Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Control
Identify before you control
Hazard identification for heavy lifts starts with the task, the plant, the people and the environment. Walk the crane path, the load path, and the landing zone. Look up for powerlines, structures, other cranes and aircraft approach paths. Look down for services, voids, soft spots and underground tanks. Look around for pedestrians, traffic, weather exposure and exclusion zones. Then consider the load itself: mass, centre of gravity, rigging, sharp edges, windage and hazardous contents.
Risk assessment that means something
A risk matrix rates consequence against likelihood. The trap is treating the rating as the goal rather than the trigger for control. Apply the hierarchy of control: eliminate the hazard, substitute, engineer it out (isolation, exclusion zones, engineered ground preparation), then administrative controls (permits, procedures, signage), and finally PPE. PPE is the last line, never the first.
Dynamic and residual risk
Risk changes through the lift. Wind gusts, ground softening, fatigue, changing load radius and personnel movement all shift the picture. Reassess at each stage and after any change. Residual risk must be acceptable and documented, and the lift plan must reflect the controls actually in place.
Traps
Questions reward recognising that a hazard is not a risk: "powerlines" is a hazard, "contact causing electrocution" is the risk. Another trap is choosing a lower-order control because it is quicker. Also watch for "all hazards were identified at the pre-start", which is false; identification is continuous.
Worked example
A 120 t crane must lift a 30 t module beside a live 11 kV line. Hazard: energised conductors. Risk: arcing or contact causing fatal electrocution and fire. Controls in hierarchy order: eliminate by relocating the lift or de-energising and isolating the line (best); engineer by using a spotter, goalposts and a defined exclusion zone with the crane's boom length and radius checked against the safe approach distance; administrative controls include a permit and a documented lift plan; PPE alone is never sufficient.