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ConstructionRigging a steel beam so it cannot shift
Workers will hook the beam, guide it and make the first connection while it hangs over their heads. You are the qualified rigger: you rig it so it cannot move out of place on the way up, with the slings used the way the rule allows. Your rigging is what keeps the fall zone safe for the people who must be in it.
Free to startScenarios
- Workers will hook, unhook or guide the beam inside the fall zone.
- The beam hangs in a basket hitch.
- The beam could rotate while it is hoisted.
The steps
- Rig the beam yourself as the qualified rigger whenever workers hook, unhook or guide it in the fall zone, or make its first connection to the structure.
- Rig it so it cannot be unintentionally displaced.
- In a basket hitch, balance the load so it does not slip.
- Never shorten a sling with knots, bolts or other makeshift devices, and keep the sling legs free of kinks.
- Never form an eye in a wire rope sling with wire rope clips or knots.
- Use a tag line or restraint line if needed to keep the beam from rotating in a hazardous way.
- Take up the load smoothly: shock loading is prohibited.
- The crane lifts the beam; it never drags or pulls it sideways.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Shock loading is prohibited.
- The equipment is not used to drag or pull loads sideways.
To pass
- The beam rigged by a qualified rigger: a degree, certificate or professional standing, or extensive knowledge, training and experience, with the proven ability to solve problems in this kind of rigging.
- Nothing shifts when the beam leaves the ground and travels.
- The slings used only in ways the rule allows.
Official source
Federal · OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.1425 and 1926.251
29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, Cranes and derricks in construction
GovInfo publishes 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC free: 1926.1425(c) says when a qualified rigger must rig the load and that it must be rigged so it cannot be unintentionally displaced.
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