Crane Lift Plan

Definition

Crane Lift Plan — A crane lift plan defines exactly how a load will travel from pick-up to landing. It records the load weight and centre of gravity, crane configuration, working radius, capacity utilisation, rigging arrangement, ground-bearing checks, weather limits, communication method and exclusion zone. For critical lifts it is an engineered control document, not a sketch attached to a permit.

Why It Matters in Practice

This control matters because the cost of a weak decision rarely appears at the moment it is made. It surfaces later as delay, rework, unsafe improvisation or an argument about what the team believed. Experienced teams make the decision visible, assign ownership and preserve evidence while options are still open.

A Working Method

1. Confirm weight from a certified source; drawing weights often exclude loose items, fluids and transport frames.
2. Plot maximum radius through the complete slew, not only at pick and set points.
3. Deduct hook, block, slings, spreader beam and lifting accessories from chart capacity.
4. Have a competent engineer verify outrigger reactions against ground and buried services.
5. Run a pre-lift briefing where the crane operator, slinger and signaller can challenge the plan.

Real-World Example

On a hospital extension, an air-handling unit was booked as a 14-tonne lift from the delivery vehicle to a roof plinth. The crane supplier selected a 100-tonne mobile crane from the stated weight and a 22 m radius. During the pre-lift walkdown, the appointed person found that the delivery trailer could not reach the assumed pick position because an ambulance route had to remain open. The true radius was 31 m, where the selected crane had insufficient capacity after hook block and rigging were deducted. The team changed to a 160-tonne crane, installed timber mats over a verified service corridor and moved the lift to a Sunday morning. The walkdown cost two hours; discovering the error with the load suspended would have stopped the hospital entrance and created an unsafe recovery.

Practical Lessons Learned

• Confirm weight from a certified source; drawing weights often exclude loose items, fluids and transport frames.
• Plot maximum radius through the complete slew, not only at pick and set points.
• Deduct hook, block, slings, spreader beam and lifting accessories from chart capacity.
• Have a competent engineer verify outrigger reactions against ground and buried services.
• Run a pre-lift briefing where the crane operator, slinger and signaller can challenge the plan.

Controls and Evidence

A credible lift file contains the approved drawing, crane configuration and load chart extract, certified load weight, rigging certificates, ground-bearing assessment, permits, weather reading and briefing attendance. Photograph outrigger positions and exclusion controls before the hook rises. These records are not assembled to defend a bad lift afterward; they let the appointed person compare the real setup with the calculated one. If the crane, mat arrangement or load changes, the revision trail should show who reassessed it and why the lift remained inside limits.

Expert Tips

• Field tip: The lift plan must describe the whole movement, not merely the crane.
• Field tip: Radius and ground capacity usually govern more lifts than headline crane tonnage.
• Field tip: A site walkdown is a design activity, not a ceremonial sign-off.
• Field tip: Any field change that affects load, radius, configuration or support requires review.

Common Mistakes

• Treating crane tonnage as lifting capacity at every radius.
• Using an estimated load weight without a documented contingency.
• Checking the destination but not the travel path and tail swing.
• Ignoring underground services beneath outriggers.
• Changing rigging or crane position on the day without rechecking the calculation.

Key Takeaways

• The lift plan must describe the whole movement, not merely the crane.
• Radius and ground capacity usually govern more lifts than headline crane tonnage.
• A site walkdown is a design activity, not a ceremonial sign-off.
• Any field change that affects load, radius, configuration or support requires review.

Related Concepts

Connect this practice with Lifting Plan Rigging Study, Temporary Works Design Register, Permit To Work, Site Logistics Plan. The value comes from using these controls together rather than treating each as an isolated checklist.