What is the difference between a lift plan and a method statement? A method statement describes how the work will be carried out, step by step. A lift plan is the lifting-specific engineering document covering the load, crane, configuration, rigging, ground conditions and personnel. Both sit alongside a risk assessment. Together the three are commonly called RAMS.
The main contractor has asked you to “submit RAMS before the lift”. The crane is booked, the date is on the programme, and you are looking at a blank page.
We see the consequence of this at the other end. A customer books a crane, the RAMS gets rejected three days out, and now we are holding a machine for a date that is not going to happen.
The good news is that a compliant submission is not mysterious. It is a specification, and this page sets it out. What it will not do is give you a template to fill in, and there is a reason for that which we explain at the end.
RAMS: the three documents people submit as one
“RAMS” is shorthand for three separate documents. Most rejections happen because somebody submitted one file trying to do the job of all three.
| Document | What it answers | Who typically produces it |
|---|---|---|
| Risk Assessment | What could go wrong, who is at risk, what controls are in place, what residual risk remains | HSE officer, with input from the appointed person |
| Method Statement | How the work will be done, step by step, by whom, with what equipment | Site or project engineer |
| Lift Plan | The lifting engineering: load, crane, configuration, radius, capacity check, rigging, ground, exclusion zone, personnel | The appointed person |
Say it plainly, because it is the sentence that fixes most rejected submissions:
A method statement is not a lift plan, and a lift plan is not a risk assessment.
A method statement that says “the crane will lift the chiller onto the roof using appropriate rigging” is describing a lift, not planning one. It contains no capacity check, no radius, no ground assessment and no rigging specification. A reviewer will reject it, correctly.
Who does what: the roles in a lifting operation
The most common misunderstanding on UAE sites is that the crane operator plans the lift. He does not, and he should not be asked to.
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Appointed person | Plans and controls the lifting operation. Selects the crane and method, checks capacity against the load chart, assesses ground conditions, produces the lift plan, and has authority over the operation |
| Lift supervisor | Supervises execution of the plan on the day. Confirms conditions match the plan and stops the lift if they do not |
| Crane operator | Operates the crane. Has the standing authority to refuse a lift he considers unsafe |
| Slinger / signaller | Attaches and detaches the load, selects and inspects rigging, directs the crane by hand signal or radio |
| Banksman | Directs vehicle and machine movement on site. A different role from the slinger, and one that gets confused constantly |
The appointed person deserves its own paragraph. This is a distinct competence from crane operation, and it is the role that carries responsibility for the lift being possible before anyone touches a control. On a small job the appointed person may also supervise on the day. On a complex lift those are two different people.
Your crane supplier does not provide the appointed person. Your site foreman is not the appointed person by default. If you cannot name yours, you do not yet have a lift plan.
The banksman and slinger confusion is worth clearing up here because it appears on submissions constantly. A banksman guides a reversing lowbed through your gate. A slinger rigs the load and signals the crane. Different training, different competence, different role in the plan. There is more detail in our separate guide on what a banksman does.
What goes in a lift plan
This is the specification. A reviewer is checking for these items, so build your plan around them.
Load
- Description of the item being lifted
- Verified weight, with the method of verification stated
- Dimensions
- Centre of gravity
- Certified lifting points, and confirmation the load can be lifted from them
A note on that word “verified”. “Approx. 3 tonnes” is the single most common reason a lift plan comes back. Weight must come from documentation such as a manufacturer’s data sheet or delivery note, from weighing, or from calculation off drawings with the calculation shown. Not from a guess on site.
- Make, model and configuration
- Counterweight fitted
- Boom length and any jib
- Capacity at the actual working radius, read from the load chart
- Utilisation percentage, meaning the load as a proportion of the rated capacity in that configuration
Positions
- Pick point and set-down point
- Working radius at both
- Required hook height
- Slew arc, and what the load passes over
Ground
- Surface type at the crane position
- Bearing capacity
- Calculated outrigger loads
- Mats and spreaders specified, with dimensions
- Structural sign-off where the crane sets up on a suspended slab, podium deck or basement roof
Rigging
- Every sling, shackle, spreader beam and eyebolt listed
- Sling angles, and the effect on tension
- Working load limit of every component
- Certificate references for each item
Environment
- Wind limit for that configuration and that load
- Overhead obstructions and adjacent structures
- Services, including DEWA overhead lines and buried utilities
- Exclusion zone, dimensioned, not described as “adequate”
Personnel
- Named appointed person, lift supervisor, operator, slinger or signaller and banksman
- Competence evidence for each
Sequence
- The lift, step by step, from arrival to set-down and demobilisation
Contingency
- Stop conditions, meaning what makes the team abort
- Emergency and rescue arrangements
- What happens if the load cannot be landed as planned
Documentation attached
- Crane third-party inspection certificate
- Rigging certificates
- Operator certification
- Insurance
What goes in a method statement
The method statement is the narrative document. It covers:
- Scope of works, meaning what is being done and where
- Sequence of operations from mobilisation to demobilisation
- Plant and equipment to be used
- Personnel, roles and competence
- PPE requirements
- Permits required and who obtains them
- Interfaces with other trades and how they are managed
- Site-specific access, constraints and delivery arrangements
- Emergency arrangements, assembly points and contacts
One rule dominates all of it: it must describe your site, not a template site.
Reviewers read a lot of these, and a generic method statement is recognisable within thirty seconds. If your document could apply to any job in any emirate, it will be rejected, and the reviewer will read everything else you submit with more suspicion.
Name the actual location. Reference the actual access route and gate. Describe the actual constraints, whether that is a live road, an occupied building, a night access window or a neighbouring plot.
Lift categories: routine, standard and critical
How much documentation you need depends on the lift, and the tiering is broadly standard across the industry.
Routine or basic lifts. Repetitive, low risk, well understood, using the same equipment in the same conditions. Often covered by a generic lift plan reviewed periodically rather than rewritten each time.
Standard lifts. Task-specific lift plan required, prepared for that particular operation.
Critical or complex lifts. A detailed engineered plan, usually requiring additional review and often third-party verification.
Here is what typically escalates a lift to the critical category on a Dubai project:
- Tandem lifts using two cranes
- Blind lifts, where the operator cannot see the load or the landing point
- Lifts over live roads, occupied buildings or adjacent property
- Lifts near DEWA overhead power lines
- Lifts from or onto suspended slabs, podium decks and basement roofs
- Loads at high utilisation of the crane’s rated capacity in that configuration
- Large-surface-area loads that are wind-critical: cladding panels, hoardings, glazing, signage
- Personnel lifting, meaning lifting people rather than loads
If two or more of those apply to your lift, assume critical and plan accordingly. It is considerably cheaper to over-document a lift than to have one rejected.
The approval workflow in the UAE
The sequence usually runs like this.
Prepare. The appointed person produces the lift plan; the engineer produces the method statement; HSE produces the risk assessment.
Internal review. Your own HSE and engineering sign-off before anything is submitted.
Main contractor HSE review. Usually the toughest gate, and the one that returns the most comments.
Client or consultant review, where the contract requires it.
Developer or free zone authority. Trakhees for JAFZA, Dubai World Central and Nakheel-governed areas, DDA for TECOM zones, and developer-specific regimes elsewhere. On oil and gas assets, ADNOC applies its own requirements.
Permit to work issued against the approved documents.
Pre-lift briefing on the day, with the whole lifting team.
Running in parallel and on its own timeline: the RTA movement permit for getting the crane to site. That is a separate application with a separate lead time, and it does not wait for your RAMS approval. See rta.ae.
Submit early. A rejected RAMS three days before a booked crane is an expensive lesson, because the machine is booked, the permit window is fixed, and the programme date is not moving to accommodate a document revision. Reviewers return comments. Build a revision cycle into your schedule rather than hoping for a first-time approval.
Nine reasons lift plans get rejected
Each with the fix.
- Unverified load weight. “Approx. 3 tonnes” is not a weight. Fix: state the weight and how it was verified.
- No capacity check against the load chart at the actual working radius. Quoting the crane’s rated capacity is not a capacity check. Fix: show the chart figure for your radius and configuration, and the utilisation percentage.
- Ground bearing pressure not addressed. Fix: calculate outrigger loads, specify mats, and get structural sign-off on any suspended structure.
- Generic copy-paste method statement. Fix: rewrite it for this site, naming the actual access, constraints and interfaces.
- No named appointed person, or no competence evidence. Fix: name them and attach the evidence.
- Rigging listed without WLLs or certificates. Fix: list every component with its working load limit and certificate reference, and include sling angles.
- Exclusion zone not dimensioned. “Adequate barriers” is not a dimension. Fix: give measurements and show it on a sketch.
- No wind limit stated for the configuration. Fix: state the limit for that machine, configuration and load, and note that large-surface-area loads become critical well below the machine’s general limit.
- No emergency, rescue or contingency arrangements. Fix: state the stop conditions, the rescue arrangement, and what happens if the load cannot be landed.
If you check your draft against those nine before you submit, you will remove most of the comments a reviewer would have written.
What your crane supplier provides, and what you must produce
| The supplier provides | You produce |
|---|---|
| The crane, in the agreed configuration | The lift plan |
| A licensed, competent crane operator | The method statement |
| The machine’s load chart | The site-specific risk assessment |
| Third-party inspection certificate for the crane | The named appointed person |
| Certificates for the supplied rigging gear | The slinger, signaller and banksman |
| Machine specifications, weights and outrigger loads | Verified load data and lifting points |
| Third-party liability insurance | Ground conditions data and structural sign-off |
| Operator certification | Permits, NOCs and the exclusion zone |
Read the left column again. What a supplier gives you is the information you need to build the lift plan, not the plan itself.
That split is not us avoiding work. The appointed person has to be someone with authority over your site, your programme and your load, and a rental company standing outside your organisation cannot hold that authority. Any supplier offering to produce your lift plan for you without a proper appointed person appointment is offering you something that will not survive a serious review.
We provide machine specifications, load charts and certificates at quotation stage precisely so your appointed person can start planning before the crane is confirmed. See our services page for the full equipment range, or mobile crane rental in Dubai for what comes as standard on that fleet. Accreditation of the inspecting bodies themselves is governed by EIAC.
On the day: from plan to lift
The plan is a document until the pre-lift briefing turns it into an operation.
Hold the briefing with the entire lifting team present. Appointed person or lift supervisor, operator, slinger, banksman, and anyone working inside the exclusion zone. Everyone hears the same plan at the same time.
Confirm that conditions match the plan. Same load, same weight, same crane, same configuration, same ground. If any of those changed, the plan changed.
Check the wind. Against the limit for this configuration and this load, not against a general feeling that it seems fine.
Confirm the exclusion zone is set up to the dimensions in the plan, and that it will be maintained through the operation.
Verify the machine matches the plan. Make, model, configuration, and the serial number on the third-party certificate. This takes a minute and it is the last chance to catch a substitution.
Trial lift where appropriate, lifting the load slightly clear to confirm weight, balance and rigging behaviour before committing.
And the standing rule underneath all of it: the operator and the appointed person both have authority to stop the lift if anything differs from the plan. Not to raise a concern. To stop it. That authority has to be real and stated in the briefing, or it will not be used when it matters.
FAQs
What is the difference between a lift plan and a method statement? A method statement describes how the work will be carried out, step by step. A lift plan is the lifting-specific engineering document covering load data, crane selection and configuration, capacity at the working radius, rigging, ground conditions, exclusion zone and personnel. Both sit alongside a risk assessment.
What does RAMS stand for? Risk Assessment and Method Statement. In practice, a lifting submission includes three documents: the risk assessment, the method statement and the lift plan. Submitting one document that tries to serve all three purposes is the most common cause of rejection.
Who prepares a lift plan? A competent appointed person. This is a distinct competence from operating a crane, and it carries responsibility for planning and controlling the lifting operation. If nobody in your organisation holds it, that competence needs to be brought in before the lift is planned.
What is an appointed person in lifting operations? The person who plans and controls the lift: selecting the crane and method, checking capacity against the load chart at the working radius, assessing ground conditions, producing the lift plan, and holding authority over the operation on the day.
What makes a lift a critical lift? Typically: tandem lifts with two cranes, blind lifts, lifts over live roads or occupied buildings, lifts near overhead power lines, lifts from or onto suspended slabs and podium decks, loads at high utilisation of rated capacity, wind-critical large-surface-area loads, and any lifting of personnel.
Does the crane rental company provide the lift plan? No. The supplier provides the crane, a certified operator, the load chart, machine specifications, third-party inspection certificates and rigging certificates, which is the information needed to build the plan. The lift plan itself, the appointed person and the site-specific risk assessment sit with the hirer or main contractor.
How long before the lift should RAMS be submitted? Earlier than you think. The drivers are the number of review stages, whether a developer or free zone authority is involved, whether the lift is categorised as critical, and how many revision cycles the reviewer’s comments generate. Build revision time into the programme rather than assuming first-time approval.
What is the difference between a banksman and a slinger or signaller? A banksman directs vehicle and machine movement on site, for example guiding a reversing lowbed. A slinger or signaller attaches and detaches the load, selects and inspects rigging, and directs the crane during the lift. Different roles, different training, and both may be needed on the same job.
The lift plan is where the lift actually happens
The crane just executes it. Everything that determines whether the operation is safe was decided on paper days earlier, by someone competent, with a load chart open in front of them.
One deliberate omission on this page: we have not published a downloadable lift plan template. A generic template completed by someone without the competence to complete it is exactly the failure this article warns about, and it would create real risk for the person using it. What we have published instead is the contents specification, so you know what a good plan contains and can judge the one in front of you.
If you need the inputs, we supply machine specifications, load charts, outrigger loadings and third-party certificates at quotation stage so your appointed person can plan before the crane is confirmed. Call our lifting desk on 056 857 8181 or 054 581 9331, WhatsApp +971 56 857 8181, or use our contact page. More on how we work is on the about page, and the wider fleet, including boom lifts and IPAF training, is on our services page.