Steel Erection Plans and Lift Planning

A steel erection plan is the erector's written plan for putting up a steel frame safely: the order the pieces go up, which cranes and lifts are used, how each piece is rigged, how the frame is kept stable until it is complete, and who is responsible for each step. A lift plan is the detailed part of it for individual crane picks. Together they turn the erection drawings into a sequence a crew can follow on site.

This post explains what goes into each document, offers a template outline, and covers the Ontario crane and rigging rules that shape them. For the step-by-step order of work on site, see our post on the steel erection process and sequence.

Erection plan, lift plan and rigging plan

People use these terms loosely, so it helps to separate them:

On a house with one basement beam, all of this might fit on a page. On a multi-storey frame it can run to a binder. The thinking is the same.

What a steel erection plan includes: a template outline

A practical steel erection plan template covers these headings. Use it as a checklist, not a form to fill in mechanically.

1. Project and scope. Address, erection drawing numbers and revisions, what the erector is responsible for and what is excluded (deck, grout, touch-up, miscellaneous steel).
2. Site conditions. Access for trucks and cranes, laydown area, overhead power lines, adjacent buildings, ground conditions, underground services under crane locations.
3. Foundation readiness. Anchor rod survey, bearing elevations, concrete strength sign-off, levelling method.
4. Delivery and sequence. Delivery order matched to the erection sequence, staging, which bay is braced first and how the frame grows from it.
5. Cranes and hoisting. Crane type and capacity, set-up locations, the heaviest pick and the farthest pick, and which lifts need their own lift plan.
6. Rigging. Standard rigging for typical pieces, special rigging for heavy or awkward ones.
7. Stability. Temporary bracing and guying, when it can be removed, and who designed it.
8. Connections. Snug-tight versus pretensioned bolts, tightening method, field welds and the welding procedures for them.
9. Fall protection and access. How connectors reach connection points, anchor points, rescue procedures.
10. Exclusion zones and traffic. Areas closed during lifts, signage, coordination with other trades.
11. Weather limits. Wind, ice, lightning and visibility criteria for stopping work, set in advance.
12. Roles and communications. Supervisor, competent persons, crane operator, signaller, rigger, engineer contacts, radio channels.
13. Inspection and records. Bolt and weld inspection, plumbness and alignment checks, sign-offs.
14. Emergency procedures. First aid, rescue, emergency contacts and site address for responders.

Our post on steel erection safety in Ontario covers the fall protection, stability and safety plan requirements in more depth.

What goes into a steel erection lifting plan

A lift plan answers one question: can this crane, set up this way, safely pick this piece with this rigging and land it where it needs to go? A good one records:

• Total load. The piece weight from the erection drawings, plus the rigging, spreader beam, hook block and anything attached. People forget the rigging and hook block more often than anything else.
• Centre of gravity. For a symmetric beam it is at the middle. For a beam with a heavy end connection, a column with a base plate or a frame assembly it is not, and the pick points have to suit.
• Crane configuration. Boom length, counterweight, outrigger extension and the operating radius at pick-up and at set-down.
• Capacity check. The load chart capacity at the worst radius in the configuration being used, compared with the total load. Many contractors treat a lift that uses a high share of chart capacity as a critical lift needing extra review; the threshold is set by the contractor or crane provider.
• Ground and outriggers. Ground bearing, mats or blocking under outriggers, and distance from excavations and retaining walls.
• Swing path and obstructions. Power lines, buildings, other cranes, public areas.
• Rigging details. Sling type, length, rating and angle; shackles; spreader beam; lifting lugs; tag lines.
• People and signals. Operator, signaller, riggers, landing crew, and how they communicate.

Lifts that commonly get their own detailed plan include tandem lifts with two cranes, lifts near power lines, lifts over occupied areas, lifts near the limits of the crane's capacity, and long or flexible pieces that need a spreader beam.

Rigging: what is rigging in steel erection?

Rigging is everything between the hook and the steel. For a typical beam that means two slings, often choked or fitted to lifting clamps or lugs, with tag lines on the ends so the crew can control rotation as it lands.

Sling angle matters. The tension in each leg of a sling rises as the legs flatten. For a two-leg sling, each leg carries half the load divided by the sine of the angle between the leg and the horizontal:

At 30 degrees, each leg carries the full weight of the load. That is why long pieces are often picked with a spreader beam, which keeps the slings close to vertical.

Lifting lugs and attachments welded to steel pieces must be designed for the lift. If your plan relies on lugs, the engineer and fabricator need to know early so the lugs are detailed, welded and inspected in the shop rather than added on site.

Ontario crane and rigging rules that shape the plan

In Ontario, hoisting on a construction project falls under the construction regulation made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, O. Reg. 213/91. Some of the provisions that directly affect a steel lift plan:

• Operator qualifications. Most mobile and tower cranes must be run by an operator holding the appropriate hoisting engineer certificate of qualification, or a registered apprentice (s. 150).
• Rated capacity and load charts. A crane may not be loaded beyond its rated load-carrying capacity, and the operator must be able to read the load rating chart at the controls (s. 151).
• Outriggers and blocking. Outriggers must be extended to meet the load chart requirements, rest on blocking that can carry the crane and its maximum load, and be set up after the operator has considered ground bearing pressure (s. 156).
• Slings and rigging. Rigging must suit the load, prevent it slipping, and be capable of supporting at least five times the maximum load it may be subjected to (s. 172).
• Tag lines. Where rotation or uncontrolled motion of a load could endanger a worker, tag lines or guide ropes are required (s. 179).
• Multi-tiered loads. Lifting two or three individually rigged steel pieces at once is allowed only under written procedures prepared by an engineer (s. 103.1).
• Signallers. Where a signaller is required, they must be competent and do nothing else while signalling (s. 106).

Regulations are amended from time to time, so confirm the current version on e-Laws and with your health and safety lead. The erector and crane provider are responsible for compliance; the plan is where they show it.

What the fabricator contributes

A lift plan is only as good as its numbers, and many of them come from the fabricator:

• Piece weights on the erection drawings or a shipping list, so the lift planner is not guessing.
• Piece marks that match the erection drawings, so the right piece is picked in the right order.
• Delivery sequence matched to the erection sequence, so the first pieces needed are on the top of the load. Our post on delivery limits covers lengths and loads.
• Lifting lugs or holes where the engineer has designed them.
• Bolt lists and field weld locations, so the erector knows what equipment and certified welders are needed on site.

On small residential jobs where no crane can reach, the lift plan becomes a plan for moving a beam by hand, dolly and jacks. Our post on how to lift a steel beam into a house without a crane covers the options.

Planning your steel job

We fabricate structural steel with piece marks and shop drawings prepared in-house, deliver across the GTA and Ontario with phased deliveries to suit your schedule, and offer supply and installation of structural steel. Send your drawings through our quote request, or read about our fabrication, delivery and installation services. If you are hiring an erector separately, our guide to hiring steel erectors in Ontario covers what to check, and asking to see their erection plan is a good test of how they work.