Most workplaces cannot avoid lifting operations altogether, because they are essential to the work. So choosing the right equipment, and putting the right precautions in place, is the best way to keep the risk low.

If the equipment is not suitable from the start, it does not matter how carefully it is operated: it will still be dangerous.

This module is for employers and anyone who selects, plans, uses or maintains lifting equipment and accessories.

In this module, you will learn about:

• Selecting lifting equipment and accessories.
• Examples of safe selection.
• How the environment affects equipment.
• Equipment for lifting people.
• Strength and stability.
• Positioning and installation.
• Safe working loads, derating and marking.

Getting these right at the start prevents many accidents later.

Choosing the correct equipment is the basic control for safe lifting. The work equipment rules of the General Application Regulations 2007 require that work equipment is:

• Built or adapted so that it is suitable for its intended purpose.
• Selected with the working conditions in mind, such as ground stability and weather, and any risks from the equipment itself.
• Used only for the work it is suitable for. Use correctly rated equipment, and never use equipment that is not designed for lifting.

When selecting lifting equipment, employers must consider:

• Whether the equipment, and every accessory used with it, is strong enough for the job.
• Whether the equipment will be stable in use.
• The risk of people being crushed between the equipment and other structures, or between moving parts.
• Ergonomics. Operating positions, working heights and reach distances must suit the operator without undue strain. Otherwise, they may not be able to use the equipment properly.

Health and Safety Authority guidance also highlights:

• Safe means of access. Many accidents, some fatal, happen when people get on or off equipment such as cranes and MEWPs. Use fixed ladders and walkways with handrails.
• Slips, trips and falls. Where there is a risk of falling from an open edge near lifting equipment, provide strong double guardrails.
• Operator protection. Operators must not be exposed to harmful fumes or dust. Cabs must be clean, heated where needed, and give clear visibility.

High winds can seriously affect many types of lifting equipment, including mobile cranes, tower cranes and mobile elevating work platforms, or MEWPs.

The manufacturer or supplier must state the maximum wind speed for safe operation, and operators and supervisors on site must have this information.

Where wind can affect safe operation, wind speed must be monitored. This is usually done with an anemometer, a device that measures wind speed, fitted to an exposed part of the equipment, giving the operator a live reading.

Manufacturers and suppliers must provide a Declaration of Conformity, and written instructions for safe use, usually an operating manual. They must update the instructions if they learn of anything that affects safety.

The manual should be in English, and may also be given in other languages. It should cover:

• A description of the product and its key safety features.
• Its intended uses, and any uses it is not intended for.
• Safe installation and setting up.
• Safe methods of use.
• Safe maintenance, cleaning, inspection and testing.

• Mobile cranes are very versatile, but the right crane must be chosen for the task. Ask the manufacturer or supplier for advice, and let only a competent person select a crane.
• MEWPs must have a platform big enough, and with enough capacity, for the intended number of people, tools and materials.
• Lifting accessories must be compatible with the equipment, and rated for the actual load. Never use an accessory without a known safe working load.
• Forklift trucks may need extra attachments, such as a barrel clamp for lifting barrels.

When selecting equipment, think about what it is made of, and the conditions it will be used in. Some materials can be weakened by heat, cold, chemicals or water. For example:

• Nylon slings can be affected by moderately strong acids, and may be less effective when wet.
• Polyester slings can be affected by alkalis.
• Polypropylene can be damaged by solvents.
• Some high-tensile steels can crack and become brittle in acidic or alkaline atmospheres.

If conditions could weaken the equipment, choose a different type, or control its exposure.

Slings come in four main types, and each suits different loads. Chain slings are tough and resist heat and sharp edges better than other types. Wire rope slings are strong and light, but can be damaged by kinking and crushing. Flat webbing slings and round slings, made of synthetic fibre, are light and flexible, and grip a load without marking it, but they are easily cut and damaged by heat and some chemicals.

Webbing and round slings follow a standard colour code for their safe working load in a straight lift: violet for one tonne, green for two, yellow for three, grey for four, red for five, brown for six, blue for eight, and orange for ten tonnes and above. The colour is a quick guide, not a substitute for the label. Every sling must carry its own label or tag showing its safe working load, and a sling without one must not be used.

Equipment for lifting people must prevent the carrier, such as a cage, car, platform or cradle, from falling, and must prevent people being crushed or trapped.

So far as is reasonably practicable, only equipment designed for lifting people should be used. Using equipment not designed for this, such as a working platform on forklift forks, is allowed only in exceptional circumstances, with strict precautions and proper supervision.

Equipment for lifting people must also be thoroughly examined more often: at least every six months, rather than every twelve.

Many accidents have been caused by equipment that was not strong or stable enough. The law requires that lifting equipment, the load, and anything attached to it are strong enough, every time they are used, and for their whole working life.

Lifting accessories must have their safe working load marked on them or, where that is not possible, as with some fibre slings, a certificate showing it must be readily available. Consider the combined forces on the equipment, including the weight of accessories, and pay attention to mounting and fixing points.

Lifting accessories need the right paperwork as well as the right marking. Some accessories, such as batches of shackles or slings, are supplied with a test certificate that covers the whole batch. That certificate, and the report of the latest thorough examination once the accessory has been in use for some time, must be available at the place where the accessory is actually used, not filed away in an office.

Each accessory should carry a marking, such as an identification number, that links it to its certificate and shows what is needed for its safe use. Where the weight of an accessory, such as a heavy lifting beam, has a significant effect on the safe working load of the equipment, that weight must also be clearly marked. And everyone who attaches and removes loads, usually the slinger-signallers, must have the safe working load information for every accessory they use or have available to them.

When a load hangs from a multi-leg sling, the angle between the legs makes a big difference to the force in each one. If two legs hang straight down, each carries half the load. As the legs spread wider, the force in each leg rises, even though the load stays the same. At an included angle of 120 degrees between the legs, each leg carries the full weight of the load.

Beyond that, the forces climb very quickly, and the slings or fittings can fail. That is why multi-leg slings are rated for a stated range of angles, usually up to 90 degrees between the legs, and must never be used at an included angle above 120 degrees. Use longer slings or a lifting beam to keep the angle small. The person slinging the load must understand this, and must check the sling's rating for the angle at which it will actually be used.

The way a sling is wrapped around a load is called the hitch, and it changes how much the sling can safely carry. In a straight lift, the sling hangs directly between the hook and a lifting point. In a choke hitch, the sling passes around the load and back through itself, so it tightens as the load rises. This grips loose bundles, such as pipes or timber, but bends the sling sharply, so its safe working load is usually reduced, often to around 80 per cent of the straight-lift rating.

In a basket hitch, the sling passes under the load with both ends on the hook. It can carry more, but only if the load is balanced and cannot slide or tip out. Always use the rating for the hitch you are using, as shown by the manufacturer. Never knot a sling, or tie two slings together, to make it longer.

When selecting and setting up equipment, consider anything that could make it unstable:

• The strength of the ground. Spreader plates may be needed to carry the weight of the equipment and its load.
• Nearby excavations, where the ground could give way. This is a common cause of overturning.
• Slopes and uneven ground.
• The size, weight and shape of the load.
• Wind, following the manufacturer’s limits.
• The chance of the load snagging on equipment or structures.

Where stability could be a problem, measures to improve it include:

• A suitable base for the equipment to stand on.
• Anchorage systems.
• Counterbalance weights.
• Ballast, outriggers, stability arms or stabilisers.
• Devices to stop rail-mounted equipment from derailing.
• Making sure every surface the equipment rests on is stable.
• Making sure employees follow safe working procedures.

Lifting equipment must be positioned and installed so that the risks are as low as reasonably practicable, in particular:

• The risk of the equipment or the load striking a person.
• The risk of the load drifting, falling freely, or being released by accident.

Many accidents involve loads falling or swinging into people, or people trapped between a lift cage and the structure. Position equipment so that loads do not have to pass over people, occupied areas or busy public routes, wherever this is reasonably practicable.

All lifting equipment must be clearly marked with its safe working load, or SWL. The SWL is the maximum load that the equipment or accessory can lift safely. It must never be exceeded.

Where the SWL cannot be marked on the equipment, it can be shown on a plate, chart, indicator or certificate at the operator’s position. Paper information should be laminated to protect it.

The SWL can change with the configuration, for example on mobile and tower cranes, cranes fitted with a fly jib, and lifting beams with several lifting points.

Shackles and hooks connect slings, loads and lifting equipment, and they fail when they are loaded the wrong way. A shackle should be loaded in a straight line through its body and pin. Side loading, where the force pulls across the shackle at an angle, reduces its strength, so use a bow shackle where several sling legs meet, and follow the manufacturer's guidance for angled loads. Screw pins must be screwed fully home.

Where a shackle stays in place for a long time, or the pin could turn, a bolt-type shackle with a nut and split pin is safer. With hooks, the sling or fitting must sit in the seat of the hook, not on its point. The safety catch must close properly. Withdraw any hook or shackle that is bent, cracked or worn, or has an opened throat, and never replace a lost pin with an ordinary bolt.

Eyebolts are screwed into a load, such as a motor or a machine casting, to give a lifting point. There are two main types. A plain, or dynamo, eyebolt has no collar, and must only be used for a straight vertical lift. Pulling it at an angle can bend or snap it. A collared eyebolt can be used at an angle, but only at a reduced safe working load, as shown by the manufacturer, and with the eye turned so that the sling pulls in line with it.

Before use, check that the thread in the load is clean and undamaged, and that the eyebolt screws in fully, with the collar seated flat against the surface. Never pack it with washers to make it fit, and never use an eyebolt with a damaged thread. If there is any doubt about the lifting point, ask a competent person before the lift goes ahead.

Lifting beams and spreader beams sit between the hook and the load. They are used for long, flexible or fragile loads, such as steel sections, pipes or prefabricated panels, where ordinary slings would bend or crush the load, or would hang at a dangerous angle. A beam holds the slings apart, so they can hang closer to vertical and share the load evenly. Like any accessory, a beam must be marked with its safe working load, and often also with its own weight, which counts towards the capacity of the crane.

Some beams have several lifting points, and the safe working load can depend on which ones are used, so follow the markings and the plan exactly. Never improvise a beam from a length of scaffold tube or timber. Check the beam, its fixings and any adjustable parts before use, and make sure it is included in the six-monthly thorough examinations of accessories.

Derating means reducing the SWL when equipment is used outside its normal purpose, or when nearby hazards limit its use, such as lifting a personnel cage, or working next to a live railway. Only a competent person may decide the derated SWL. The new rating and the reasons must be recorded and kept with the equipment, and everyone involved told about it.

Equipment for lifting people must be marked as such, with the maximum number of people. Equipment not designed for people must be clearly marked so.

Many lifting machines use indicators or alarms to warn the operator about load, reach, movement, or operating limits. Some devices may prevent a hazardous movement; others only give a warning. Their functions depend on the equipment and setup, so operators must understand the maker's instructions and the controls on the specific machine. An indicator is an additional safeguard, not a substitute for knowing the load weight, checking the configuration, or planning the lift.

Do not aim to work at the limit just because a display appears to show capacity remaining. If a warning activates, a reading changes unexpectedly, or an alarm sounds, stop the relevant movement and follow the machine's safe procedure. Do not continue by silencing the alarm, resetting a limiter without authority, disconnecting a sensor, or relying on a second person to watch the display. Report a fault and take the machine out of service where required by site procedure.

Only an authorised competent person should investigate or repair the device. Before work begins, confirm the indicator is available and functioning as intended, and know what to do if it fails during a lift. If there is doubt about the load, radius, setup, or warning, lower the load safely and get the lift reassessed before continuing.