Lift plan
Also called Lifting plan
A documented plan for a lifting operation, prepared or approved by the appointed person, setting out the sequence of work, the crane and equipment to be used, ground conditions and protection measures, exclusion zones, and the roles and responsibilities of those involved. A lift plan is required for anything beyond the most basic, repetitive lifting operations.
In practice
The ground section is the part that most often reads thinnest. A usable lift plan names the governing outrigger reaction and the configuration it came from, the allowable ground bearing pressure and where that figure came from, the matting specified against those two numbers, and the set-up position they all apply to. A line saying “mats to be used” records an intention, not a check.
Where this comes from: UK lifting operations practice as contractors operate it; the content and depth appropriate to a given lift is the appointed person’s judgement.
Where it matters on site
A lift plan is also the place a gap can be stated honestly. Where the ground bearing capacity has not been established, saying so — and naming what will be done about it, whether that is an investigation, a working platform or a temporary works design — is worth more than an assumed figure that later reads as if it had been verified.