rated capacity of the crane or requires the use of more than one crane.

Crane critical lift plan