Stay clear of the suspended load
Struck-by 5 min 29 CFR 1926.1425
Why it matters
A suspended load can drift, spin, or drop. The only people near it are the ones the lift plan puts there to hook it or to guide it with a tag line. Everyone else stays clear until the load is set down and stable. A tag line is for guiding, not for standing under the load.
The talk
The crane has a bundle of iron in the air. The load sways as it comes over the deck. Someone walks under it to reach a bolt bag, because the long way around takes more time. Someone else grabs the tag line and drifts in until they are under the steel, pulling down instead of guiding from the side. The operator cannot set the load while people are in that spot. The people in that spot have nowhere to go if the load shifts. The picture is simple. The load is overhead. You are not under it.
Do not walk or stand under a suspended load. The people who must hook a load, or guide it with a tag line, stay where the lift plan puts them. They are there for that task, not for a shortcut across the deck. Everyone else stays clear until the load is set down and stable. Set down and stable means it is landed, it is not swinging, and it will not roll. A tag line is for guiding. It is not a reason to stand under the load. Guide from the place the plan gives you. If the wind picks up or the load spins, stop the lift. Do not fight a spinning load by stepping in closer. Stop, get people clear, and start again when the pick is under control.
Before this pick, the lift plan says who hooks and who holds the tag line, and where those people stand. If that work is not yours, you stay clear until the load is down and stable. If you are on the tag line, you guide. You do not walk the line in under the bundle. If the wind picks up, or the load starts to spin, we stop the lift. Nobody takes a last-second trip under the load to grab a wrench. When the load is landed and it is stable, then the rest of the crew can move in. Until then, the path under the load stays empty.
Key points
- Do not walk or stand under a suspended load.
- Only the people the lift plan assigns get close, to hook the load or to guide it.
- A tag line is for guiding, not for standing under the load.
- Everyone else stays clear until the load is set down and stable.
- Stable means landed, not swinging, and not able to roll.
- If the wind picks up or the load spins, stop the lift.
- Do not step closer to fight a spin.
Do this
- Stay where the lift plan puts you if you hook or guide.
- Guide with the tag line from the place the plan allows.
- Keep everyone else clear until the load is down and stable.
- Stop the lift if the wind picks up.
- Stop the lift if the load starts to spin.
Do not do this
- Do not walk under a suspended load to save steps.
- Do not stand under a load while you hold the tag line.
- Do not move in before the load is set down and stable.
- Do not fight a spinning load by stepping underneath.
- Do not keep the pick going when the wind picks up.
Talk about it
- Who is allowed near this load, and where does the lift plan put them?
- Where will the tag line be held so nobody stands under the steel?
- What do we do if the wind picks up or the load starts to spin?
Listens with this phone's voice. Nothing is sent out.
Send to the crew
The crew link opens the talk so each person can read it and sign on their own phone.
Scan at the jobsite. It opens the crew sign-off.