Contract lifting
We plan the lift, not just send the lorry
Most of our work is straightforward hire. You book a lorry and a driver, and the job gets done. A contract lift is the other arrangement. You hand us the whole job and we take it on, from working out how it will be done to signing off that it is safe to do it.
In practice that means we look at the job first. Where can the lorry stand, what is the ground like under the outriggers, what is overhead, what has to be moved out of the way, and in what order does each part happen. Then we write it down. You get a method statement and a risk assessment, and the man on site works to them.
The point is not the paperwork. The point is that somebody whose trade this is has thought it through before anybody starts rigging, and that if the plan needs changing on the day, changing it is our call to make.
What is included
What we take on
- A site visit before the job
- Planning the lift and the sequence it happens in
- A written method statement
- A risk assessment covering the lift and the area around it
- Choosing the vehicles and deciding how many are needed
- Our own ALLMI and CPCS trained drivers on the controls
- A second man or a banksman where the lift needs one
- Chains, slings and lifting accessories, inspected and in date
- Two lorries working together on a tandem lift where that is the right answer
- Insurance and accreditation paperwork sent ahead for your site file
The jobs that usually need it
Tanks and vessels going onto a base at a treatment works. Long insulated units and modular sections that have to be picked up at both ends. Cable drums out of a compound with no room to swing. Machines lifted out through a factory opening with inches either side. Anything where the item is worth a great deal more than the transport, or where the thing underneath it cannot be risked.
If you are not sure whether your job needs a contract lift or ordinary hire, email us and describe it. We will tell you which it is, and we will say so if the simpler option is all you need. There is no sense in you paying for planning a job that does not need planning.
Common questions
Contract lifts, answered
What is the difference between a contract lift and ordinary hire?
On ordinary hire you book a lorry and a driver and you manage the job around them. On a contract lift we take the job on. We plan how the lift will be done, write the method statement and the risk assessment, decide what vehicles and men are needed, and the responsibility sits with us.
When would I need one?
When the lift is the difficult part rather than the delivery. A heavy item going through a restricted opening, a load that needs two lorries working together, a lift over something you cannot afford to damage, or a site that will not let the work start until it has a method statement in front of it.
Do you come and look at the site first?
On anything of any size, yes. You cannot plan it properly off an email and a photograph. We come out, look at where the lorry can stand, look at the ground, look at what is overhead and work out the sequence from there.
What do you need from us?
The weight of the item if you know it, or the details so we can find out, where it is and where it is going, when the site is available and who our contact on the day is. If your site has permit or induction rules, tell us early so the paperwork is done before the lorry sets off.
Can you do a lift with two lorries?
Yes. A long or awkward item is sometimes better picked up at both ends by two vehicles working together than by one. It is planned with a set sequence and a man calling it, and it is a normal part of what we do.
How far ahead should we book?
For a straightforward job, a few days is usually enough. If it needs a site visit, a road closure or a permit from somebody else, give us a couple of weeks. Email us as soon as you know the job exists and we will tell you what it needs.
