Contents
Overview
Crane hire or contract lift: the difference in short
Crane hire or contract lift? The choice comes down to who takes charge of the lifting operation. On crane hire we supply the crane and a competent operator, and your appointed person draws up the plan while your team runs the lift on the day. On a contract lift we do the planning and our crew runs it for you.
In short
- In Great Britain, HSE guidance puts the lifts on a hired crane with the user, unless the hire company explicitly takes them on as a contract lift. It also says the legal responsibilities are “usually shared between the crane hirer and crane user”.
- If a customer still cannot answer the CPA’s crane hire questions after talking them through, its best practice guide says the crane owner should decline crane hire and discuss a contract lift instead.
- CPA guidance on mobile cranes warns against “hybrid lifting”, where the customer gets so involved in planning a contract lift that it becomes unclear who is responsible.
- Under either route, that guidance leaves assessing and preparing the ground with the crane user.
We offer both through our crane hire and contract lifting service, from a day’s hire of a crane and operator to a lift our appointed person plans from the first look at the site.
Crane hire
What is crane hire?
Crane hire, which the CPA’s guidance calls CPA Crane Hire, means the crane owner supplies a crane with an operator and you manage the lift. The CPA’s Best Practice Guide for Crane Hire and Contract Lifting describes the hirer planning and supervising the lifting operation itself.
Before a hire is booked, the CPA’s hire checklist has the crane owner check that the hirer will have these in place:
- A competent appointed person who has planned the lifting operation and the safe access route to the set-up position.
- A competent crane supervisor in charge of the lift on site.
- A competent slinger and signaller on site to rig the load and direct its movement.
- A documented risk assessment and a written lift plan with a drawing of where the crane will stand, briefed to the crane operator before lifting starts.
The checklist also asks whether the hirer has insurance for damage to the crane while on site, hire charges while it is off the road for repairs, injury to the owner’s staff, injury to other people and damage to their property, and damage to the goods being lifted.
What we supply on crane hire
Our side of a hire is the crane and its operator, plus outrigger loads and other technical data when you ask for them. HSE notes that the hire company will usually arrange the crane’s thorough examination, while the crane user has to make sure it has been done. Our advice on a hire stays technical, such as which crane fits the weight you give us. Our electric pick and carry cranes can also be hired without an operator if you have your own.
The operator works to your plan
Our operator will not start lifting until briefed on your lift plan, and then confirms the crane has the capacity and capability for it. CPA guidance says that confirmation should not be read as the operator taking responsibility for planning the lift, which stays with your appointed person.
When a hire becomes a contract lift
The CPA warns that a crane supplier who provides the risk assessment or method statement for a hire may be treated as having carried out a de facto contract lift, and as having taken responsibility for the lifting operation. If you want us to plan the lift, book it as a contract lift so the paperwork matches who is in charge.
Contract lift
What is a contract lift?
A contract lift is a lifting operation the crane company takes on for you. In the CPA’s best practice guide, the crane owner plans the lift and runs it. HSE describes it as the hire company explicitly assuming the responsibilities that would otherwise rest with the crane user.
On our contract lifts:
- Our appointed person, who is always in house, plans the lift and writes the lift plan.
- We choose the crane and its set-up position for the load and the site.
- We supply the crane and operator, with the crane supervisor and slinger signaller who run the lift on the day.
- We submit the outrigger loads and the size and type of mats for the crane position, with the ground bearing pressure calculations behind them.
What you still provide
You stay in control of your site. CPA guidance makes the customer responsible for assessing and preparing the ground, and for giving the crane owner information such as the ground’s bearing capacity and the weight of the load. Your site’s competent person checks our outrigger loads and mat details against the ground and confirms it is suitable.
Give us the load’s weight with where that figure came from, and tell us about anything under or around the crane position, such as drains or recent excavation.
Responsibility and insurance on a contract lift
The CPA’s guide puts the crane, the operator, the crane supervisor and the appointed person mainly with the crane owner if things go wrong on a contract lift. The same guide sets out the insurance an owner carries on a contract lift. Cover for loss of or damage to the owner’s own crane applies where the loss is caused solely by the owner’s negligence, and the owner’s liability for the goods lifted, and for other property and injury to people, is capped. The caps are set in the contract terms, so check them at quoting stage. Higher cover can be arranged at extra cost if the owner agrees, so tell us if your load is worth more. On crane hire, the guide says the lifting operation is contractually the customer’s responsibility.
Compared
Contract lift vs crane hire, side by side
The table sets out who provides each part of the lift on each route, following CPA guidance and HSE’s guidance on lifting operations. The CPA’s mobile crane guidance, CIG 2308, names BS 7121-1:2016, the British Standard code of practice for the safe use of cranes, as the reference that sets the criteria for choosing between the two, and our guide to BS 7121-1 explains the standard.
| Crane hire | Contract lift | |
|---|---|---|
| Appointed person and lift plan | Yours | Ours |
| Choice of crane | Yours, with technical advice from us | Ours |
| Crane and operator | Ours | Ours |
| Crane supervisor and slinger signaller | Yours | Ours |
| Ground under the crane | Yours to assess and prepare, using our outrigger loads | Yours, with your competent person checking our outrigger loads |
| Insurance | You hold most of it | We cover our liabilities, within limits in the terms |
| If things go wrong | Contractually yours | Contractually mainly ours, for the crane, operator, crane supervisor and appointed person |
| CPA terms | Model Conditions with the crane supplementary conditions | Contract Lifting Services Conditions |
The CPA’s current editions are the CPA Model Conditions 2021, used with its Mobile and Crawler Crane Supplementary Conditions 2021 for a hire, and its Contract Lifting Services Conditions 2021 for a managed lift, all listed on the CPA hire conditions page. The “If things go wrong” row is about the contract. On either route, the legal duties under LOLER fall on the crane hirer and the crane user to the extent each one controls the lifting operation.
Choosing
Which one is right for your lift
Begin with one question: does anyone on your side have the competence to plan a crane lift? HSE’s guidance for construction says people who hire cranes without the competence to plan and use them safely will need to opt for a contract lift. Where you have that competence, crane hire leaves the lift in your own team’s hands.
Crane hire fits when:
- You have an appointed person who plans crane lifts, and a crane supervisor and slinger signallers for the day.
- The lift repeats a job your team has planned before, such as regular deliveries into the same compound.
- Your insurance already covers hired-in plant and the goods you lift.
- You want your own team to set the pace of the work on site.
A contract lift is worth asking about when:
- Nobody on your side holds the appointed person role, as with a factory or building owner who lifts plant once in a while.
- Your appointed person has not planned a lift like this one before, such as a lift over a road or railway.
- You want the lift plan and risk assessment to come from the company supplying the crane.
- You want one company in charge of the lift from the site survey to the load landing.
The law applies on both routes. In Great Britain, regulation 8 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) requires every employer to ensure each lifting operation is properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. The equivalent law in Northern Ireland is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999. LOLER asks for a competent person. The CPA’s CIG 2308 guidance, drawing on BS 7121-1, has an appointed person plan and control the lifting operation, and our guide to the appointed person and other lifting roles sets out the job.
We supply tower cranes on contract lifts, with erection and dismantling arranged as part of the job.
Cost
What each one costs
Crane hire is priced by the day or the week. A contract lift is dearer than a hire of the same crane for the same days, because the quote also covers the appointed person’s planning, the crane supervisor and slinger signaller, and the insurance we carry for the lift. On crane hire you meet those costs yourself, in your own staff and your own insurance.
Compare the total. If you would need to bring in an appointed person and slingers and extend your insurance for a single lift, a contract lift can be the simpler and cheaper way to get it done. If your team plans and runs crane lifts already, crane hire puts the crane on site without paying for people you have.
The crane itself drives the rest of the price on both routes, through its size and the time it is needed for. First-day costs such as ballast transport or extra matting add to it. Our guide to how much crane hire costs goes through those factors, and What size crane do I need? explains how the crane is chosen.
Paperwork
What you get in writing
On a contract lift we send the paperwork for the lifting operation before we arrive, so you can pass it to your health and safety team or principal contractor:
- The lift plan, holding the risk assessment and method statement, with a drawing of the crane position where the lift calls for one.
- Our outrigger loads and mat details, with the ground bearing pressure calculations, for your competent person to check.
- The crane’s current thorough examination report and the operator’s CPCS or NPORS card.
- Details of the insurance we carry for the lift.
On crane hire we provide the crane’s documents and the operator’s card, and outrigger loads when you ask. The lift plan and risk assessment come from your appointed person, and CPA guidance has the plan briefed to our operator before the first lift. Ask for anything you need early, because a principal contractor will often want to see it before the crane is allowed on site.
Questions
Common questions
What are the key differences between CPA hire and a contract lift?
Under CPA hire, the crane owner supplies the crane and operator, and you provide the appointed person, the lift plan, the crane supervisor and the slingers. Under a contract lift, the crane company plans and runs the lifting operation. The CPA publishes separate terms for each, and its best practice guide splits responsibility the same way.
What does a contract lift include?
A contract lift includes the crane and operator plus the people who run the lift: an appointed person from the crane company who plans it, and a crane supervisor and slinger signaller on the day. Your side controls the site and the ground, and gives us accurate weights and what is known about the ground conditions.
Who is responsible for the lift when you hire a crane?
Mainly you, as the crane user. In Great Britain, HSE guidance says that when a crane is hired, responsibility for the lifting operation rests with the user unless the hire company explicitly takes it on as a contract lift. HSE also says the legal responsibilities are usually shared between the crane hirer and crane user.
Does the crane operator plan the lift on crane hire?
No. The operator waits for your briefing before the first lift, then confirms the crane has the capacity for it. The CPA’s best practice guide says that check should not be treated as handing the planning to the operator. Planning stays with your appointed person, so have the plan ready before the crane arrives on site.
Do I need insurance to hire a crane?
Yes. On crane hire the CPA’s guide expects the hirer to insure against damage to the crane, hire charges during repairs, injury to people and property, and damage to the goods lifted. Check your policy covers hired-in plant before the crane arrives.
How much does a contract lift cost?
A contract lift costs more than hiring the same crane, because the price covers the appointed person’s planning and the crew who run the lift. Crane hire is charged by the day or the week. The crane’s size and time on site drive the rest of the price, and costs such as ballast transport can fall on the first day.
Is a contract lift safer than crane hire?
Neither route is safer. In Great Britain, LOLER regulation 8 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. That duty sits with employers and others who control the lift, whoever writes the plan. A contract lift helps when nobody on your side can plan crane lifts.
Can I switch from crane hire to a contract lift?
Yes, and it is easier to decide before the crane is booked. A switch changes what we survey and quote for, and what your insurers need to know about who is running the lift. If your own appointed person is no longer available, tell us early and our appointed person can plan the lift instead.
Get a quote
Talk to us about your lift
Call us on 0800 008 6096 or email office@synergy-lifting.co.uk. Tell us about the load and the site, and we will tell you which route makes sense and quote for it.
Find out more about our crane hire and contract lifting and machine delivery and installation services.
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