31.12.2004

HSE Issue new Crane Hire guidance letter

The UK’s Health&Safety Executive has issued a new guidance letter to Crane hirers clarifying the difference between cane hire and Contact lifting, It then appears to make Crane Hire companies responsible for “policing” straight hire customers, contradicting advice given by the HSE at the last CPA meeting.

The letter signed by Andrew East, Principal Specialist Inspector at the HSE states that in the case of a straight crane hire, hirers should demand and keep a record of:- The name of the competent/appointed person who will plan the lift and the name of the supervisor for the lifting operation.

The letter then contradicts the advice given by Mike Sarson at the CPA annual meeting in September (See Vertikal.Net 25 September 2004) by stating that the crane company should insist on a written lifting plan, including a drawing showing where the crane is to be positioned in relation to the load and other relevant site features and Confirmation that the plan will be given to and discussed with the crane operator before the lifting operation commences.

In September Sarson said that the HSE only expected the Crane Hirer to make a realistic assessment of the contractor’s ability to plan and supervise the lift and that a written plan was not always required “better a well planned and supervised lift with out a written document than a poorly planned and supervised plan with documentation”.

This new advisory appears to place the duty of policing this new requirement firmly in the hands of the crane hirer and driver. The letter says that the crane driver, when he arrives on site should check the plan over and make sure that it "covers all of the basic elements".

The letter does go on to say that this does not place responsibility on the operator, it also qualifies that a site inspection by a crane Hire employee does not mean that the hirer is accepting any responsibility in the case of a straight crane hire.

The full text of the letter is printed below.

Vertikal Comment

This letter is unusal in that it refers to CPA definitions on what constitutes contract lifting and what constiutes crane hire and then goes on to effectively demand that hirers police those definitions in a specific way; something the HSE normally avoids.

It would seem that policies and rulings such as this should come from the industry body itself after agreeing a practical and acceptable method with its members, rather than having the HSE notifying members how they shoull interpret their associations guidelines.

This letter not only contradicts an HSE employee who was specifically chosen to present the case at an Annual crane industry meeting but goes against normal HSE guidance which tends to avoid being so prescriptive.

THE HSE LETTER

"Re The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) Crane Hire and Contract Lift

Whenever cranes are used on site proper planning is essential to ensure safety during lifting. Regulation 8 of LOLER requires all lifting operations to be properly planned before they are carried out. The Health and Safety Executive has identified a continuing problem of inadequate planning and hence poor compliance with Regulation 8 of LOLER, typically where cranes are hired in to site.

Most crane hire companies follow an existing scheme based on
discussions between HSE and the CPA [Construction Plant - Hire Association] Crane Interest Group. This scheme aims to make clear the difference between a Contract Lift and Crane Hire. It also aims to ensure that a crane will only be hired to an organisation that can demonstrate it is competent to meet the requirements of Regulation 8.

This letter helps explain this scheme and informs crane hire companies that are not following the existing scheme, of their duties.

In a Crane Hire arrangement the crane and operator will work to
the client’s instructions. The client will plan the lift, select a suitable crane, specify the slinging and signaling arrangements, supervise the lift and be responsible for the lifting operation.

In a Contract Lift the crane hire company will plan the lift, select a suitable crane, specify the slinging and signalling arrangements, supervise the lift and be responsible for the lifting operation.
To fulfill their own legal obligations, crane hire companies need to be satisfied that their potential clients will fulfill their responsibilities whether they choose a Contract Lift or Crane Hire.


Where a client requests a Crane Hire, the crane hire company should have a system for checking that the client has made arrangements for planning and controlling the proposed lifting operations. We would expect the hire company to keep records of the checks they make and the responses they receive.

As a minimum the checks should normally require clients to provide:
A. The name of the competent/appointed person who will plan the lift, if known.
B. The name of the supervisor for the lifting operation, if known.
C. Confirmation that a risk assessment has been made and that a written lifting plan, including a drawing showing where the crane is to be positioned in relation to the load and other relevant site features, has been prepared.
D. Confirmation that the plan will be given to and discussed with the crane operator before the lifting operation commences.
When the crane arrives at the lift location the crane operator should not start the lifting operation until he has seen the lift plan and discussed it with the supervisor. The competent person has the responsibility for ensuring the lift plan is adequate but the crane operator will need to be satisfied that it covers all the necessary elements. This should not be interpreted as the crane operator taking responsibility for the planning of the job.

In a similar manner if a representative from the crane company visits the site to gather information for the rigging of the crane or to assist the client in the selection of the crane then this should not be interpreted as taking responsibility for planning the overall lifting operation.


BS 7121 part 1 to 3 Code of practice for Safe use of Cranes contains recommendations for the safe use of cranes including planning of lifting operations.

Yours faithfully

Andrew East
Principal Specialist Inspector