Name the operation without designing it
Describe the intended project and site contact at a high level. Ask the appropriate competent person to identify the information needed for a real lifting assessment. Do not calculate load capacities, ground support, clearances or a lifting sequence from this worksheet. A crane’s headline capacity and a project photograph cannot establish that it is suitable for a particular operation.
Distinguish hire from a contract lift
HSE explains that under ordinary crane hire the user retains planning, supervising and carrying-out responsibilities unless the hire company explicitly assumes them under a contract lift. Keep the actual agreement and responsible roles visible. A driver being supplied is not evidence that every planning responsibility transferred. The linked guidance concerns the relevant UK context, not an automatic worldwide contract interpretation.
Ask for explicit scope and competence
Ask the responsible organisations to confirm who plans, supervises and carries out the operation, and how required examinations and documents are handled. Keep exclusions and site responsibilities with their written answers. Do not assign technical responsibility to an unqualified administrator merely to fill a blank. If the necessary competence is absent, obtain the appropriate competent service before proceeding.
Keep changes within the professional process
A changed load, access condition, ground condition or date may require reassessment. Record who receives the change and who confirms the revised arrangement. An administrative quote comparison cannot approve a lift, replace a method statement or certify equipment. Retain the competent professional’s actual plan and instructions through the organisation’s controlled process, separate from this enquiry sheet.
Read the drawing as text
Planning, supervision and operation need explicit competent allocation. Supplying an operator does not settle the entire contract scope.
Work through an example
A fictional quotation includes a crane and operator but does not say who plans the operation. The buyer marks planning and supervision unallocated and asks the supplier to clarify the service. The record does not treat operator included as contract lift agreed. No load, reach, equipment selection or safe lifting arrangement is calculated.
Illustrative example; figures, people and organisations in the worked record are fictional.
The example record
Planning
- Written answer
- Not specified
- State
- Competent allocation required
Supervision
- Written answer
- Not specified
- State
- Clarify actual service
Operator
- Written answer
- Included in quote
- State
- Does not allocate all roles
Change control
- Written answer
- Named professional route needed
- State
- No lift approved here
Download blank worksheet (.csv) ↗Download worked example (.csv) ↗
Keep your own record
Use the result within its scope
Use competent lifting professionals and the applicable legal framework. A completed responsibility table is an administrative record, not permission to undertake the operation.
Reference sources
Earlier articles on this subject
- Choosing Crane Rental Services For Professional Construction Projects ↗ — 2021-06-18, Maria Baldwin.
- Crawler Crane: Do Your Research Before You Buy ↗ — 2021-03-22, Maria Baldwin.
- How to Hire a Best Crane Service in Virginia ↗ — 2021-12-02, Maria Baldwin.
- Benefits Of Using Low Loader For Construction ↗ — 2021-05-12, Maria Baldwin.