Cranes, lifting and machinery
Guides
Practical guides to cranes, lifting and moving heavy machinery, written by the people who plan and carry out the work. Choose a topic below.
Topic
Crane Hire and Contract Lifting
How to choose the right crane for a lift, and how to buy crane hire or a contract lift.
- Types of Crane: Which One Does Your Lift Need?The main types of crane compared, from all-terrain and city cranes to spider, loader and tower cranes, and how to choose.
- Crane Hire or Contract Lift: What Is The Difference?Crane hire or contract lift: who plans the lift, who supervises it and who insures it, what you must provide, and how to choose.
- How Much Does Crane Hire Cost?What decides the cost of crane hire: the crane, time on site, access, ground, crew and extras, and what to send us for a fast quote.
- What Size Crane Do I Need?How to work out what size crane you need from the weight, radius and height of the lift, and why load charts matter.
Series
Crane types: one guide for each
A guide to each type of crane: what it is, what it lifts and when it is the right choice.
Topic
Regulations and Standards
Plain-English guides to the regulations and standards behind lifting operations in the UK, including LOLER, PUWER and BS 7121.
- Lifting Regulations and Standards: How They Fit TogetherHow lifting regulations and standards fit together in Great Britain: Acts, ACOPs, HSE guidance, British Standards and industry codes.
Series
Legislation
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER)
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM)
- Work at Height Regulations 2005
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
- Road Vehicles (Authorisation of Special Types) (General) Order 2003 (STGO)
Series
BS 7121: safe use of cranes
- BS 7121 series: Code of practice for safe use of cranes
- BS 7121-1: General
- BS 7121-2 series: Inspection, maintenance and thorough examination
- BS 7121-3: Mobile cranes
- BS 7121-4: Lorry loaders
- BS 7121-5: Tower cranes
- BS 7121-7: Bridge and gantry cranes, including light crane systems
- BS 7121-13: Hydraulic gantry lifting systems
Series
Other standards
Series
Guidance
- HSE L113: Safe use of lifting equipment
- HSE L22: Safe use of work equipment
- HSE L117: Rider-operated lift trucks
- LEEA Code of Practice for the Safe Use of Lifting Equipment
- HSE GS6: Avoiding danger from overhead power lines
- CAA CAP 1096: Guidance to crane users on the crane notification process and obstacle lighting and marking
Topic
Moving Machinery
How heavy machines are moved, installed and removed, and the equipment used to do it, from skates and jacks to gantries.
- First guides for this topicComing soonWe are writing the first guides for this topic now.
Topic
Factory Relocation
Planning and running a factory move, from the first survey to production restarting at the new site.
- How to Plan a Factory RelocationHow to plan a factory relocation in six steps: restart date, asset register, site surveys, move sequence, responsibilities and comms.
Topic
Dismantling and Strip-out
How industrial plant, plant rooms and steel structures are taken down and removed safely.
- First guides for this topicComing soonWe are writing the first guides for this topic now.
Topic
Miscellaneous
Guides on lifting and moving heavy machinery that sit outside a single service.
- Centre of Gravity When Lifting a LoadCentre of gravity when lifting a load: why the hook goes over it, and how to find it from the maker's data or by taking moments.
- How Much Does a Steel Beam Weigh?How much does a steel beam weigh? Multiply the mass per metre in its section size by its length, then add the fittings.
- Lifting Eye Bolts and Lifting PointsLifting eye bolts and lifting points explained: which type suits an angled pull, and how to fit and check them.
- Sling Angles and Why They MatterSling angles explained: why each leg pulls harder as the legs spread, and how multi-leg slings are rated for it.
- Spreader Beam vs Lifting BeamSpreader beam vs lifting beam explained: how each one carries the load, and which suits your headroom and load shape.
- The Difference Between SWL and WLLThe difference between SWL and WLL explained: who sets each figure, and why the safe working load can be lower.
- Types of Lifting ClampsTypes of lifting clamps explained: vertical and horizontal plate clamps for steel plate, and beam clamps for hanging a hoist.
- Types of Lifting SlingsTypes of lifting slings compared: chain, wire rope, flat webbing and round slings, and how to choose one for your load.
- Types of Shackle and How to Choose OneTypes of shackle for lifting: dee and bow shackles and their pins, and how to choose and check one before a lift.
- What Is a Load Cell?What is a load cell? How the sensor turns the pull on it into a weight reading, and how load cells are used and examined in lifting.
- What Is a LOLER Inspection?What is a LOLER inspection? When LOLER requires thorough examinations and inspections, and what the examination report must show.