What if the crane setup ground no longer matches the lift plan?

A new patch of ground is a new lifting decision

The mobile crane is due on site tomorrow. Its agreed setup location is beside a completed access road, with a planned lift path into an upper-floor opening. Overnight, a service contractor opens a trench at one edge of the crane position. The site manager proposes shifting the crane several metres onto a newly backfilled area. The load is unchanged and the crew has the same crane, so the change can feel minor. It is not minor until someone competent has checked the changed support, crane configuration, working radius and load route as one operation.

Hold the affected lift and the movement into the alternative setup area. Keep delivery pressure separate from the technical decision. A lift plan is a description of an agreed operation under stated assumptions. It does not authorise any nearby patch of ground that appears level. HSE's lifting-planning guidance says the position of mobile lifting equipment can dramatically alter the risks, and identifies proximity to excavations, buried services, buildings and overhead lines. It also says the plan must address foreseeable risks and the people and resources needed for the actual work. A changed position can alter several of those factors at once.

This page owns the decision between discovery of changed crane-support conditions and a revised, authorised lift. The temporary prop deviation draft concerns an altered structural support. The rain-affected excavation draft concerns entry into a changed trench. The overhead-line route draft concerns vehicle access near electrical conductors. A crane may interact with all three hazards, but none of those pages decides whether a revised setup can support the lift and reach its landing safely. The live Complys construction phase plan guide owns broad project planning, not this changed-lift decision.

Separate movement, setup and lifting permissions

The immediate hold should be specific. Tell the crane supplier, appointed planner, crane supervisor, groundworks lead and principal contractor that the original position is unavailable and no substitute has been released. Mark the original location, the proposed new location, the open excavation and affected travel route on one current site plan. Prevent other plant or stored materials from changing that area while it is assessed. If a crane is already on site, do not direct it onto the new ground as an experiment. A machine can damage weak ground before its outriggers are deployed.

There may be three distinct permissions. The crane may be allowed to enter a known safe holding area. It may later be allowed to travel to and set up at an approved position. Only after further checks may the planned lifting operation begin. State which stage is approved and which remains held. A radio call saying “the crane can come in” should not be interpreted as authority to extend outriggers and pick up the load. The person managing site access should give the operator the same boundary as the lifting team.

If the crane cannot safely wait within the site, agree a lawful and safe off-site holding arrangement with the supplier and traffic lead. A lorry or mobile crane standing on a public road can create a separate highway and pedestrian risk. Do not let an unplanned queue block emergency access while site staff debate the lift. The HSE construction lifting page treats site preparation, competent planning and supervision as part of safe crane use. The hold is therefore an operational control, not merely a document revision.

Check whether anyone is already exposed. An open trench may need an independent excavation restriction. A newly backfilled area may be carrying other vehicles or materials. An altered delivery route may bring plant under a line or close to an occupied building. Protect those interfaces now, even if the crane lift is postponed. Record the discovery time, what was held and who was told. A later engineering answer will be easier to apply when the site has not continued to change beneath it.

Reconstruct the assumptions in the agreed lift plan

Ask the person who planned the lift to identify the original setup coordinates, intended crane model and configuration, maximum load including lifting accessories, planned radius at pick-up and landing, outrigger arrangement, spreader system, route, landing condition and exclusions. Confirm which drawing and revision the plan used. A plan may show a circle around a general crane position without recording the precise support points. That level of detail may be inadequate when a trench, slab edge or buried service is close to an outrigger.

Compare the planned ground support with the actual site. Was the original position on engineered hardstanding, a designed temporary working platform, an existing slab or natural ground? What ground investigation, platform design, as-built record or previous lift evidence supported it? Was there a stated load limit or exclusion near a trench? Did the plan assume a particular direction of travel or outrigger orientation? A previous successful lift is useful evidence, but it does not prove that a new location has the same ground or that the old platform remains unchanged.

Reconstruct the change precisely. A trench may have removed support near one corner. Backfill may be recent, wet or unverified. A repair may have cut through a platform layer. Rain may have softened shoulders while the centre still looks dry. A buried chamber or old foundation may be under the proposed pad. A pavement can be flat but supported by a void or shallow service. List what is known, what is inferred and what still requires investigation. Do not call ground “good” because an unloaded truck crossed it.

The change may also alter the geometry of the lift. Moving the crane a few metres can increase the radius, introduce an oversailing question, change the load's path over people or buildings, obstruct the signaler's view or reduce space for counterweight movement. HSE's planning guidance lists environment, location, overturning, proximity hazards, visibility, load security and overload as planning factors. The ground and lift path must be considered together. A structurally suitable position that cannot execute the required lift safely is not an approved substitute.

Establish who has the ground and lifting information

The principal contractor should coordinate information held by the client, groundworks contractor, temporary works team, designer, crane supplier and asset owners. The client may have ground or buried-structure information. The groundworks team knows what was excavated and how it was reinstated. A temporary works designer may know the platform capacity and conditions of use. The crane supplier knows the machine's configuration and support reactions for the proposed lift. None of these parties should be asked to sign a general assurance beyond its information and competence.

The appointed lifting planner or other competent person should decide what revised lift information is needed. Where the crane is hired, establish who holds the planning and supervision responsibility under the actual contract. HSE's construction lifting guidance says that for ordinary crane hire, responsibility for planning, supervising and carrying out the lifting operation rests with the user unless the crane hire company explicitly assumes those responsibilities under a contract lift. A purchase-order title is not enough to resolve a dispute at the gate. Check the terms and name the decision makers.

Ground capacity is a technical question. The person assessing it needs reliable information about material, geometry, water, buried features, nearby excavations and the loads the crane will impose in its actual configuration. HSE's LOLER Approved Code of Practice and guidance addresses stability of mobile lifting equipment under foreseeable conditions and the nature of ground and supporting surfaces. The assessment may require an engineer, platform designer, geotechnical specialist or another competent person with the right scope. This article supplies no allowable bearing value, mat size or formula for a particular crane. It cannot approve a slab or temporary platform by appearance.

Ask each contributor for a traceable statement. A current platform drawing, an excavation as-built record, a survey locating a chamber, the crane's support reactions and a competent written assessment can be reconciled. A verbal assurance that “the backfill was compacted” is too weak unless the person can explain the method, location, testing and acceptance criteria relevant to the proposed loads. Where evidence is missing, keep the lift held and decide how to obtain it or choose another position.

Test the alternative position against the whole lift

The revised position must support the crane before, during and after the lift. Check travel to the position, turning, setup, outrigger extension, counterweight or jib assembly, pick-up, slewing, landing and withdrawal. A site may provide a suitable pad at the final position but an inadequate access route across a culvert or recently reinstated trench. The operator must not cross a weak route to reach a strong pad. Include any separate support needed while the crane is assembled or dismantled.

Ask the lifting planner to recompute the lift geometry using the actual crane model, configuration, load, accessories and proposed coordinates. Check the rated capacity for the relevant radius and boom or jib state. Do not infer from a catalogue maximum that the machine can take this load at the revised radius. Check the pick-up and landing points, any temporary floor loading at the landing and the ability to keep people out of the load route. If the new position changes the landing sequence or requires the load to pass over an occupied area, that is a new planning issue even when ground support is adequate.

Review nearby hazards with the people who control them. An open excavation can affect support and can expose workers if the crane travels close to its edge. A buried service, drainage run or chamber can affect the pad. An overhead conductor can affect boom or load clearance. A wall, scaffold or hoarding may be within the slewing envelope. A public footway or neighbouring property may be affected by the crane or suspended load. HSE's lifting-planning page specifically cautions against proximity to trenches, buried services, buildings and overhead lines. Refer each interface to its owner; do not let a generic site plan settle a specialist hazard.

Check the weather and drainage assumptions. A platform accepted in dry conditions may need reassessment after water inflow, damage or a change to surface drainage. Wind can affect a large load and the crane's safe operating envelope. Use the crane and lift plan's site-specific limits, not an invented universal wind speed. Record who will monitor conditions and what event requires another stop. A new setup accepted at noon may no longer be suitable after a further trench excavation or heavy rain overnight.

Consider whether the sensible answer is to redesign the operation rather than force the crane into the available space. The planner may choose a different crane, another lifting point, a changed delivery sequence, an alternative load size or a postponed lift after platform work. Each option has its own ground, people and interface risks. A smaller machine is not automatically safer if its radius or number of movements rises. The selected option should be evaluated as a complete operation with a defined plan.

Make a revised support and lift decision traceable

There are two linked decisions: whether the proposed ground or platform can support the crane, and whether the crane can perform the particular lift safely from that position. The first may involve a temporary works or ground engineer. The second belongs to the competent lifting planner and operational team. The site should not treat a ground acceptance note as a complete lifting plan, or a crane capacity chart as proof of ground bearing. Both must refer to the same position and configuration.

The support assessment should identify the location, ground or structure, information relied upon, proposed crane support points, loads or reactions supplied by the crane specialist, any spreader or platform arrangement, restrictions and inspection or maintenance conditions. Where assumptions remain uncertain, state them and define the investigation or design change needed. The site must not convert an untested assumption into a release by hiding it in a general note. Keep the engineer's calculations and drawings with their revisions under the site's approved system.

The revised lift plan should then show the actual crane position, travel and setup route, crane configuration, pick-up and landing, load and accessory weights, radii, support arrangement, nearby hazards, communications, people exclusions, weather and stop conditions. It should identify who supervises and who may authorise each stage. If the operation is high risk or complex, the depth of planning should match that risk. HSE states that lifting operations must be properly planned by a competent person, supervised appropriately and carried out safely. It does not make a signed generic template a substitute for current site facts.

Make document control visible at the workface. Withdraw the obsolete setup sketch from the crane operator, supervisor, signaler, slinger and delivery team. Mark it superseded in the project record. Brief the changed coordinates and restrictions from the new plan. Ask the team to point out where the crane will stand and which area must remain clear. If people describe different positions, the briefing has not succeeded. A revised plan in an office folder cannot control a lift that crews still execute from yesterday's drawing.

The table is a handover aid. It is not a calculation, an inspection certificate or an approval for a particular setup.

Verify the place before the crane commits to the lift

On the day, compare the approved location with what is physically present. Are the marked crane and outrigger points in the right place? Has another contractor excavated, parked a machine, stockpiled materials or redirected drainage across them? Are platform edges and any no-go zones still visible? Is the travel route still as agreed? Does the crane delivered match the plan's model and configuration? Check that relevant examination and equipment records are available through the lifting team's normal process. The answer should be a short, explicit yes or a hold for the affected stage, not a vague impression that the site is ready.

Have the crane operator and supervisor examine setup conditions within their competence and the plan. If they see settlement, cracking, soft patches, mat movement, unexpected voids or a support point near an excavation, stop and refer the matter back. Do not ask the operator to compensate for a questionable base by moving one outrigger a little or adding spare timber without a competent method. The site engineer may need to inspect the actual platform before the crane travels onto it. The lifting planner may need to revisit the radius if a pad is shifted. The point is to keep the physical setup and the approved plan aligned.

Check that the receiving location is ready too. A revised crane position can change the landing angle and the way workers guide or detach the load. Ensure a safe place for slingers, a stable landing surface, a clear exclusion and a communication method that works where the signaler now stands. A crane cannot make an unsafe upper-floor landing suitable merely because its lifting capacity is adequate. If the lift crosses another contractor's work, pause that activity or establish an agreed protected interface before the load moves.

Make the first lift a deliberate hold point. The supervisor should confirm the site, crew, crane, ground and plan match before load movement. The operator retains the ability to stop if the equipment behaves unexpectedly. Observe for support movement or a change to the site condition during the lift. If the ground or crane setup changes, stop and reassess before the next pick. A successful first load is not unlimited approval for heavier loads, longer radii or another day after different weather.

Respond to a failed setup or unexpected movement

If an outrigger pad sinks, the crane moves unexpectedly or a platform visibly cracks, stop the lifting operation using the site's emergency and crane procedures. Keep people out of the danger area. Do not direct workers under a suspended load or beside unstable equipment to place improvised support. The crane operator, supervisor and competent specialists should establish a safe way to make the situation stable. Emergency services or the asset owner may be needed depending on the event. This page cannot prescribe a recovery manoeuvre for an individual crane.

Preserve the position and observations after people are safe. Record when movement was first seen, the load and crane state, weather, pad locations, ground condition, photographs taken from safe positions and who gave instructions. If there is injury, overturning, collapse or another potentially specified event, review the statutory reporting question against current HSE RIDDOR dangerous-occurrence guidance. Do not claim that every soft patch is reportable, and do not wait for a reporting decision before controlling the danger.

Reopen only through a competent revised plan. Repacking a pad, moving the machine to a nearby patch or reducing the load by guesswork can shift risk rather than solve it. The recovery plan may need ground investigation, platform repair, crane supplier advice, a redesigned route or a different lifting method. If the crane has been affected, its condition and any required examination or inspection also need review. Keep the original incident evidence separate from the new release record so later reviewers can see why the earlier plan failed.

A site record that follows the change through to release

The useful record begins with the change, not the final signature. Capture the original lift-plan revision and setup point, the reason it became unavailable, the proposed alternative, work held, people protected and parties notified. Attach the current site drawing and photographs where safe and relevant. Identify the source of ground information, what remains uncertain and who is investigating it. Record the crane and load information the engineer used so the ground decision cannot be detached from the actual operation.

Then capture each decision in order: ground or platform acceptance, revised lifting plan, interface approvals, operator and supervisor briefing, setup check, first-lift hold point and any conditions for later picks. A named person should close each condition with evidence. If another trade changes the ground or site layout, reopen the relevant decision rather than copying the earlier sign-off forward. The record should allow the next shift to answer: which crane, which position, which lift and under what limits?

Complys may help hold approved drawings, RAMS, briefings, actions and project records where those functions have been verified in the actual product. Its public Projects guide describes collecting project documents and work evidence. A product owner must verify the exact version, approval, reminder and access functions before any stronger claim appears on a published page. No Complys calculation of ground bearing, crane reactions, lift capacity or automatic restart approval has been verified. The engineering and operational decisions remain with competent people.

The practical CTA is to ask the Complys team for a demonstration of how a real revised lift plan, site drawing, action owner and briefing record would stay together for a construction project. Bring one anonymised change example and ask them to show what the current product actually does. Do not use a green dashboard as proof that the ground will carry the crane.