8.1 Cranes and Hoists: Certificates of Fitness, Competent Operators, Ground and Crane Safety
Key Takeaways
The Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness Regulations 2024 cover steam boilers, pressure vessels and lifting machinery, and a certificate of fitness is valid for 15 months from the date of inspection.
Regulation 15 of the 2024 Regulations requires every tower crane and mobile crane to be operated only by a competent person who is a crane operator, and the owner or occupier to establish a lifting plan based on the risk assessment.
Before lifting, the crane operator must test all limit switches and indicator devices without load and record the results in the logbook before each work shift (regulation 15(3)(b)).
Tower cranes, passenger hoists and suspended access equipment need a comprehensive examination by a competent person at least every three months, or more often if the manufacturer specifies (regulation 14).
Under the Third Schedule of the 2024 Regulations, material handling equipment such as forklifts and excavators, and crawler piling and drilling rigs, are excluded from the certificate of fitness requirement.
The legal framework after the FMA
Cranes and hoists were "certified machinery" under the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 until 1 June 2024. They are now controlled by:
- OSHA 1994 Part VIA (sections 27A to 27G): installation approval, certificates of fitness, periodical inspection, special inspection schemes
- The OSH (Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness) Regulations 2024 (P.U.(A) 99/2024), which prescribe steam boilers, pressure vessels and lifting machinery as plant requiring a certificate of fitness (regulation 3)
- The OSH (Licensed Persons) Order 2024, which allows licensed persons as well as DOSH officers to carry out inspections
- OSHA Part VIIA, which requires crane operators, installers and maintainers to be registered competent persons. Operating, handling or being in charge of any plant is a Fifth Schedule activity.
Key definitions in the 2024 Regulations:
- Crane: a powered device that raises and lowers loads on a hook or other device and can move them by movement of the crane, boom, jib or trolley, including its wire ropes and hook.
- Mobile crane: a crane on a wheeled or crawler base that raises, lowers and swings loads at various radii from a lattice or telescopic boom.
- Tower crane: a crane with a boom or jib mounted on a vertical tower that moves loads by changing radius or slewing.
- Hoist: a passenger hoist or material hoist attached to a building.
- Suspended access equipment: a gondola or cradle.
- Aerial working platform: a platform raised on scissors, a mast or a boom.
The Third Schedule excludes some lifting machinery from the Regulations, including:
- material handling equipment (defined to include forklifts, conveyors, excavators, tractors, dumpers and bulldozers)
- drilling rigs
- crawler-mounted piling and boring rigs for permanent foundations
- vehicle-mounted winches
- small cranes with a lifting height up to 9 m and a working load up to 80 kg
These machines still fall under OSHA's general duties and CDM 2024.
Certificates of fitness and inspections
| Requirement | 2024 Regulations |
|---|---|
| Certificate of fitness | Issued after inspection by a DOSH officer or licensed person; valid for 15 months from the date of inspection (regs 5(6) and 6(2)(i)) |
| Periodical inspection | Under section 27E, on notice by the owner; the plant must be available for inspection, including a load test for lifting machinery (reg 6) |
| Maintenance | Lifts, escalators, tower cranes, suspended access equipment, launching gantries, quay cranes and passenger hoists maintained by a competent person to the Eleventh Schedule procedures (reg 8) |
| Comprehensive examination | Lifts, escalators, walkalators, tower cranes, passenger hoists, suspended access equipment, quay cranes and launching gantries examined by a competent person at least every three months, or more often per the manufacturer's manual. Maximum penalty for the owner: RM100,000 or one year or both (reg 14) |
| Repairs and alterations | Written notice to the officer or licensed person before repair; approval rules for alteration (regs 9 to 11) |
| Change of ownership or disuse | Notify within 30 days |
On site, the SSS checks that each crane and hoist has a current certificate of fitness, displayed or available on site, and a current comprehensive examination record where required.
Operators and the lifting plan
Regulation 15 of the 2024 Regulations:
- The owner or occupier must ensure each tower crane or mobile crane is operated only by a competent person who is a crane operator (15(1)).
- The owner or occupier must establish a lifting plan taking into account the risk assessment report, so the crane can be operated safely (15(2)).
- The crane operator must:
- follow the employer's or occupier's OSH instructions for safe crane operation (15(3)(a))
- test all limit switches and indicator devices without load before any lift, and record the results in the logbook or log sheet before the start of each shift (15(3)(b))
- make sure the ground on which a mobile crane will operate is safe for movement and lifting, and report it to the employer if not (15(3)(c))
The maximum penalty is RM100,000 or one year or both for owners and occupiers, and RM5,000 or one year or both for the competent person. Lift planning is covered in Section 8.3.
How cranes fail
| Failure | Typical cause | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Overturning | Load beyond the duty chart; radius increased while slewing; outriggers not fully set; soft ground; wind | Lift plan; rated capacity limiter set correctly; full outrigger set-up on mats; ground assessment; wind limits |
| Structural failure | Overload; fatigue; incorrect assembly or missing pins; corrosion | Competent erection; comprehensive examinations; certificate of fitness |
| Two-blocking | Hook block pulled into the boom tip | Anti-two-block device tested before each shift |
| Load drop | Failed rigging; poor slinging; hook latch missing | Inspected lifting tackle; competent rigger; no one under loads |
| Contact with power lines | Boom or load near overhead lines | CDM regulation 27; planning; barriers; the line owner's safe distance |
| Collision | Two cranes slewing into each other; crane hitting a structure | Zoning or anti-collision systems; slew limits; communication |
NADOPOD 2004 makes the collapse, overturning or failure of any load-bearing part of a crane or hoist a dangerous occurrence, whether or not anyone is hurt.
DOSH publishes safety alerts on tower crane incidents in Malaysia, including failures in strong wind, luffing jib failures and a connecting pin failure. Read them as case studies for toolbox talks.
Mobile and crawler cranes: ground and set-up
- Ground assessment. The operator has a legal duty to check the ground (regulation 15(3)(c)), but the lift planner must assess bearing capacity in advance. Watch for backfilled trenches, drains, basements, voids and soft spots.
- Outriggers. Extend and set them as the duty chart requires. Use mats or pads sized for the outrigger loads and ground. Keep outriggers away from excavation edges and slopes, outside the zone of influence.
- Level. Level the crane within the manufacturer's tolerance, because being out of level reduces capacity.
- Exclusion zone. Barricade the counterweight's slew path so nobody can be crushed between the counterweight and a fixed object.
- Crawler cranes travelling with loads: only as the manufacturer allows, on prepared, level routes.
Tower cranes
- Foundation and tie design by an engineer. Installation and dismantling only by registered competent installers, as DOSH registers "responsible persons" for tower crane installation and maintenance, following the manufacturer's sequence.
- Installation approval and certificate of fitness before use. Comprehensive examination at least every three months.
- Daily checks by the operator, including limit switch tests recorded in the logbook (regulation 15(3)(b)).
- Wind: stop operations at the manufacturer's in-service wind limit, measured by the crane's anemometer. Leave the jib free to weathervane (slew freely) out of service, unless the manufacturer says otherwise.
- Multiple cranes: use oversailing and zoning plans, anti-collision systems, and agreed radio channels.
- Access: safe ladders with rest platforms and fall protection. Rescue planning for an operator taken ill in the cab.
Passenger and material hoists
- They require a certificate of fitness and a comprehensive examination at least every three months.
- Check landing gates and interlocks at every level, mast ties, and the base enclosure.
- Never ride a material hoist.
- Display the rated load and passenger number, and do not exceed them.
Scenario: the mobile crane by the drain
A 50-tonne mobile crane is set up to lift precast beams with one outrigger 1 m from the edge of a newly backfilled drain trench. The operator has not done the limit switch test.
The SSS stops the lift and:
- Checks the crane's certificate of fitness and the operator's competent person registration. Both are valid.
- Has the lift planner reassess the set-up. The outrigger is moved outside the trench's zone of influence onto engineered mats, and the radius is recalculated from the duty chart.
- Has the operator carry out and record the no-load limit switch tests before lifting (regulation 15(3)(b)).
- Barricades the counterweight slew area and briefs the rigging crew on the lift plan.
Under the OSH (Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness) Regulations 2024, who may operate a tower crane or mobile crane?
Any worker holding a CIDB Green Card
Any experienced site foreman, under the SSS's supervision
Any worker who has watched the crane being operated for a month
Only a competent person who is a crane operator
What must a crane operator do before the first lift of each shift under regulation 15(3)(b) of the 2024 Regulations?
Telephone the DOSH state office to report the start of crane work that day
Test the limit switches and indicators without load, and log the results
Lift the heaviest load of the day first, to prove the crane's overall stability
Ask the SSS to sign the crane's certificate of fitness
Which machine is excluded from the certificate of fitness requirement by the Third Schedule of the 2024 Regulations?
A crawler piling rig driving piles for permanent foundations
A tower crane erected for a high-rise building project
A passenger hoist serving the upper floors of a tower
A truck-mounted mobile crane lifting precast panels
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.