Rigging and safe lifting with cranes and machines

Pipe, wells, concrete elements and entire formwork sections are too heavy to carry — they must be lifted. On a construction site, cranes and excavators are therefore as common tools as shovels, but a lift that goes wrong can cost lives in an instant. Therefore rigging – securing a load safely to lifting equipment – is a trade in itself.

§What is latching?

Rigging is the actual fastening of the load to the crane's or machine's hook, typically with chains, slings, or wires. The training requires that you can perform rigging in relation to the load's size and weight, store, inspect, and use the rigging equipment commonly encountered, and assess it in relation to load regulations, marking, and discard limits. In other words: you must be able to look at a load and choose the right equipment – and you must be able to look at the equipment and assess whether it is still safe to use.

§Choose and check the gear

All rigging gear has a marked load limit (WLL – working load limit), and it must never be exceeded. The gear must also be inspected regularly for wear, scratches, and deformations, and must be discarded when damage exceeds the set discard limits – regardless of how new the sling otherwise looks. The angle of the slings also matters: the broader the angle between the slings, the more load each individual strap takes, even though the total burden is the same.

• 01Check marking and maximum load before using the equipment
• 02Check indicator and complete documentation.
• 03Discards gear with visible damage beyond the disposal limit
• 04Be aware of the strap angle – a wide angle increases the load on each strap
• 05Secure the load so it cannot slide or tip during lifting

§Signalling and radio communication

When the crane operator cannot clearly see the load themselves, the lift is directed using standardized hand signals or radio communication. The Work Environment Authority has set a common signal language for crane work so everyone on the site—regardless of company or language—understands the same signals for stop, lift, lower, and swing. Using the fixed signals consistently is one of the most important safety measures in lift work.

§Certificate for the big lifts

Not everyone can freely operate a large crane. Cranes above a certain capacity — typically indicated in tons lifted times boom length in metres — require the operator to have a crane operator's certificate according to the Working Environment Authority's rules. Smaller contractor machines like excavators and rubber-tyred loaders have their own certificate requirements. As a site carpenter, you are often the one who rigs and directs the lift on the ground while a certified operator controls the machine itself — an interplay that requires both parties to know their part of the task.

§PLACEHOLDER_4

Beyond the daily visual inspection you yourself do before each lift, hoisting, lifting and transport equipment must periodically undergo a more thorough periodic inspection, typically performed by an expert at fixed intervals. The purpose is to catch wear and damage that cannot necessarily be seen in a quick inspection on site — for example internal corrosion in chains or fatigue in steel that has been loaded repeatedly over a long period. If an inspection is overdue or documentation is missing, the equipment should not be used until it is brought into order.

Routine can become a pitfall in lifting work – the more times a lift has gone well, the easier it is to skip a check. That is precisely why fixed, practiced routines around rigging and signalling are so important: they ensure that safety does not depend on the day's mood, but is the same every single time there is a lift.

“A lift is only as safe as the weakest link in the chain — literally.”