Planning lifts and moves
Tools
Free tools to help you plan crane lifts and machinery moves. Use them alongside our guides, and talk to our team when you are ready to plan the job.
Lift planning
Plan the lift
Wind check
A 7-day wind forecast for your site, adjusted for the height of your lift, with an optional check for large or light loads.
Open the toolWhich crane do I need?
Enter the weight, reach and height of your lift and see which crane sizes could do it.
Ground bearing pressure
Work out the pressure under an outrigger pad or mat, check it against what the ground can carry, and find the smallest mat that works.
Open the toolLift category checker
Answer a few questions to see whether a lift is basic, intermediate or complex under BS 7121, and the planning each needs.
Open the toolCrane access check
Check gateway widths, headroom and turning space against typical crane sizes before a crane is booked.
Load moment and radius
Work out the load moment at a radius, in tonne-metres or kNm, and how it compares with the crane’s duty.
Rigging
Rigging and weights
Rigging calculator
Work out the slings, chains, shackles and beams for a lift, with the angle and rating each needs, drawn to scale.
Open the toolWeight estimator
Estimate the weight of steel sections, concrete, tanks and vessels from their size.
Open the toolCentre of gravity finder
Find the centre of gravity of an uneven load and the share of the weight on each lifting point.
Open the toolRigging weight
Add up the hook block, slings, shackles and spreader beam to get the total weight on the hook.
Stay compliant
Lifting equipment compliance
Examination interval checker
Pick a type of lifting equipment to see the maximum interval between LOLER thorough examinations and when the next one is due.
Open the toolExamination report checker
Check a thorough examination report against what LOLER says it must contain, and see anything that’s missing.
Moving machinery
Machinery moves
Abnormal load checker
Check whether a load on the road is abnormal, who to tell and by when, and what it needs on the move.
Floor loading check
Turn a machine’s weight on skates or jacks into point loads on the floor, and see when a floor check is needed.
Pulling force
Work out the force needed to winch or push a machine up a ramp or along the floor on skates.
Forklift capacity
See how a forklift’s capacity drops as the load’s centre moves out along the forks.
Factory relocation planner
A step-by-step timeline for moving a factory, from the first survey to recommissioning.
Quick calculators