When companies need to use cranes  for lifting but don’t have their own cranes, there are two ways that they can access the cranes for the duration of their project. CPA Crane Hire or Contract Lifting.

This article outlines the difference between the two.

What is CPA crane hire?

Crane hire is where a person or company hires a crane and often a crane operator for lifting purposes.

The Construction Plant Hire Association (CPA) is the UK’s lead trade association for the construction plant hire sector. They provide the basis for Model Conditions and lay out terms and conditions that plant hire companies must adhere to.

Regarding crane hire, the hirer is fully responsible for the crane and its equipment as soon as it arrives on the customer’s site.

The customer also provides qualified lifting personnel. Such as slinger/signallers (riggers) to sling the loads and direct the crane operators, crane supervisors to supervise lifting operations, and an Appointed Person to create the lift plan. This makes them fully responsible for all the lifting.

The hirer is also liable for injury, loss, and damage to property or machinery during lifting operations. So, they must have appropriate insurance to cover them in case of these instances.

What are the benefits of crane hire?

The organisation/person hiring a crane has more control over the lifting operations than during a contract lift. They might have a blueprint of how they like things done across all their projects. This is particularly useful for large ongoing projects.

To summarise

• The crane hirer is fully responsible for the lifting
• Hirer is fully responsible for equipment as soon as it gets on their site/property. And they must comply with LOLER and BS7121
• Must have insurance to protect against damage to the machine
• Liable for injury, loss, damage to property or machinery during lifting operations
• Must provide Appointed Person, crane supervisors, and slingers
• Useful for large, ongoing projects

What is contract lifting?

Contract lifting is a service that allows customers to outsource everything involved with lifting.

That means an external company (usually a crane rental company) provides the crane and lift plan, as well as all lifting personnel. That includes the crane operator, slingers, crane supervisor, and appointed person.

This makes the contractor fully responsible making sure all the lifting is carried out properly, and responsible for the machinery, equipment, and lifting personnel. Therefore, they must have adequate insurance.

What are the benefits of contract lifts?

Because the contractor/crane hire company bears all the responsibility, there is significantly less risk and financial costs for the customer. They also experience less pressure and workload because of the limited participation, leaving the customer time to go about the own work.

To summarise

• The crane hire company plans, supervises, and carries out the lifts
• The hire company also provides the crane and lifting personnel, including Appointed Person
• Crane hire company is usually responsible for the loss or damage to equipment when on customer’s site.
• Crane hire company liable for injuries.
• Usually higher upfront costs.

Here is a video explaining contract lifts and showing one in action.

Costs of both

The costs of both crane hire and contract lifts can vary greatly. Even to give a rough figure isn’t feasible, because lots of factors can determine the price.

Two examples are:

• The size of the crane
• The duration of the project

Contract lifts usually demand higher upfront costs than crane hire, because of the level of responsibility the hire company has. But crane hire will incur higher ongoing costs, because of having to supply all the lifting personnel and obtain insurance.

Hire your Appointed Person here. Click below.

Conclusion

Now that you know the differences between contract lifting and crane hire, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of both, you can make a well-informed decision on which option to choose.

Your decision will be based on many factors, such as:

• Your budget
• Your crane knowledge
• Insurance cover
• Site resources
• Type of project

The majority of crane hire companies offer both services, so you’ll be able to speak to them to discuss what’s best for you.

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