Lifting Plan (Rigging Study)

Definition

A lifting plan, sometimes called a rigging study for heavy or engineered lifts, is the written and drawn document that specifies exactly how a load will be lifted, moved and placed. It is produced by a competent Appointed Person, checked, briefed and signed off before the crane hook attaches to anything. It covers load weight and centre of gravity, crane selection and configuration, rigging arrangement, ground bearing pressures, exclusion zones, wind limits, communication protocol and the sequence of operations.

Why It Matters

Crane collapses and dropped loads are among the most public and deadly failures on any site. LOLER in the UK, ASME B30 in the US, AS 2550 in Australasia and equivalent regimes worldwide all require that every lift beyond routine use be planned. Even for routine lifts, a generic plan is expected. Without a written plan, the operation depends on the memory and judgement of the crew — and memory and judgement, unassisted, is what inquiries find at the root of every dropped load.

What a Lifting Plan Contains

• Load description — weight, dimensions, centre of gravity, lifting points.
• Crane details — make, model, configuration, boom length, counterweight.
• Load chart extract for the specific radius and configuration.
• Utilisation percentage — never over 85% of chart capacity for non-routine lifts.
• Ground bearing pressures under each outrigger, with mat sizing.
• Rigging arrangement — sling type, angle, WLL, spreader beams, shackles.
• Exclusion zone drawing, with public and site interfaces marked.
• Wind limit and shut-down criteria.
• Communication method — hand signals, radio channel, backup.
• Named Appointed Person, Lift Supervisor, Slinger, Signaller, Crane Operator.
• Emergency arrangements — dropped load, power failure, crane failure.

Real-World Example

On a petrochemical turnaround in the Netherlands, a 210-tonne reactor was to be replaced through the roof of an existing structure. The Appointed Person produced a rigging study running to 84 pages, including finite element analysis of the tandem-lift attachment points, ground-bearing calculations for the LTM 11200 crawler, a minute-by-minute lift script, and three separate exclusion-zone plans for different phases. The lift took nine hours; incident count was zero. In the debrief, the site manager commented that the plan had contained one small error — a slightly optimistic wind limit at the final set-down — which the AP had caught during pre-lift verification and corrected on the day. That correction, made possible only because there was a document to check, saved the operation. A verbal plan has nothing to catch.

How to Run It Properly

1. Every non-routine lift gets a bespoke plan. A generic template is not a plan.
2. The Appointed Person is competent, named and independent — not the crane operator, not the salesperson.
3. Ground conditions must be verified, not assumed. A slab plan is not a ground survey.
4. Utilisation stays below the chart limit by a real margin — 75% is comfortable, 85% is the ceiling for planned lifts, 100% is a headline.
5. Rigging is inspected by the slinger before every use, and any defect withdraws the item immediately.
6. Toolbox brief the plan with everyone involved. Confirm understanding, not attendance.
7. Weather monitoring is live, not the morning forecast. Shut down at the stated limit, not "when it feels dangerous."

Practical Lessons Learned

• The load never weighs what the drawing says. Confirm with a weigh cell or supplier certificate, then add a margin.
• Wind kills more lifts than overload. A load in the air is a sail — plan for the gust, not the average.
• The most dangerous lift on any project is the one that "we've done a hundred times."
• The banksman position matters. Line of sight to both operator and load, or the lift stops.
• Rehearse the emergency, once. Everyone knowing the drop protocol before the crane starts is worth the hour.

Expert Tips

• Photograph the outrigger mats in position before the lift and after. Ground failure is the second-most-common contributor to crane accidents.
• Colour-code the exclusion zone on the ground with tape — visual is stronger than verbal.
• Radio discipline: one channel, one voice. The signaller talks, no one else transmits during the lift.
• Video the lift. The recording is training material and, if needed, evidence.
• Debrief every non-routine lift within 24 hours. Lessons captured immediately are lessons kept.

Common Mistakes

• Generic plan re-used across lifts of different weight or geometry.
• Load weight taken from a drawing without verification.
• Ground bearing pressures ignored on suspended slab or made ground.
• Rigging inspected only on delivery, not before each use.
• Wind limit set but no live monitoring.
• Exclusion zone breached by "just one person" during the lift.

Key Takeaways

• Every non-routine lift is engineered, checked, briefed and signed before the hook attaches.
• The Appointed Person is competent, named, and empowered to stop the lift.
• Load, crane, ground, rigging, wind and exclusion — all six are planned, all six can stop the lift.
• The margin between chart capacity and planned load is a safety feature, not inefficiency.
• Discipline in the plan is what makes the lift routine, not repetition.

Related Concepts

Interlocks with Method Statements, Temporary Works Design Register, Toolbox Talks and Site Mobilisation Plan. Lifting plan templates at PMMilestone.org.