Crane Safety Basics

Cranes lift heavy loads over workers and structures. Crane incidents, including power line contact, tip-overs, dropped loads and struck-by, are often catastrophic.

• Construction
• General Industry

Key requirements (construction)

• Operator certification: crane operators must be certified by an accredited testing organization (or an audited employer program) and evaluated by their employer for the equipment and tasks.
• Ground conditions: the ground must be firm, drained and graded enough to support the crane, with mats or blocking as needed. The controlling contractor must provide information about hazards under the surface like voids and utilities.
• Assembly and disassembly are directed by a qualified A/D director following the manufacturer’s procedures.
• Power lines: plan for any work where the crane could get within 20 feet of a line (up to 350 kV). See Overhead Power Lines.
• Inspections: shift inspection by a competent person, monthly, and annual comprehensive inspection by a qualified person.
• Signal persons and riggers must be qualified. See Hand Signals and Rigging Basics.

Types of cranes

• Mobile hydraulic cranes: truck-mounted or rough-terrain cranes with telescoping booms; the most common on construction sites.
• Crawler cranes: lattice or telescoping booms on tracks for heavy, long-duration lifts.
• Tower cranes: fixed cranes for high-rise work. See Tower Cranes.
• Boom trucks and knuckle booms: delivery and light lifting. See Boom Trucks.
• Overhead and gantry cranes: in plants and shops. See Overhead Cranes.

How cranes fail

• Power line contact: one of the leading causes of crane deaths.
• Tip-overs: overloading, swinging beyond the chart, soft ground or outriggers not set.
• Dropped loads: rigging failure, two-blocking (the hook block pulled into the boom tip) or bad hitches.
• Struck-by: workers hit by the load, the boom, or crushed by the rotating upper structure.
• Assembly and disassembly: removing pins from lattice booms in the wrong order can drop the boom.

Pre-lift checks

• Shift inspection done and the crane’s safety devices (LMI, anti-two-block, boom angle indicator) working
• Ground checked; outriggers fully extended on mats as the chart requires
• Crane level
• Load weight known and within the chart for the full radius
• Power lines identified and clearance set
• Swing radius barricaded
• Rigging inspected; qualified rigger and signal person assigned
• Wind within the manufacturer’s limit

See Lift Planning.

Rules for everyone near a crane

• Stay out of the barricaded swing radius of the counterweight.
• Never stand or walk under a suspended load. Only workers needed to hook, unhook or guide the load may be in the fall zone, and only when needed.
• Use tag lines to control loads.
• Know who the signal person is. Only one person signals at a time, but anyone can signal an emergency stop.

Last updated: October 1, 2026