Posted By alex mccreadie Mick you need to get hold of LOLER(Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations)and peruse Reg 8 also BS7121 Parts 1 & 3 they will give you the information you require. Ta Alex

Posted By Catman Hi Mick In general, when we ask for a contract lift, it means simply, we say we want an object moved from place to place, and let us know when you have finished. The company undertaking the contract lift should specify the crane, prepare the lifting plan/risk assessments/method statements, provide the appointed person, slingers & banksman, plan and execute the lift. I generally ensure i have sight of all training certs, the risk assessment and the lifting plan prior to starting. In a non contract lift we would normally provide an appointed person, slingers etc ourself, specify the crane and prepare the lifting plan. I am guessing the reason you are being asked about who has responsibility because contract lifts are expensive. As far as liability goes, CDM or not, if you are appointing someone to carry out a contract lift for you, your responsibility is to ensure you select a competent contractor and excercise due diligence in checking their credentials. If something then happens, as always the question would be, who was in effective control of the operation, in a properly set up contract lift, it is the crane company, under your instruction, in a non contract lift, you hold the bag for responsibility. Key points for me are, 1. Check what your insurance company says about a non contract lift, as contract lifts normally come insured. 2. If you are going non contract, do you have anybody trained to plan and supervise the lift and to sling/bank the crane? 3. If you go contract, are the company you are using equipped to carry it out? In terms of site control during the contract lift, it is essential to confirm and agree this prior to starting, in most cases it is necessary to take over the area covered by the radius of the crane operations, but this will depend on what you are doing and where. Hope this helps Cheers TW

Posted By Robert K Lewis In general terms the organisation contracting the lift will remain liable for the peripheral information such as ground reports, pylon locations etc but the specialist contract lift organisation will take over the remaining liabilities. Thus SSOW, equipment, personnel etc all lies in his control. The general site supervision does remain with the contracting organisation except in the lifting zone. Mark Just wondered why you thought the PS should be involved in the decision to use a contract lift? Bob

Posted By Mark Ellis Reply to Bob; it is true there is no legal obligation for the PS to be involved with the decision of the contract lift, It is my personel opinion that a PS should be aware of all site activities at every stage of the build, this will surely be of benefit to them in understanding the relevance of the safety plan.