March 2018—Can a crane operator be the lift director? Can you be cited for not having a lift director on the job? Do you need a lift director when it’s just a routine lift?
If you don’t know, or are not sure you know, the answers to these questions, you might want to check out a presentation made at last year’s ConExpo. Titled “Lift Director: Qualifications and Requirements,” and presented by Hank Dutton, Travelers Insurance, it’s a step-by-step walk through the duties and responsibilities of lift directors, why it’s important to have one, and how to qualify someone as a lift director.
Lift plans, such a key component of a successful lift, are analyzed from the joint perspectives of what—and what not—to do.
If safe working doesn’t motivate you to have a lift director on the job, how about compliance? Did you know that OSHA references “lift director” just once in its crane rule but more than 40 times in its Compliance Manual for OSHA Compliance Officers? Think they may be wanting to know who the lift director is when they visit your site?
“The role of a lift director is so much more than planning and set-up,” said Travelers’ Hank Dutton. “There is a continuous involvement required by whoever is designated to oversee the work being performed by a crane and the associated rigging crew.”
Lift Director: Qualifications and Requirements is available from AEM, the organizers of CONEXPO at http://www.conexpoconagg.com/visit/education/. A thumb (USB) drive with videos of over 130 sessions from the conference is available for $395.