Employers have a legal duty to make sure that the risks in their workplace are assessed, controlled and monitored, so that people are kept safe from harm.

This module looks at the essential elements of a good risk assessment, so that you understand the basic requirements for assessing lifting equipment and lifting operations.

If you are responsible for carrying out risk assessments, or for managing and supervising people at work, we recommend that you also complete our full Risk Assessment course.

To manage the health and safety risks in a workplace, employers follow five steps:

• Step 1: identify the hazards in the workplace and in your work activities.
• Step 2: decide who might be harmed and how. This includes employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public.
• Step 3: evaluate the risks, check the existing controls, and decide what more needs to be done.
• Step 4: record your findings, and put the controls in place.
• Step 5: review the assessment regularly, and update it when things change.

• Reasonably practicable means that the action taken to control a risk must be in proportion to the level of that risk. Any risk that is more than negligible must be prevented or controlled.
• Suitable and sufficient means that the risk assessment is tailored to the actual tasks, and thorough enough to make sure that every significant risk is covered by precautions.
• A competent person has enough experience and knowledge of the work being assessed, and understands the precautions or knows where to find information. For most activities, an experienced manager or supervisor can be competent to assess the risks.

You need a good understanding of your workplace and its activities. Simple ways to find the hazards include:

• Walk around the workplace. Where is lifting equipment used? Is there enough space? Are people protected if the load or the equipment fails or falls?
• Ask employees. People who use lifting equipment every day are well placed to notice faults and defects.
• Consider safer options, such as automated handling that reduces the need for lifting.
• Check maintenance and repair arrangements, and whether the people doing this work are trained and competent.

• Consider the environment. Is there good lighting, safe access and strong, stable ground?
• Think about the people who use lifting equipment. Are they properly trained, including slinger-signallers who attach loads and guide cranes, and people who only use the equipment occasionally?
• Check the manufacturer’s instructions and data sheets. What safety guidance do they give, and is it being followed?
• Look at first aid, accident and ill-health records. They may show lifting accidents, and repeated problems.

When identifying hazards, think carefully about where and how risks may arise:

• From the work itself, the lifting equipment, or the loads being lifted or lowered.
• From the place where the work is done, such as near busy roads, schools, or other places where the public may be nearby.
• From other activities close by, which could affect the lifting operation or be affected by it.
• From associated hazards, such as falling while working at height, touching overhead power lines, or working near deep water or other plant.

Restricted spaces make lifting harder because there may be little room to position equipment, guide a load, or escape if movement becomes unexpected. Examples include plant rooms, narrow aisles, basements, loading bays, and areas beneath pipework or structural beams. Before work starts, inspect the whole route and landing area. Check the available headroom, doorway width, floor capacity, lighting, ventilation, and any services or obstructions. Decide where the operator, slinger, and signaller will stand, and make sure each has a safe way out.

Keep hands and feet away from pinch points between the load and walls, racks, vehicles, or fixed machinery. Use equipment and accessories that fit the space and suit the load; do not improvise by dragging a suspended load through an opening or pushing it into place from a trapped position. Agree how instructions will be passed where direct sight is not possible. Use a reliable communication method and stop immediately if contact is lost or a signal is unclear.

Keep other work and traffic out of the area. If the planned movement cannot be made while maintaining clearance and control, lower the load, clear the area, and revise the method. A confined location does not justify carrying people on a load or using equipment not designed to lift people.

Pay close attention to:

• Load weight. Is the equipment strong enough for the load? All lifting equipment must be marked with its safe working load, or SWL. Where an accessory cannot be marked, there should be written information giving its SWL.
• Load size and shape. Can awkward loads be lifted safely? For example, large or awkward loads may fall off the forks of a forklift truck on rough ground.
• The type of equipment. Each type has its own risks, and the manufacturer’s information will tell you of any restrictions on its use.

You should also consider:

• Strength and stability. Equipment and accessories wear and weaken over time. Stability may be affected by changes in the workplace, or by bad weather outdoors.
• Falling objects. Where reasonably practicable, lifting areas should be separated from other people, for example with barriers or protected walkways.
• Falls from height. Are people working at height, for example in crane cabs or MEWPs, properly protected while getting in and out, and while working?

Note each hazard you find in the hazards column of your risk assessment.

A load's centre of gravity is the point around which its weight is balanced. If the hook is not above that point, or if the lifting points are poorly chosen, the load may tilt, rotate, or slide as it leaves the ground. The centre of gravity is not always in the middle: machinery may be heavier at one end, a partly filled container may shift, and a bundle may contain pieces of different sizes.

Use reliable weight information and the load's markings where available; do not guess when the weight or balance is uncertain. Select a lifting arrangement that keeps the load stable and within the equipment's capacity at the actual radius and configuration. Check that slings cannot slip off and that edges will not cut or damage them. Keep the hook positioned over the load's centre of gravity before taking the weight.

Raise the load only a short distance at first, pause, and check its balance, attachment security, and any unexpected movement. If it leans, swings, or a sling shifts, lower it to a safe resting place and reassess. Do not try to correct an unstable load by standing beneath it, pushing it by hand, or adding improvised counterweights.

Next, think about who could be harmed. This includes employees, and other people such as contractors and members of the public.

Temporary workers, part-time workers and subcontractors need particular thought, as they may know little about the conditions and dangers in your workplace.

Then think about how they might be harmed. Are they at risk while operating the equipment, while doing other work nearby, or simply by being in the area? Do they know the dangers and the safe ways of working, or could a lack of training put them at risk?

In lifting operations, the people at risk include:

• The operators of the lifting equipment.
• Supervisors, and people working with the operator on the lift.
• Other employees working near the lifting area.
• Visitors, and members of the public passing near or under the lift.

Lifting should take place where there is enough space to work safely. If loads must pass over places where people work or walk, the area should be barriered off while the equipment is in use.

Now decide how likely it is that harm will occur, how serious it could be, and what can be done about it.

The law does not expect you to remove every risk. But you do need to know the main risks, and how you are managing them. Ask yourself two things:

• What am I already doing to control the risks?
• Is there anything else I need to do?

Existing controls for lifting equipment might include stable, well-positioned equipment, accessible stop and emergency stop controls, and training for users and maintenance staff.

For each hazard, look at the existing controls and ask:

• Are they suitable and sufficient to prevent or reduce the risk?
• Are they in good condition? Is the equipment maintained, and are users trained to use it correctly?
• Has everyone who uses, maintains or repairs the equipment been given the information, instruction and training they need?
• Is anything missing? Are you following the manufacturer’s handbook for use and maintenance?

Manufacturers and suppliers must provide information on the risks and controls for their equipment, and keep it up to date.

The hierarchy of control sets out the order in which control measures should be considered, starting with the most effective. The first step is always to eliminate the hazard:

• Eliminate. For example, avoid lifting large, awkward loads by assembling plant in smaller sections.
• Substitute. For example, use automatic conveyors to move products instead of forklift trucks.
• Isolate. Separate the lifting area with barriers and signs, to protect people passing by.
• Reduce exposure. For example, move loads less often, to avoid congestion in work areas.

• Safe systems of work. Have written lifting procedures, and train everyone involved in them.
• Good housekeeping. Keep work areas free of obstructions and clutter.
• Information, instruction, training and supervision. Everyone who uses or maintains lifting equipment must be trained, and understand safe practices, such as taking care at blind corners.
• Personal protective equipment, or PPE. This is the last step, used only when the other steps have been properly considered. Examples are safety helmets, safety boots and hi-vis vests near lifting operations.

Next, record your findings and put the controls into practice. In Ireland, every employer must have a written risk assessment, and the safety statement required by the 2005 Act is based on it. Your records should show that:

• A proper check of the hazards and risks was made.
• You considered who might be affected.
• You dealt with all the obvious significant hazards.
• The precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low.
• Staff or their representatives were involved and informed.

Finally, check regularly whether anything has changed that could affect your risk assessment. For example:

• Has new equipment or a new process been introduced, such as a new type of lifting equipment, or a change to the layout? Has it been assessed?
• Are there improvements still to be made?
• Have you asked employees for their feedback?
• Are there new employees, including part-time and temporary workers, who need information, instruction or training?