Lift Director
The Lift Director domain tests whether you can run a lift end to end: matching the plan to field conditions, reading a load chart with every deduction applied, confirming ground and blocking, coordinating rigging and signals, and stopping work when conditions change.
Duties and authority
The lift director is the designated person who directs the lift. Before the lift they confirm the plan is site-specific, walk the setup, verify the crane's actual configuration matches the chart page in use, confirm the operator, riggers and signal person are qualified, and run a pre-lift meeting covering sequence, signals, tag lines, radio channel, and the stop command. During the lift they control sequence, watch radius and load, and stop work for wind, ground settling, two-blocking, or deviation from the plan. OSHA 1926 Subpart CC limits operation to qualified, designated personnel, and multi-crane or personnel lifts need one coordinated plan.
Rules that decide the answer
- Chart values are gross capacity: deduct the hook block, jib, rigging, and the load itself.
- Capacity depends on radius, boom length, quadrant, and outrigger or crawler setup; the chart page must match the machine as configured.
- The ground must carry the crane: compare bearing pressure to soil capacity; blocking spreads load and is sized by a qualified person.
- 1926.1408 Table A minimum clearance: 10 ft to 50 kV, 15 ft for 50–200 kV, 20 ft for 200–350 kV, measured to the crane, load line, and load.
Worked example
A 100-ton crawler with an 80 ft boom at 40 ft radius: the chart reads 42,000 lb. Rigging at 1,200 lb plus an 800 lb hook block subtracts 2,000 lb, leaving 40,000 lb net. The load is 36,000 lb, or 90% of net capacity. Because that exceeds the 75% threshold many employers use, this is a critical lift: written plan, documented pre-lift meeting, and lift director sign-off before the load leaves the ground.
Traps
- Treating chart capacity as allowable load and skipping deductions.
- Using a chart page for the wrong boom, jib, quadrant, or outrigger spread.
- Assuming the pre-lift meeting or the stop decision can be delegated.
- Ignoring wind sail area on panels and the capacity loss as radius grows.