Construction · Explainer
Plan the lift, not just the crane
Lifting incidents rarely come from the crane alone. They come from the plan around it: the load, the ground, the people, the route and the signals.
A lifting operation brings together equipment, a load, the ground, the environment and people who must coordinate under time pressure. The equipment can be perfectly maintained and the lift can still go wrong.
What HSE says a lifting plan must address
In Great Britain, the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require lifting operations to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out safely. HSE explains that the plan must address the foreseeable risks involved in the work and identify the resources, including people, needed to complete it safely [1].
HSE lists factors that may need to be considered, including working under suspended loads; visibility; attaching, detaching and securing loads; the environment and location; overturning and proximity hazards; derating and overload; lifting people; and pre-use checks and continuing integrity of the equipment [1].
Match the plan to the lift
HSE notes that routine lifts may be planned by the people doing them, and that a simple, common operation may need only a generic plan, reviewed from time to time. More complex lifts. HSE gives a tandem lift with multiple cranes as an example. Need a written plan prepared by someone with significant and specific competence. Supervision should be proportionate to the risk and to the experience of those involved [1].
A heat-exchanger bundle is to be lifted over a running pipe rack. The crane is in date. But the ground under one outrigger is a backfilled trench, the slinger cannot see the landing area, and the load’s centre of gravity is off-centre. Each is a planning question, not an equipment question.
Questions for the pre-lift briefing
- Do we know the load weight, centre of gravity and lifting points, and the equipment’s capacity in this configuration?
- Has the ground under outriggers or tracks been assessed?
- What is the load path, and how is the exclusion zone controlled so no one is under the load?
- Who is the one person directing the lift, and what are the signals, including stop?
- What wind speed or other condition will make us stop?
Other jurisdictions have their own lifting rules. In US construction, for example, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC applies to cranes and derricks. Follow your lifting procedures and competent advice.
General educational material, not legal advice, a site-specific risk assessment or a work authorisation. Confirm current requirements in your jurisdiction and follow site procedures and competent advice.
References
- HSE. Planning and organising lifting operationsUnited Kingdom
- HSE. LOLER overviewUnited Kingdom
- HSE. Lifting operations in constructionUnited Kingdom
All sources opened and checked on 30 October 2026. Requirements and guidance change; always consult the current version.
Downloads & tools
PDFPre-lift planning checklistv1.0 · A4 · free downloadTOOLShift StarterA guided pre-shift check that turns your crew’s answers into a printable shift brief.Editorial status: source-checked explainer. No independent external technical review is claimed. Spotted an error? See corrections.
