Lift category checker

Under BS 7121-1:2016, a lift where the load has a known weight, designated lifting points and a central centre of gravity, and it is lifted in full view of the crane operator with no significant hazards near. It still needs a plan from an appointed person, but a generic plan for that kind of lift often does, and a lift repeated the same way can be planned once and reviewed.

A lift with significant hazards from the load, the place it is lifted or the crane's access, that is not complex. An estimated weight, slinging round a load with no lifting points, or a landing out of the operator's sight are common reasons. The plan has to be for that site and that task, with the hazards identified and a risk assessment and method statement.

A lift with significant hazards and an awkward load, or one where two or more cranes share the load, people are lifted, or the site has exceptional hazards such as a chemical plant. The appointed person visits the site, plans it in detail with a drawing and a method statement, and is on site during the lift.

The appointed person planning the lift, under BS 7121-1:2016. LOLER 1998 regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, supervised and carried out safely. The checker gives you a first view, so you know what to ask for.

Yes. Under BS 7121-1:2016 any lift where two or more cranes share the load is complex, whatever the load and the place. HSE's guidance (L113) says lifts with more than one crane need a written plan.

In the checker, yes: our reading of the standard's examples puts overhead power lines near the lift at E3, which makes any lift complex. HSE's guidance on lifting operations (L113) takes 10 m from overhead lines as a general distance for planning. The appointed person makes the final call.

Yes. LOLER regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be planned. For a basic lift the plan can be a generic one for that kind of lift, and HSE accepts that a routine lift may need only a single plan, reviewed from time to time.

The intermediate lift used to be called a standard lift, and older texts and lift plans still use that name. The checker uses intermediate lift, the name in BS 7121-1:2016.

From BS 7121-1:2016, the British Standard code of practice for the safe use of cranes, which sets out the three categories and the grid. The duty to plan, supervise and carry out every lift safely is LOLER 1998 regulation 8, and HSE explains it in its guidance on planning and organising lifting operations. Links to each are under How it works.