Not every lift needs the same planning. But it is worth knowing what moves a
lift from one category to another — because it often happens without anyone
saying so out loud.
Routine lifts
Known load, known weight, known equipment, known place, repeated often.
Planned through a general procedure for that type of lift, and talked through in
practice before work starts.
Lifts needing their own assessment
Something is different: a new load, an unfamiliar position, poorer visibility,
a crane that has not stood there before. Requires an assessment for this
particular lift.
Complex lifts
Require detailed planning, usually written, with named roles and a briefing
before the start. Typical markers:
- Two or more cranes on one load — see the article Tandem lifts
- A load near the crane’s capacity
- Unknown or uncertain weight, or a centre of gravity that is not obvious
- Blind lifts where the operator cannot see the load
- Near power lines, railways, traffic or occupied buildings
- Over areas where people cannot be kept clear
- Lifting people — see § 18-7 and § 18-8, and the article Lifting people
- Lifts where a single failure has large consequences
What changes the category without anyone noticing
These are worth recognising:
- The load turned out heavier than stated — or is wet, iced or full of snow
- The crane was moved “only slightly”
- The wind picked up, or this load has more surface area than the last one
- The signaller was swapped mid-job
- It got dark, or visibility dropped
- Scaffolding or another crane went up in the meantime
When the assumptions change, it is no longer the lift the plan describes. See
the article The two-minute pause.
The plan is the employer's. Under § 18-6 lifting operations must be planned and carried out properly, with the necessary organisation and competence, and that duty sits with the employer. These pages explain how a plan is built and what each element means — they are not a plan, and nothing here substitutes for an assessment made by someone competent for the specific lift. Where a figure is needed — capacity, distance, bearing pressure, wind limit — it comes from the crane's documentation, the equipment certificate or the relevant specialist, never from this site.