Pre-operation inspection, rigging, and site preparation
This domain tests what you verify before the first lift of a shift: the condition of the machine, the rigging gear, and the ground and airspace around the crane. Examiners want an inspection sequence, not a random walk around the base.
Machine checks
Walk from base to jib: mast bolts and fishplates tight, slew ring and pinion free of debris and lubricated, counterweights secured, trolley and hook block reeved for the required parts of line. Test, don't just look - hoist high-limit, trolley limit, slew limit, and the load moment indicator self-test. Confirm the anemometer reads, the aviation light works, and the earth connection is intact. A missing hook latch, a kinked or birdcaged rope, or more than the allowable broken wires in one lay length is a removal-from-service finding.
Rigging
Match every sling and shackle to its tag and working load limit (WLL), protect slings from sharp edges, and rig so the load's centre of gravity hangs below the hook.
Site
Confirm foundation or ballast condition, drainage, levelness, exclusion zone, underground services, and the manufacturer's clearance from power lines.
Worked example
Two-leg sling, each leg WLL 2 t, legs at 30° to horizontal. Allowable load = 2 × 2 t × sin 30° = 2 t, not 4 t. A 2.5 t load must be re-rigged to a steeper angle or larger slings.
Traps
Adding leg WLLs without an angle factor; passing rigging because it “looks fine”; skipping the LMI self-test; accepting someone else's rigging without checking the tag.