Sheet 12Domain 2 of 5 · Hazard Identification and Control
Who controls the lift? Cranes, rigging and work zones for the STSC
A 90-ton crane is rolling onto the lot, the haul road runs past the pick, and the lane closure out front opens at seven. Crane and rigging rules, equipment on the ground and highway work zones share one STSC sheet because a supervisor coordinates all of them in the same morning.
Cranes and derricks have their own subpart in OSHA's construction rules, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC (1926.1400 to 1926.1442). It is written around roles: the controlling entity, the operator, the signal person, the rigger, the competent person and the qualified person. Many of the cards here turn on matching the job to the right role.
Heavy equipment sits in 29 CFR 1926.600 to 1926.602, and work zones in Subpart G (1926.200 to 1926.203). The rules are shorter there, so the cards lean on judgment: slopes, backing, haul roads, and keeping drivers and pedestrians apart from your crew.
Overhead power lines get their own procedure in 29 CFR 1926.1408, built around the line's voltage; crane clearance from power lines works through it.
Talking point 02
Who does what around a crane
Controlling entity
The prime contractor, general contractor or other employer with overall responsibility for the project. Under 29 CFR 1926.1402 it answers for the ground conditions where the crane sets up and passes on what it knows about hazards beneath that area.
Operator
Certified or qualified for the type of crane under 29 CFR 1926.1427, and holds the authority to stop and refuse a load whenever safety is in doubt, until a qualified person confirms it (1926.1418).
Signal person
Required when the operator cannot see the point of operation or the load's path, or when the operator or the person handling the load decides site conditions call for one (29 CFR 1926.1419(a)). Qualified under 1926.1428.
Qualified rigger
Called for during assembly and disassembly (29 CFR 1926.1404(r)) and for rigging loads when workers will be in the fall zone (1926.1425). The qualification is about the rigging task at hand.
Competent person
Inspects the crane before each shift (29 CFR 1926.1412(d)) and slings and their fittings each day before use (1926.251(a)(6)).
Qualified person
Brings engineering-level judgment where the subpart asks for it, such as the annual comprehensive inspection (29 CFR 1926.1412(f)).
Talking point 03
Crane inspections by interval
Inspection intervals in 29 CFR 1926.1412scroll →
Interval
Who inspects
Paragraph
Each shift
Competent person
1926.1412(d)
Monthly
Competent person
1926.1412(e)
Every 12 months
Qualified person
1926.1412(f)
Checked against eCFR on Oct 12, 2026. The monthly and annual inspections must be documented.
Talking point 04
Lift plans, slings and lane closures
Cranes, rigging, loaders and traffic control. Several cards ask what has to happen before the load leaves the ground or the first car reaches the taper.
Card 1 of 17 · 0 right
Card 1
A crew is repairing a curb lane on a highway with traffic passing at 45 mph. Which measure gives the workers the MOST effective protection from errant vehicles?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACones and drums guide drivers but cannot stop a vehicle that leaves its lane and enters the work area.
BFlaggers control traffic, but they are themselves exposed and cannot physically stop an errant vehicle.
CHigh-visibility garments help drivers see the crew, but they offer no physical protection from an impact.
DCorrect: A physical barrier that separates workers from traffic outranks devices that only warn or guide drivers, so positive protection is the strongest control.
Card 2
During the pre-shift inspection of a wire rope sling, which finding requires the supervisor to remove the sling from service?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: A kink permanently distorts the rope's strands and is a recognized defect that takes a wire rope sling out of service.
BSlight thimble wear without deformation is worth noting, but it does not meet the criteria for removing the sling.
CLight surface rust that wipes off is not the corrosion that weakens wire rope, though it should be monitored.
DRemoval is based on broken wires concentrated within a rope lay or a short length, so two widely scattered breaks do not reach that limit.
Card 3
A supervisor is reviewing a mobile crane lift plan. Which check BEST confirms that the pick is within the crane's rated capacity?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThe crane's headline maximum capacity applies only at minimum radius with the shortest boom, and the marked weight leaves out the rigging.
BIgnoring the rigging understates the load, and capacity at the pick radius may be far higher than at the set radius.
CCorrect: Capacity drops as radius increases, so the total load, including hook block and rigging, is checked at the greatest radius the load will travel through.
DCapacity is highest at minimum radius, so checking there overstates what the crane can handle farther out.
Card 4
A loader operator must work on a steep grade to reach a stockpile. Which practice should the supervisor insist on to BEST reduce the risk of a rollover?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ATraveling across a slope is where machines are least stable and most likely to roll over sideways.
BA raised bucket raises the center of gravity, which makes a rollover more likely on a grade.
CSeat belts keep the operator inside the rollover protective structure; jumping from a tipping machine is a common cause of crushing deaths.
DCorrect: Traveling straight up or down a slope with the load low keeps the center of gravity down and the machine at its most stable.
Card 5
A crane will hoist two ironworkers in a suspended personnel platform. Which requirement applies under OSHA's crane standard?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AThe trial lift is made with the platform unoccupied but loaded to at least the anticipated weight, not with workers aboard.
BCorrect: When hoisting personnel, the total load, including platform, people, tools and rigging, may not exceed 50% of the crane's rated capacity.
CProof testing is done at 125% of the platform's rated capacity, not 150%.
DMany companies use 75% as a critical-lift threshold, but it is not the OSHA limit for hoisting personnel.
Card 6
A mechanic suspects a pinhole leak in a pressurized hydraulic hose on an excavator. Which method is SAFEST for locating the leak?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AWorking on fittings while the system is pressurized raises the risk of a sudden release of high-pressure fluid.
BRaising pressure increases the energy behind the stream and the chance of an injection injury.
CHigh-pressure fluid can penetrate gloves and skin, and feeling for the leak by hand is the most common way these injuries happen.
DCorrect: Cardboard or wood reveals the spray while keeping hands away from a stream that can inject fluid through skin.
Card 7
A crew will repair a sidewalk beside a busy street for two days, cutting off the normal walking route. What is the MOST important control for pedestrians?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AWaving pedestrians into the street exposes them to traffic, even when it seems like the quickest way around the work.
BCaution signs warn people about the closure but give them no safe way past it.
CCorrect: When work closes a sidewalk, pedestrians need a continuous, protected and accessible alternate route around the work area.
DCones mark the edge of the work but leave pedestrians with no protected route once the sidewalk is closed.
Card 8
A mobile crane is being set up over recently backfilled soil beside a new foundation. What should the supervisor ensure BEFORE the first pick?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AOutriggers must be set as the load chart assumes, normally fully extended on every side, not just toward the load.
BWith outriggers in use, the tires are normally raised clear of the ground so the crane matches its load chart configuration.
CFresh backfill is not firm ground, and an arbitrary 75% load limit does not make soft soil safe to support outriggers.
DCorrect: The ground must be firm, drained and graded with mats or cribbing, and outriggers set fully extended as the load chart assumes.
Card 9
A loader with an obstructed rear view has a broken backup alarm, and the repair part will not arrive until next week. Under OSHA construction rules, how may the loader keep operating?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Equipment with an obstructed rear view may back up only with a working reverse alarm or with an observer signaling that it is safe.
BFew pedestrians is not none, and the rule does not exempt areas with light foot traffic.
CMirrors do not eliminate the blind zone behind the loader, so they cannot replace the alarm or an observer.
DThe horn is a separate requirement for bidirectional machines, and a single toot does not substitute for the reverse alarm or observer.
Card 10
On a night paving job, the crew's portable light towers are aimed toward oncoming traffic. What is the PRIMARY hazard this creates?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AGenerator overheating is an equipment issue unrelated to where the lights are aimed.
BBright light may be tiring, but the crew's fatigue is not the primary hazard created by aiming towers at traffic.
CCorrect: Glare reduces drivers' ability to see flaggers, workers and channelizing devices, which raises the risk of a vehicle entering the work zone.
DResident complaints are a community-relations concern, not a hazard that endangers the crew or drivers.
Card 11
During a lift, a laborer who is not the designated signal person gives the emergency stop signal to the crane operator. What should the operator do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ANormal signals come only from the designated signal person, but the emergency stop is the exception and may come from anyone.
BLanding the load first adds seconds of movement toward whatever hazard the laborer saw.
CWaiting for radio confirmation delays the stop while the load may keep moving toward a hazard.
DCorrect: The operator must obey an emergency stop signal no matter who gives it, since anyone may see a hazard the operator and signal person cannot.
Card 12
A spotter is standing between a backing dump truck and a concrete wall to guide the driver into position. What is the BEST correction?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA second spotter near the cab still leaves the first spotter standing in the crush zone between the truck and the wall.
BCorrect: A spotter between a backing vehicle and a fixed object has no escape route, so spotters stand to the side where the driver can always see them.
CSlower backing does not remove the spotter from the caught-between zone against the concrete wall.
DA backup alarm warns others but does nothing to protect a spotter already standing in the vehicle's path.
Card 13
A crew will use flaggers to control traffic at a lane closure on a state highway. Under 29 CFR 1926.201, what governs their flagging methods and warning garments?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA commercial driver license manual covers vehicle operation, not flagging methods or flagger garments on construction work zones.
BCorrect: OSHA's construction rule requires flagging methods and flagger warning garments to conform to Part 6 of the MUTCD.
CA company policy may add to Part 6 of the MUTCD, but it cannot replace the requirement OSHA incorporates.
DANSI Z359 is the fall protection code, not the standard that governs flagging or high-visibility garments.
Card 14
A crane is lifting a bundle of long steel beams past a scaffold, and the load has started to rotate toward it. What is the BEST way to control the load's rotation?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Tag lines let workers control a load's rotation from a distance, outside its path and clear of pinch points.
BRiding a load is prohibited; workers may be hoisted only on an approved personnel platform.
CPushing the load by hand from the scaffold puts workers between a moving load and a fixed structure, a classic caught-between exposure.
DFaster hoisting adds swing and reduces control rather than stopping the rotation.
Card 15
A crawler crane's counterweight swings within 2 feet of a stockpile where laborers pick up formwork supplies. What control does OSHA require for this hazard?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ATraining depends on every laborer remembering to check, and it leaves the crush zone open to anyone who forgets.
BCorrect: OSHA requires the accessible area within the swing radius of the rotating superstructure to be barricaded so no one is caught by the counterweight.
CA horn relies on workers hearing and reacting in time, and it does not keep anyone out of the crush zone.
DSigns warn but do not physically keep workers out of the counterweight's swing area as the rule requires.
Card 16
A dump truck will raise its bed near an overhead distribution line that the utility confirms is energized at 13.8 kV. What minimum clearance must be kept between the raised bed and the line?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ASix feet is the construction fall protection trigger height, not a clearance from energized overhead lines.
BCorrect: equipment such as a dump truck must stay at least 10 feet from lines rated 50 kV or less, and 13.8 kV falls in that range.
CThree feet is the scaffold clearance for insulated lines under 300 volts, not a distance for equipment near a 13.8 kV line.
DTwenty feet is the crane planning distance for lines of unknown voltage, but here the utility has confirmed the voltage.
Card 17
A crane working near an energized power line uses a dedicated spotter as its additional protective measure under 29 CFR 1926.1408. What is the spotter's role?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ARelaying signals from the cab is a signal-person task, and it keeps the spotter from watching the line clearance.
BGiving hoisting signals splits the spotter's attention, while the role requires watching the clearance as the sole duty.
CCorrect: a dedicated spotter's only job is watching the separation between the line and the equipment, load line and load, in continuous contact with the operator.
DHandling a tag line pulls the spotter's eyes to the load and away from the clearance the role exists to watch.
Talking point 05
Equipment on the ground and in traffic
On the ground, 29 CFR 1926.600 and 1926.602 set the basics for loaders, dozers, scrapers and haulers: seat belts on earthmoving machines that have rollover protective structures, blades and buckets fully lowered or blocked when not in use, and wheels chocked with the parking brake set when equipment is parked on an incline.
In traffic, controls follow the layout of a temporary traffic control zone: an advance warning area that tells drivers what is ahead, a transition area that moves them out of the closed lane, an activity area with a buffer space before the work space, and a termination area that returns them to normal driving. 29 CFR 1926.200 to 1926.202 cover the signs, signals, flaggers and barricades inside it.
Does OSHA's crane standard define a critical lift?
No. Subpart CC has extra rules for particular situations, such as hoisting personnel (1926.1431), multiple-crane lifts (1926.1432) and work near power lines, but it sets no percentage-of-capacity line for a critical lift. Contractors that use the term define it in their own lift-planning procedure.
Who can act as a signal person?
Someone whose qualification has been evaluated and documented under 29 CFR 1926.1428: they know the signals, understand basic crane operation and load dynamics, and have shown the skills. Hand signals follow the standard method in Appendix A to Subpart CC unless the crew agrees on a non-standard method before the lift.