Case Study 65: What Is a Lifting Team? Role Confusion on Site

Jan 6 (edited) • Supervision & Control Failures

Incident Overview

A site treated lifting as “the crane driver’s job.” Tradesmen gave instructions directly to the operator, the slinger tried to manage landings alone, and no one managed exclusion zones. When questioned, people couldn’t clearly explain who was responsible for what.

What Went Wrong

The crane team was not defined as a system. Lifting became fragmented, with missing functions: supervision, coordination, comms discipline and ground control.

Key Lessons Learned

A crane team is a safety system

Undefined roles create gaps

One lift requires one coordinated team

Safety Recommendations

Define the crane team clearly: AP (planning/authorisation), Lift Supervisor (execution control), Slinger/Signaller (attachment and signalling), Operator (safe crane control), plus lift co-ordinator if multiple cranes works in proximity.

●LOLER Reg. 8 – Clear roles are required.

●PUWER Reg. 9 – Team competence matters.

●BS 7121-1 – Crane team roles must be defined.

Key point

Lifting is a team system.

Wolf Lifting Dynamics – Safety HUB | Case Study 65

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