Tower crane rigging gear: what a crane crew uses every day, and how to keep it in service

A tower crane is the heartbeat of a high-rise site, and its hook is never still for long: bundles of rebar, formwork tables, pallets of block, MEP modules, steel. The rigging that goes on that hook is a small kit, used by the same crew hundreds of times a week, in heat and wind, and it wears accordingly. Getting the kit right — and keeping it right — is what keeps the crane productive and the people under it safe. For setting up the whole loft, see the site mobilisation rigging kit.

/01The daily kit.

/02Daily checks.

/03Who may rig in the UAE.

In Dubai, municipal guidance requires lifting equipment to be certified at least every 12 months by an accredited third party, and operators, riggers and signallers to be certified too. In Abu Dhabi, the lifting code of practice requires thorough examination of lifting accessories every 6 months and equipment every 12 by approved third parties, with daily checks and site registers. See lifting equipment inspection in the UAE.

/04Wind and tag lines.

Tower cranes have in-service wind limits set by the maker; the crane’s anemometer and the operator’s judgment decide when to stop. As one example of a regulator’s default, British Columbia requires an anemometer readable at the controls and, without maker specifications, a 50 km/h limit — and a stop whenever wind makes the load unsafe. Large, light loads such as formwork panels catch the wind long before the crane’s limit. Tag lines help control them, but must never be wrapped round a hand: offshore regulators have recorded workers lifted off their feet by entangled tag lines.