{"id":24248,"date":"2018-04-23T09:52:56","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T08:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=24248"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:38:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T10:38:47","slug":"crane-safety-hazards-control-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/crane-safety-hazards-control-measures\/","title":{"rendered":"Crane Safety Hazards and Control Measures"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Between 1989 and 2009, there were 86 identified incidents involving the collapse or major structural failure of a tower crane. <\/strong>This highlights that, if you use cranes and other lifting\u00a0equipment at work, being aware of the hazards and knowing what steps you can take to reduce your risk is crucial to ensuring your safety.<\/p>\n<p>This article will detail the main crane-related hazards you might encounter at work and will provide you with some important safety tips to protect yourself from injury.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>What are the Most Common Crane Hazards?<\/h2>\n<p>Working with cranes poses many hazards, and unsafe working practices can result in injuries, fatalities and costly damage to buildings and materials. Therefore, it&#8217;s important you&#8217;re aware of the main hazards and how you can avoid them.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-24351 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/crane-4-K.jpg\" alt=\"picture of a yellow crane\" width=\"685\" height=\"295\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Some of the main crane-related hazards include:<\/p>\n<h3>Falling Loads<\/h3>\n<p>When working with overhead cranes, falling loads are one of the most common, and most dangerous, hazards. A falling load can result in several injuries, fatalities and significant structural damage to buildings and property. Additionally, it will also lead to significant time and money costs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Falling loads from an overhead crane could be the result of:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Operator incompetency. <\/strong>You must ensure your employees are adequately trained so they are able to carry out their roles competently and safely.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Slipping.<\/strong>\u00a0If you don&#8217;t secure loads properly it can result in slipping material.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mechanical failure.<\/strong> The risk of mechanical failure can be reduced if you ensure a competent person carries out routine inspections, maintenance and repairs at suitable intervals.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two blocking.\u00a0<\/strong>Two blocking\u00a0occurs when an uppermost hoist line component (i.e the load\u00a0block, hook\u00a0block, overhaul ball) touches the upper\u00a0block, boom tip or similar component. When two blocking occurs, increased tension is placed on the line which can result in falling loads or crane components.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Electrical Hazards<\/h3>\n<p>Around 50% of accidents involving overhead cranes are a result of a metal part of a crane coming into contact with a power source (i.e a high-voltage power line). There&#8217;s a risk of a crane&#8217;s hoist line or boom touching energized power lines when moving materials nearby or underneath. While those directly touching the crane are the most likely to be electrocuted, any workers in the vicinity are also at risk. Therefore,\u00a0one accident can result in multiple deaths and injuries.\u00a0Around 200 fatalities per year are the result of contact with power lines, so\u00a0it&#8217;s crucial that pre-job planning is carried out prior to starting work.<\/p>\n<h3>Crane Overload<\/h3>\n<p>The majority of crane structural failures and upsets are the result\u00a0of somebody overloading a crane. If you exceed a crane\u2019s operational capacity, you are likely to subject it to structural stresses and cause irreversible damage.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You could overload a crane if you:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Swing or suddenly drop loads.<\/li>\n<li>Hoist loads beyond the cranes capacity.<\/li>\n<li>Use defective components.<\/li>\n<li>Drag loads.<\/li>\n<li>Side-load a boom.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"tip__box\">\n<div class=\"tip__title__container\">\n<div class=\"tip__title__text\">\n<div class=\"tip__title__icon\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/expert-tip-icon.png\" alt=\"expert icon\" \/><\/div>\n<h3>Need a Course?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/courses\/health-and-safety\/loler-course\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LOLER Training Course<\/a> will help you understand the necessary actions that must be taken to meet regulation standards and prevent harm from befalling anyone who works with or near lifting operations and equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Crane Safety Tips<\/h2>\n<p>When working with cranes, there will always be hazards. However, you can minimise the risks by ensuring you take appropriate precautions to undertake all operations safely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To carry out your crane operations safely,\u00a0you should:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Appropriately train all employees. <\/strong>As an employer, you have a legal responsibility to provide appropriate health and safety training to all your employees so they\u2019re competent at their jobs.\u00a0By training your employees you&#8217;ll increase workplace safety, satisfaction and profits as you reduce injuries, fatalities, accidents and sickness absence.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure employees know they must not stand under loads and ensure operators never lift a load over an employee. <\/strong>You must never stand under a crane or have a load lifted over you. It&#8217;s crucial your employees are aware of this and avoid walking through any zones where cranes are overhead.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Know, understand and comply with the\u00a0Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). <\/strong>To find out more about your legal responsibilities under LOLER, have a look at our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/loler-faq-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LOLER FAQ Guide.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Carry out routine maintenance and repairs of all on-site equipment at appropriate intervals. <\/strong>Part of your legal responsibility under LOLER involves carrying out routine, periodic maintenance and repairs to ensure your machinery is in safe working condition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure a supervisor is present on site at all times when cranes are in operation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Make employees aware of, and strictly enforce, your load and lifting limits.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure clear warning signals are displayed on-site when needed.<\/strong> You must display\u00a0the relevant hazard signs in all danger zones on-site to warn your employees of the potential hazards.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>You must also ensure all your employees know and understand all the warning signs so they are aware of when they are entering a danger zone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Select appropriate PPE for all employees. <\/strong>You must ensure your employees wear appropriate foot, head and eye protection, along with any other PPE you have identified in your risk assessment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Properly safety-plan all jobs before starting work.<\/strong> You must also decide who\u2019s in charge of pre-job safety planning prior to any cranes arriving on-site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-24349 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/crane-3-K.jpg\" alt=\"a red overhead crane\" width=\"685\" height=\"295\" \/><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>For more information about complying with LOLER regulations and carrying out your LOLER inspections, have a look at our\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/loler-inspection-checklist-sheet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LOLER Inspection Checklist<\/a> article.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><b>What to Read Next:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/consequences-of-poor-health-safety-procedures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What are the Consequences of Poor Health and Safety Procedures?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/ppe-in-construction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PPE in Construction: Safety Guidance and Checklist<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/common-construction-hazards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ten Construction Site Hazards<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/courses\/health-and-safety\/safety-harness-training\/\">Safety Harness Training<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn what the most common crane safety hazards are, and how these can be effectively minimised at your work site. Further resources provided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":22716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[91,85],"class_list":["post-24248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-safety","tag-safety-management","tag-site-safety"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.5 (Yoast SEO v19.12) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Crane Safety | Common Hazards and Control Measures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what the most common crane safety hazards are, and how these can be effectively minimised at your work site. Further resources provided.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/crane-safety-hazards-control-measures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crane Safety Hazards &amp; Control Measures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the most common crane safety hazards and how can you help prevent them?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/crane-safety-hazards-control-measures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Hub | High Speed Training\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/highspeedtraining\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-23T08:52:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-10T10:38:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/crane-safety-tips.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Martinelli\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Crane Safety Hazards &amp; Control Measures\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"What are the most common crane safety hazards and how can you help prevent them?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hst\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hst\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Martinelli\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Crane Safety | Common Hazards and Control Measures","description":"Learn what the most common crane safety hazards are, and how these can be effectively minimised at your work site. 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