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The Edge of Risk Podcast by IRMI
Raising the Bar, Encore: Roles, Planning & Execution for Crane & Rigging Operations
00:23:04
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- [00:06]
A
Welcome to the Edge of Risk podcast. I'm your host, Joel Appebomb, the Chief Content Officer for ermi. And today we are pleased to welcome Hank Dutton, senior Technical Specialist at Travelers Insurance and Certified lift Director. Stay tuned for what we like to call an encore of a very popular presentation that was given at the 2025 ERMI Construction Risk Conference on the subject of cranes and rigging operations. And over a decade ago, before I joined ermia, I actually ran a construction insurance program and we did rigging. So, Hank, thank you for joining us today and thank you again for a presentation at our Construction Risk Conference last November in Indianapolis. Honestly, we just got such great feedback on your session. We appreciate you joining us here today to expand further on this topic for our podcast audience.
- [00:59]
B
Hey, Joel, thanks for having me today. It's great to continue the conversation.
- [01:02]
A
Well, awesome.
- [01:04]
B
All right.
- [01:04]
A
For our listeners who weren't there at the conference and as a quick reset for those who were, why are cranes uniquely risky?
- [01:13]
B
Well, you know, I like to think, you know, that they're really not uniquely risky, but I guess they are. It's weirdly what I call a classic low frequency, high severity exposure. You know, they concentrate enormous potential energy high, high above people and assets. And when things go wrong, it's rarely small and insignificant. As a matter of fact, they're generally pretty expensive. You know, crane losses can involve property damage, injury to personnel. They can impact multiple lines of coverage, including workers compensation, general liability, inland marine as well as excess. So, you know, those losses can involve major dollars, you know, and there's also many elements and areas involved in crane operations where even small mistakes can lead to catastrophic results. Those involved in crane operations really should understand topics such as load charts, rigging. Like you mentioned, you know that your company used to do ground bearing capacities, communication, how weather affects crane and rigging operations, just to mention a few. And it's really not just in that end of the operation. Risk can also live on paper. And what I mean by that is the rental agreements. The rental agreements often allocate who's responsible for direction and control of the work, which we don't always think about. It's also important because it can shift liability before an accident. Really. Put simply, cranes combine a thin technical margin, dynamic site conditions, and contractual complexity. So really, it comes down to role clarity, contract alignment, and being sure that this stuff is established before the work begins and actually translated into the planning and execution of the work.
- [02:58]
A
Awesome. You mentioned a lot of coverages there early on, and that one you didn't mention. Was maybe builder's risk. Right. But the paper controls it all, whether it's the contract or the coverages. So you've chosen to center your reprise on the crane rental agreement and its impact on two very specific areas. How contract language can shape roles and responsibilities of those involved in crane operations and how risk transfer clauses can affect who is responsible if there is a claim. So let's start there for our audience, can we?
- [03:34]
B
Yeah. So, you know, I generally start with the contract because it's really where the work begins. It usually establishes the terms, if you will, that the parties that are involved have agreed to perform the work under. So those terms can include not only who's going to provide the crane, which you would expect, but many times will also specify who's going to operate the crane as well as who's going to be responsible for that operator. And many times that's not necessarily who you think it is, you know, and post incident reviews that I've been involved in over the years. Many times the findings follow that paper. That rental agreement, when contract terms in the field practice seem to diverge, exposure typically lands with that lessee. So it's really important that when that lessee rents a crane, that they understand what the contract says and that that's what they follow.
- [04:26]
A
Sure. And I think, you know, when you get out on the site, there's a lot of people involved in a lift. Right. So for orientation, can you highlight some of the roles that should be addressed in the contract? And which of those roles do you commonly see are not addressed in a lifting operation?
- [04:45]
B
That's a great question. Well, let's start with your first question. As far as the roles, the roles that should be addressed are actually referenced in documents referred to as ASME B35 for mobile cranes and B33 for tower cranes. And these are actually safety standards. And within those documents, the reason why these get incorporated into contracts is because they're incorporated as a standard of care that the two parties have agreed to comply with or to actually perform the work within. So as we dive into those standards, like you would expect, the crane operator, his or her role and responsibility is defined, but it's the other ones that we tend to find that maybe people are not as aware of and realize that these have actually been around ever since going back around 2007 is when they were first defined in B30 standards. So what that includes is like the crane owner. So this is the party that has custodial control over the crane by virtue of lease or ownership. So they have a responsibility to the operation. And it's really things such as like providing a crane that meets the user's requested configuration and capacity. So they got to understand what is the user asking for. They're the ones that are providing the load charts, the diagrams, they're establishing inspection and maintenance procedures. They're also a technical resource when it comes to things specifically about that crane. Another one, the crane user. This is the party that arranges for the crane's presence on the work site. And they actually control the crane while on the site. So their responsibilities are things like ensuring the crane is in proper operating condition by verifying that they've got the appropriate document before they allow work to begin. They've got things like ensuring that qualified operators and inspectors are used, ensuring maintenance and inspection are performed, which will be a topic that we'll probably talk about at least during this podcast, at least once, and then verifying the crane has sufficient capacity to perform the work they expect it to perform. But I would say probably the next two pretty important ones. Site supervisor. This is who exercises supervisory control over the work site. And many times we don't think that a supervisor has a responsibility to the crane operation, but in fact they do. So they've got things such as ensuring that the crane meets inspection requirements, ensuring that a qualified lift director is assigned, ensuring site activities that can impact crane operations are coordinated. Because as you can imagine on a site, there's many different operations ongoing at the same time. Ensuring the area for the crane operation is adequately prepared, ground condition type stuff, ensuring a qualified operator is used and then not to leave it off, but ensuring that the conditions that may adversely affect crane operations, that they're actually getting those addressed. Sort of like where the buck stops. The lift director be the last one I'll mention because this is who directly oversees the work being performed by crane and the associated rigging crew. And their responsibilities include, first of all, being on the site while that work is being performed. So it's not someone off site, it's someone directly there. They're the ones that are looked to to halt crane operations. When they're alerted that there may be conditions that could affect safe crane operations. They're verifying that work has been done, such as the crane area has been prepped, appropriately appointing the signal person, ensuring traffic controls are in place, as well as ensuring that the rigging work that is being performed by a competent person. So as you see, there's many different roles that are involved that we may not necessarily have thought about prior to. And by reading the Contract. This is where you can learn a little bit about this. And I know it's sort of a long answer, but let me go back to your second question and just to refresh everybody. As for the roles that I commonly see that are not addressed in lifting operations, it's those last two. It's that site supervisor and the lift director that I commonly see. They're either not addressed or they're not understood by contractors involved in these lifting operations. And this really should be an area of focus for contractors out there so that those people that work for them that are involved in these operations, that they understand who's responsible for what. Because these lifts that we're talking about is all lifts and these roles are involved in all lift operations, not just those that a project team may consider to be critical.
- [09:20]
A
Yeah. I can tell you as a home office underwriter for construction operations, in the past, several of the largest and worst losses I've ever seen as an underwriter in my lifetime involve cranes. So I think it really is important that we pay attention. And I want to ask you, which rental agreement clause do you find more commonly overlooked and. Or misunderstood when it comes to roles and responsibilities?
- [09:49]
B
You know, sort of along the same lines as that previous question. I would say that clauses that deal with who's responsible for supervising the operator and who's responsible for ground conditions, there's two key areas that contractors can begin to put focus to. Many crane rental agreements often put day to day responsibility of supervising the operator on the lessee, which is not necessarily who people might think it is. And that's even when the operator comes with the crane. And this is where I see the ball gets dropped as the site supervisor's unaware of their role and responsibility in crane operations. Also great, Hank.
- [10:27]
A
I think it'd be helpful to expand on ground conditions. So specifically, where do projects get tripped up there? You know, what do you mean by ground conditions and what are the concerns?
- [10:39]
B
Yeah, that's actually a huge topic. It's where a lot of losses can be attributed to. So I would say that many times I see projects get tripped up around ground conditions when the rental agreement assumes between. I guess, really why, what the rental agreement assumes that people already know and what happens on site, and then those two don't really align with each other. I hear many times that contractors assume that the crane company is the one that owns the ground conditions, and that's actually inaccurate. It's really key for contractors to understand simple things, or I guess what I'll call basic topics like osha because within OSHA there is a term called controlling entity. And that controlling entity is the one that has a duty around ground conditions. And just to be clear, for those that are listening in today, the controlling entity is defined as the party that has the overall responsibility for the project, including its planning, its quality, and its completion. And so that's within an OSHA definition. OSHA requires that the controlling entity has to ensure that the ground is suitable, which means firm, graded, supportable, and to inform the Ukraine user and the operator that about known subsurface hazards. Think about things like voids, utilities or tanks that might be unseen to the naked eye, but yet they're available in documentation that this controlling entity may have. So the duty can pull a contractor into a claim even when they don't hire it directly. Because we typically think of controlling entity, general contractors, construction managers, prime contractors, that's the one that would have that overall duty. So in osha, in addition to that OSHA requirement, many crane rental agreements even reinforce who's responsible for ground conditions. Another good reason to read the contract. It's important for what is agreed to in the contract is also addressed in the lift plan and that pre lift huddle, you know, pre work meeting that our contractors out in the field should be having. So I encourage contractors to actually spell out who verified the bearing capacity, the Mac cribbing, sizing the level tolerances for the crane, make that part of the lift plan itself. It's also important to remember what we discussed earlier about site supervisor and the lift director around those specific topics of ground prep, because you could sort of see how they sort of tie together. You know, there's one other thing that I guess I would bring up around that, you know, is contractors can encounter issues when those involved actually skip confirming that. So maybe they know that the work needs to be done, maybe they skip it unintentionally, of course, but nobody's verified that the pad is firm, drained, graded, you know, things that can change due to that weather element or you know, that the known subsurface hazards were actually communicated by that controlling entity. So, you know, best practice is to try to get written confirmation that the pad meets the support level specifications and the subsurface information has been shared between all parties because really these type losses can affect all parties to some extent. So bottom line, you know, you really want to try to take and turn that rental agreement and those assignments that are into it more into visible evidence before that first lift occurs. Those contract elements I like to think of, that's part of the lift Plan. Your story of your lift plan needs to match actually what you do in the field on the crane pad itself.
- [14:18]
A
Great answer. I thought that was excellent. I'd love it if you could give an example where the contract said one thing and site practice did another. I know there might be more than one example of that. And also, what was the liability outcome and what's the fix?
- [14:37]
B
Yeah, I think examples speak volumes in our industry. Like we said in the onset, you know, it's not a frequency type of loss, it's a severity type of loss. So trying to have a couple of examples, you know, I mean, I can recall a collapse involving a rented crane where the rental terms favored. The crane company contractor, I guess was unaware of their duties to supervise the operator and in that instance, liability attached to the contractor because the contract name duties, those that we just mentioned, like ground conditions and control of the operator, they weren't matched in practice. So that's where knowing the contract and executing accordingly is important. Another example, I guess a situation where a contractor assumed having a rented crane with an operator actually equaled the lessor owned the upkeep of the piece of equipment, or they also owned the proper inspections and the maintenance of the piece of equipment and then they weren't completed. Many rental agreements still leave that day to day responsibility with the lessee, even with that operator that's coming out. So this is why it's so important that we not make assumptions. Because if the project team assumes the crane company's taking care of maintenance and inspection and all the paperwork, well then the crane company is assuming just the opposite, then those type things fall through the crack. And in the event of a loss, it's not going to be good news for any of the parties involved. So I guess the fix for many of these situations, read the rental agreement, align the lift plan to that rental agreement and brief the leadership, meaning the field leadership, on who's responsible for what and holding those people accountable for what that contract says.
- [16:24]
A
Great. I guess. Staying on the topic of fixes, what does good training look like and who needs it?
- [16:32]
B
Yeah, I like to talk about fixes. I like to think, you know, that if we find problems that we definitely have solutions out there. As I said at the outset, often contractors don't really fully grasp what they're signing up for. In a crane rental, the agreement typically is going to expect qualified people and defined roles. So good training really should involve people being contract aware and understand what their role is. So for example, crane operators, they need to be trained, certified or licensed, depending on which state they're operating in. And they have to be evaluated by their employer before operating that equipment. And that's directly out of what OSHA requires signal persons. We're talking about people that need to be qualified, whether it's through a third party or an employer evaluator, they need to be qualified before they begin giving signals for the cranes and for the type of crane that they're actually given signals for riggers, lift directors, site supervisors, those other terms that we've already mentioned in today's podcast, those people have qualification requirements like they have to either be qualified, some have to be qualified and competent. So you need to understand what the benchmark is based upon, what the standard requires. So we're talking about knowledge and authority so they can even execute what their duties are in that rental agreement. And since I've done this for so long, I mean 30 plus years of working in and around this crane business, training is really key for those involved in crane operations, including management personnel. As crane knowledge is not intuitive, you can have a crane on the site and still not have the appropriate knowledge necessary to manage the risk. So ensuring that the contract's assignments like who's going to do what and who's going to verify what, that stuff needs to be baked into the lift plan, put into the pre lift meeting prior to the work actually being executed out in the field.
- [18:26]
A
Yeah, I have to say a competent person has always been a little bit confusing to me, but so I'd like to know for our listeners, what does an aligned and prepared crane crew look like on the day of the lift?
- [18:39]
B
So that's a great question. I would say it's when everyone knows the plan and their role. Right. That their people are named, they're qualified, they're following the same lift plan with clear work stop triggers, you know, know what the hazards are, know when things are not going right and that they need to actually call a timeout. By being on the same page, it definitely can help prevent a lift from actually going wrong. It can actually help keep a lift being uneventful, meaning they can have a successful lift. And this alignment that we're talking about of the crew itself, it really should reflect what the rental agreement assigns to that day to day operation. When the contract controls things that people have agreed to up the line actually match the field control, it's really going to help when it comes to, you know, in the event of a claim, it's going to help reduce the possibility of finger pointing and bad losses that can occur.
- [19:38]
A
Great. You know, Hank, before we close. I always love it if you can kind of look into the future a little bit and say, what are the key takeaways listeners should leave with regarding rental agreements, roles and field execution?
- [19:58]
B
Another good question there, Joel. You know, as we've sort of emphasized throughout the call, the rental agreement is the map. It begins at the very beginning. So let that rental agreement be the map for the work that has to go on the site from the preparation all the way through the execution. Contract terms should be followed so that things align, because in the event of a claim, those rental terms could impact who's going to ultimately be responsible because it's what was agreed to in the very beginning. So that's, I guess, the first thing I would offer. Second, if your company is a controlling entity as defined by OSHA standards, and remember those parties that meet general contractor, construction manager, prime contractors, for example, ensure your employees understand their role in ensuring ground conditions are suitable and adequate for crane operations on your project sites because you may not realize that you have a responsibility to that crane and rigging operation. And then I guess the third thing that I would say that I still continually hear and see in industry, getting more people to understand renting cranes with an operator does not equal risk transfer in many cases. You know, the parties that are involved in crane operations should understand the roles and responsibilities that are outlined in ASME B 30.5 for mobile cranes, B. 30.3 for tower cranes, as well as other parts of the contract, and ensure that their personnel follow them because that's what's being agreed to. That's that safety standard. That's that standard of care that many times I see in crane rental agreements.
- [21:37]
A
Awesome. I think one other thing I'd throw in there about roles is right talking with your insurance carrier and talking with your insurance broker to make sure you have the right coverages in place. And Hank, that was an awesome reprise of your excellent presentation at our 2025 construction risk conference. And so as we conclude today's episode, I do want to extend a special thank you to Hank Dutton and Travelers Insurance Hank for your presentation and Travelers Insurance for their sponsorship at ERMI's 2025 Construction Risk Conference. Tom, we greatly appreciate the support and your support and participation and being part of our podcast. You're investing in a platform that amplifies voices and issues and ideas that matter in our industry to make it safer and better. So really appreciate that we invite our listeners to register for this year's Construction Risk Conference, which will be in Washington, D.C. they can go to ermi.com if they wish to attend and hear from other experts or and experts like Hank on current and evolving topics. And of course, you can always go to ermi.com and use your subscription product if you want to learn more about safe lifting. Until next time, thanks for listening.