Duties of the Crane Signaller and Slinger

Who does what in the lifting team?

In a crane lift, risk does not come only from the crane; a load that is slung incorrectly or a misunderstanding between the operator and the ground team is at least as dangerous as a crane fault. That is why every lift on a construction site or in a factory needs to be planned as a team job with defined roles. The crane signaller and the slinger are the two critical links of this team on the ground; the same person can do both jobs, but the responsibilities of the two roles must be known separately.

Under item 3.2.5 of Annex II of the Regulation on Health and Safety Requirements for the Use of Work Equipment, all lifting operations are planned so as to protect the safety of employees and are carried out under supervision. If a load is to be lifted by two cranes at the same time, arrangements are made to ensure coordination between the operators.

Legal basis: two regulations, five rules

The duties of the crane signaller and slinger are set out in two regulations. The provisions most useful on site are:

1. A guide is mandatory in blind lifts. If the operator cannot see the entire path of the load directly or with auxiliary devices, a person trained and experienced in this area is assigned to guide them (Work Equipment Reg. Annex II 3.2.3).
2. Nobody stands under a suspended load. Unless technically necessary, measures are taken to ensure nobody is under the lifted load; the load is not moved over unprotected places where employees may be present (Annex II 3.1.3).
3. Lifting accessories are selected according to the load. Accessories are selected to suit the load, the gripping points, the attachment elements and atmospheric conditions, taking into account the form and construction of the sling (Annex II 3.1.4).
4. The operator takes signals from one person, but obeys every STOP. In lifts involving several employees, the operator takes signals from only one of them; the STOP signal, however, is obeyed whoever gives it (Regulation on Health and Safety Signs, Annex 10).
5. The signaller must be visible and able to see. The signaller stands where they can follow all manoeuvres without putting themselves at risk; if this is not possible, an additional signaller is deployed. If the operator cannot safely carry out an order, they stop the manoeuvre and ask for new instructions (Annex 9, 2.2–2.5).

Slinger duties: slinging a load step by step

The slinger's job is not just hooking a rope onto the hook. Good load slinging follows this order:

1. Find out the weight. The weight of the load is verified from the label, the delivery note or the technical drawing; an "estimate by eye" is not accepted. The crane's capacity at that radius is checked together with the operator.
2. Find the centre of gravity. The hook must be directly above the centre of gravity; otherwise the load turns or slides as it is lifted.
3. Select and inspect the sling. A sling whose working load cannot be read on its label, or which is cut, crushed, knotted or heat-damaged, is not used. We described the inspection of chain, wire rope and textile slings in our article on slings, chains and lifting accessories.
4. Protect sharp edges. The corner of a section, sheet or precast concrete element cuts a textile sling; use edge protectors.
5. Calculate the sling angle. See the table below.
6. Attach a tag line. With long loads or loads that tend to rotate, guide the load with a tag line, not by hand.
7. Have a test lift carried out. The load is lifted a few centimetres and stopped; balance, sling seating and the brake are checked. If there is no problem, the lift continues.

In a two-leg sling, the force on each leg increases as the angle between the legs increases. The force on each leg is found by dividing half the load by the cosine of half the angle between the legs:

The table shows that with a 4-tonne load slung at an angle of 120 degrees, each leg carries the entire load. That is why sling manufacturers give a reduced working load according to the slinging angle; the slinger must know this table.

Crane hand signals: the codes in the regulation

Annex 9 of the Regulation on Health and Safety Signs defines coded hand signals to be used for the same manoeuvres in certain sectors. Signals must be precise, simple and clearly distinct from each other; if both arms are used, they move symmetrically, and only one signal is given per movement.

For commands given by radio, the words in Annex 8 are used: start, stop, end, up, down, forward, back, right, left, cut and quick. "Cut" is the emergency stop and "quick" is a command to speed up a movement for safety reasons. If there are employees in your team who speak different languages, verify in practice that everyone understands these words in the same way.

Blind lifts: when the operator cannot see the load

Lifts from a tower crane cab to the back of a building, behind a tall machine body with an overhead crane, or to the other side of a wall with a mobile crane are blind lifts. The following rules apply to this work:

• One channel, one voice: The radio channel is reserved only for that crane's team. Commands come only from the assigned signaller.
• Continuous communication: The signaller keeps talking as long as the load is moving. If the voice stops, the operator stops the movement; agree the rule "silence means stop" in advance.
• Handover point: If the load leaves one signaller's field of view and enters another's, the point at which, and the sentence with which, the handover is made are agreed in advance.
• Radio check: Batteries and channels are checked at the start of the shift; a spare radio is kept ready.
• Wind and visibility: If weather conditions prevent safe use, lifting of unguided loads in the open air is stopped (Annex II 3.2.7). For wind limits, see our article on cranes in strong wind.

The signaller's visibility and communication within the team

The regulation requires the operator to be able to recognise the signaller easily. The signaller wears one or more distinctive items such as a jacket, helmet, sleeves or armbands, or carries a suitable signalling device. These items should be brightly coloured, preferably all the same colour, and reserved exclusively for signallers (Annex 9, 2.6). If everyone on site wears an orange vest, giving the signaller a vest or armband of a different colour is the practical equivalent of this rule.

Before the lift starts, hold a short toolbox talk: the weight of the load, the route, the landing point, the signals to be used and the stop rule should be repeated in front of everyone. We described how to hold the talk in our article on the toolbox talk; for site layout with tower cranes, see our article on tower crane safety.

Training and competence

The regulation requires the signaller to be "trained and experienced" and lifts to be directed by "trained signallers". To document this competence, do the following:

• Give signaller and slinger candidates hands-on training covering hand signals, radio commands, sling selection and the angle calculation, and keep a record.
• Place the training within job-specific risks training according to the type of crane you use.
• Check the operator's certification separately; details are in our article on the crane operator certificate.
• Verify from current lists whether the work to be done requires vocational training or a certificate from the Vocational Qualifications Authority (MYK); our article on jobs requiring vocational training can be a starting point.

At Bursa Sistemer, in our OHS specialist service we set up lifting plans and team roles together on site. For jobs requiring a certificate, we add the 40-hour modules approved by the Ministry of National Education (MEB), delivered under our protocol with Public Education Centres, to the vocational training plan according to your business's line of production. You can find other risks on construction sites on our construction sector page. You can track the annual inspection dates of cranes, slings and lifting accessories with the OHS calendar tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a crane signaller mandatory for every lift?

If the operator can see the entire path of the load directly or with auxiliary devices, the regulation does not require a separate guide. If they cannot, assigning a trained and experienced guide is mandatory. On busy sites, using a signaller is good practice even where there is visibility.

Can the slinger and signaller be the same person?

Yes; in small lifts, the person who slings the load also gives the signals. However, once the load has been slung, this person should move to a safe point and continue signalling from there.

From whom does the operator take commands?

Only from the assigned signaller. The sole exception is the STOP signal: the operator stops whoever gives it.

Should radio or hand signals be used?

Either can be used; what matters is that a single method is used and a single person gives commands in the same lift. In a blind lift, radio is usually the only option; in that case, the channel is reserved for the crane team only.