I just did a HIAB course at an ALLMI accredited training centre in London. I did HIAB work from 2013-17 and previously got my certificate through Wallace which was ITSSAR but is now ALLMI. I did look into going back to Wallace but strewth, they charge >£900 for 2 days. I got this for just over £700.
A few things were very different this time. The guy knew I’d done HIAB before and didn’t teach me some of the basics like how to open and close booms 2 & 3 (traversing or as I call it ■■■■■■■■■■). Last time they taught us how to attach loads to a hook using slings (essential when delivering timber and other long loads); this place only used a single chain which they used to lift a block of concrete. They even told me that you shouldn’t attach more than one sling to a hook as it might ‘mouse’ the hook. They said we shouldn’t use slings other than those specifically approved for use with that crane, with the numbers on the crane’s inspection report, which was news to me; previously we just made sure the slings were in good nick and could carry the necessary weight as per the stitched lines (one per tonne capacity), the same as with a load restraint strap. I don’t remember hearing of lifting plans during my last course or in the few years I worked on HIABs in the 2010s.
Are these all new rules, or just something the ITSSAR trainers don’t bother teaching us or the small crane operators don’t bother with? My guess is ALLMI is oriented towards large items like cabins and big machines, while ITSSAR is aimed at builders’ merchants and the like.
I think its just your trainer was very poor. I never had ALLMI, but I did have ITSSAR. I was re-qualified on the vehicle I was using every single day, so I already knew all it’s functions, and it was simply an external trainer visiting our site.
Incidentally, ALLMI have recently announced they are no longer doing refreshers for experienced operators, all re-validations (in the very near future) will be required to do the full novice course. I expect they will say they need to protect their brand (which is fair enough) but I’m sure the extra revenue was as much a part of that decision as anything.
He should at least have had you demonstrate you knew how to use all the booms; I have to laugh that the forum blocked that word which phonetically written would be siz-orr-ing
So what happens when all you have is a hook and you have pallets of bricks to offload? Only use one sling? Or are we supposed to refuse to deliver palletised goods if we only have a hook? I know what the typical operator would have to say about that
Ah… “Lifting Plans”, most often heard of when HSE is taking a company to court (usually after a fatality) and the lack of a Lifting Plan is part of the evidence against them (see link)
The only “Lifting Plan” I was ever given was a sensible “never lift over someone’s car”, though I knew nuggets who did it nonetheless
ITSSAR is the very poor relative to ALLMI, in my experience most places look at an ITSSAR card and say “WTF is that?” when I was faced with the WTF response I would just offer to show them my experience, it usually worked out fine, but ALLMI have become far more dominant in the industry since then so that kind of approach probably wouldn’t work now, except perhaps with the smaller companies.
The way I was taught, it might have changed now. was that if you needed to spread lifting straps, you should use a spreader bar, or a multi-legged rig, or at the least use the straps off the correct shackle.
Using multi straps angled off a hook can have issues, but the instructor just saying “Don`t do it” is not helpful if he doesn’t explain the correct alternatives.
Edit to add:
Hooks are designed to accept vertical forces, a load should be suspended directly under them. Spreading straps tend to open the jaws of the hook and so weaken it. That is what the “mousing” Jo referred to is all about.
These are all observations, not advice!
Indigojo go “go-go”
He might be back, might not. I keep remembering names from the old forum and wondering if they’re coming back. Such as Harry, our “resident paraffin lamp”
Or are we supposed to refuse to deliver palletised goods if we only have a hook? I know what the typical operator would have to say about that