UK construction-safety guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Producing a proper risk assessment for lifting operations is not optional — it is a legal and practical requirement for construction work in the UK. Whether you are a sole trader or managing a multi-phase project, documented risk management protects your workers, satisfies clients, and keeps you on the right side of HSE enforcement.
Example Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment for Lifting Operations
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The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for lifting operations before operations start. Self-employed workers carrying out construction activities must also comply.
A construction contractor in UK needs to produce a risk assessment for lifting operations before starting work next week. The client has requested professional documentation as a condition of site access. Using Riskora, they select the relevant trade preset, review pre-populated hazards, adjust controls for their specific site, and generate a professional risk assessment in under 5 minutes — ready for review and sign-off.
Regulation 8 of LOLER 1998 requires every lifting operation to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. BS 7121 sets out how that is done in practice, including the Appointed Person's role and the categories of lift — basic, standard and complex — which determine how detailed the plan must be. Thorough examination intervals under regulation 9 are six months for accessories and equipment lifting people, twelve months for other lifting equipment.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 · SI 1998/2307
HSE
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 · SI 1998/2306
HSE
CDM Regulations 2015 · SI 2015/51
HSE
BS 7121 — Code of practice for safe use of cranes
BSI
LOLER puts a named responsibility at the heart of every lift — the Appointed Person — and the most common documentation failure is a lifting assessment that never names one. The second is treating a lift plan and a risk assessment as the same document: the assessment covers the hazards, the plan covers this specific load, this crane, this ground and this radius.
| Hazard | Control measure |
|---|---|
| Overload or loss of load through incorrect slinging | Load weight and centre of gravity confirmed before the lift, accessories selected with the correct working load limit for the sling angle, colour-coded inspection tags checked, and slinging by a trained slinger-signaller. |
| Crane instability from inadequate ground bearing | Ground bearing pressures calculated by the Appointed Person, outrigger mats or spreader pads sized to suit, proximity to excavations and basements checked, and the standing re-assessed after heavy rain. |
| Contact with overhead power lines or adjacent structures | Overhead lines identified and exclusion zones set to GS6, slew limiters or anti-collision devices where cranes over-sail each other, and no lifting over the site boundary without a written agreement. |
| People struck by a swinging or falling load | Exclusion zone under the load path, tag lines on every load, no lifting over occupied areas, and the slinger-signaller in sole charge of the lift with agreed signals. |
| Wind affecting large-surface-area loads | Manufacturer's maximum wind speed applied and reduced for sail-effect loads, anemometer reading taken and recorded before each lift, and lifting suspended when the limit is reached. |
| Uncertified or out-of-date lifting equipment and accessories | Thorough examination within 6 months for accessories and equipment lifting people, 12 months otherwise, reports checked before mobilisation, and pre-use inspection by the operator at the start of every shift. |
The competent person with overall responsibility for planning the lifting operation — selecting the crane and accessories, assessing the ground, producing the lift plan and ensuring supervision. BS 7121 defines the role, and for anything beyond a basic lift a principal contractor will expect them to be named in the documentation.
Every six months for lifting accessories and any equipment used to lift people, and every twelve months for other lifting equipment — or in accordance with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. Reports should be available before the equipment comes to site.
Both. The risk assessment addresses the hazards of lifting operations generally on this site; the lift plan addresses this load, this crane, this position and this radius. Submitting one without the other is a routine cause of rejection on lifting packages.
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Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.