Working With Professional Riggers To Ensure Safety When Making A Heavy Lift
Rigging solutions are a vital part of any crane hoist or lift. The crane operator is busy inside the cab, ensuring that things go smoothly. Having a rigger outside that can direct the load and oversee securing the load is essential.
Critical Rigging
For a large item that needs lifting on a job site or a commercial project, hiring a crane service to handle the task is a good starting point. Along with the crane service, you will need a rigging service that can oversee the connection of the crane and the load.
If the load is off balance, lifting it overhead can cause the crane to become unstable and turn over or collapse under the strain. Rigging solutions involve more than adding some straps to the load, so an experienced rigger can make the difference between a run-of-the-mill lift and one that goes wrong.
Some crane services use their own riggers on the job site, while others require you to hire a rigging service in the area to come and provide that service on the day of the lift. Check with the crane service you are using to determine if you need to hire riggers or if they will provide them for the job.
Directing The Lift
The crane and rigging service will work together on the job site to determine the best way to lift the load for you. The rigger is in charge of the load as soon as it leaves the ground, and the crane operator will only take direction from them.
It is vital that no one else interferes with directing the load unless the rigger asks for assistance from them. Sometimes the load is impossible to see from the ground to the final location, so the rigging service may ask a few people to position themselves where they can see the load. If this happens on your job site, wait to be asked for input about the load unless you see something happening that could result in an accident.
Rigging services spend a lot of time working out the best way to secure and lift extremely heavy loads, and they may use multiple spotters or someone in a helicopter overhead to watch the load. Other times the rigger will go up to where the load is headed and monitor it as the crane operator raises it.
Working as a team but allowing the crane and rigging service to control the process is the safest way to ensure everything goes smoothly from start to finish. Once the load is in its resting place and the rigging removed, control will shift back to you and your crew until the next load is ready to move.
Reach out to a company like Dielco Crane Service to learn more.