Plan ahead for correct crane rigging

Will you be using a crane to move materials around a jobsite? Supervisors should conduct a lift-planning meeting with all involved workers before beginning. During this meeting, identify hazards associated with crane rigging. WorkSafeBC, the safety agency for British Columbia, Canada, lists some hazard scenarios:

• Sharp edges of suspended loads can damage rigging.
• If a load shifts, the rigging may fail or the load may fall.
• A suspended load can fail if it has insufficient structural integrity for the forces imposed on it during a lift.

Reduce the risk of rigging failures by following these safety tips from WorkSafeBC:

• Design the load to have designated lifting points that “enable the load to withstand the forces imposed by the lift” and areas with “sufficiently rounded corners.”
• Create a lift plan that ensures the slings and loads will not be “overstressed” and the rigging configuration won’t cause the load to shift.
• Only include trained, licensed/certified workers to be part of a lift.
• Perform required inspections of rigging to ensure it’s safe for use, and that the load limit of the rigging is marked.
• Use effective edge protection (example: curved, magnetic sling protectors).

WorkSafeBC also suggests enforcing “an appropriately sized exclusion zone below the load during lifting to ensure worker safety in case of a rigging failure.”