When operating a crane, it can be difficult to hear other workers in your general vicinity. If only verbal cues are used, there would be a lot of “what?” shouts back-and-forth. So, it is necessary to have other means of communication to keep everyone safe. Having non-verbal communication can also help a project run more smoothly.
Before starting up an operation with a crane, make sure that you and your team know these important crane hand signals to keep everyone safe.
Stop Crane Hand Signals
From 2011 to 2017, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 297 deaths involving cranes. Out of those deaths, over 20% involved the crane operator. This highlights how crucial it is to brief all personnel around the worksite on safety procedures.
Some of the most important hand signals to assure safety are stop hand signals. The top three stop signals are
- Stop
- Emergency Stop
- Dog Everything
The stop signal requires the signaler to extend one arm with their palm facing down. They will then swing their arm back and forth, touching their chest, and then back out to the side. This signals an action to be paused or stopped.
The emergency stop signal is similar, but with both arms extended horizontally from the body. This larger movement indicates a more serious stop.
The dog everything signal is used to stop all activity. This signal is performed by clasping both hands together and placing them at waist level.
Any of these three hand signals for crane operation indicate a need to stop or pause work on a worksite.
Boom Direction Hand Signals
The next category of hand signals involves letting the crane operator know which maneuver they should perform with the crane’s boom.
The top four boom signals to be aware of are
- Raise boom
- Lower boom
- Swing boom
- Extend boom
To indicate raising or lowering the boom, the signaler will extend their arm horizontally to the side of their body and signal with either a thumbs up (raise) or a thumbs down (lower).
To indicate swinging the boom, the signaler will extend their arm out horizontally and use their index finger to point in the direction the boom is to swing.
Lastly, to signal to extend the boom, the signaler will place their hands at the front of their waist with both thumbs pointing outward and their remaining fingers in a fist.
Load Instruction Hand Signals
Material load handlers, such as Hiab’s forestry crane, can help worksites with their difficult tasks. By using load signals, the crane operator can know what to do after the crane lifts the load.
The primary two load hand signals are
- hoist load
- lower load
To signal either of these two actions, the signaler will extend their arm horizontally and point with their index finger either towards the sky or towards the ground. Once they’ve pointed, they will make a circle motion with their finger.
Read More About Crane Operation
You’re now aware of several crane hand signals to utilize on your work site to keep your team safe. It might be helpful to create a crane hand signals chart to have readily available, so all of your operators are on the same page for communication. Utilizing a unified method for non-verbal communication will ensure everyone is safe and the project runs smoothly.
If you are interested in reading more about safe crane operation, please check out our many other guides under crane safety.
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