The lift's ground crew: receive signalling, landing limits and the change response
A station crew is ready to receive a formwork load, but two foremen are giving competing instructions and the landing area now has stored material. The booking is confirmed; the actual lift-receiving arrangement is not. The ground team needs one understood coordination basis before affected movement.
The receiving crew needs the actual qualified lift arrangement, not only a crane time slot. CCOHS's signalling guidance describes trained/qualified signalling, clear communication, protecting people from the operating area and obeying stop signals from anyone. Apply the actual jurisdiction, equipment instructions and qualified lift plan. This lesson does not teach hand signals, rigging, load control, tag-line technique or permission to touch a landed load.
Receive the roles and landing arrangement before movement
- Identify the actual lift and receiving task. Connect the current load, path, landing location and affected work to the qualified lift lead and plan. Confirm that the proposed receiving condition matches what was assessed. Return stored material, changed access or another crew's presence before the movement. A booking establishes intended shared equipment time; it cannot establish landing support, load stability or the ground team's readiness.
- Receive qualified signalling and communication. Establish the actual authorized signaller arrangement, operator communication and any assessed relay or handover process. Have capable people confirm the required method works in today's conditions. Do not give competing movement instructions or improvise a relay when communication fails. Everyone must know the actual stop and concern route; a foreman's production priority cannot override a safety stop.
- Receive protection and any load-control roles. Have the necessary operating-area, landing and bystander controls implemented through competent personnel. Clarify where each receiving worker may be and when their assigned action is permitted under the plan. Any tag-line or other load-control method must be assessed and instructed for the actual conditions; it is not automatically suitable for every load. Do not stand under suspended material or use hands to improvise guidance through an unresolved arrangement.
- Keep the receiving sequence and changes understood. Confirm who controls the sequence, who receives completion and how a changed condition stops and returns the lift for appropriate review. A load appearing motionless does not establish stable landing or permission to disconnect it. Keep securing, release and rigging work with the qualified instructed process. After a communication or area concern, restart only under the actual received arrangement, not merely because the schedule is slipping.
Common mistakes
- Treating the booking as a completed receiving arrangement.
- Giving competing signals or inventing a relay during movement.
- Using a generic tag-line rule instead of the assessed method.
- Disconnecting because a load looks still rather than following the qualified sequence.
Checklist
The ground team receives
- Actual lift, landing location and current interface status.
- Qualified signalling, tested communication and handover basis.
- Implemented area protection and instructed worker positions.
- Assessed load-control and stable-landing/release sequence.
- A clear stop, review and authorized restart arrangement.
Check your understanding
Two foremen disagree about the move while the landing area changes. Is the booked slot enough to proceed?
