How to Choose a Lift Plan Provider (UK)

There are three ways to get a lift plan for a UK construction site, and the cheapest, fastest and most appropriate one depends on a single question: do you need the crane as well, or just the plan? Choose the wrong route and you either pay for equipment you do not need, or end up with a generic plan a principal contractor rejects. This guide explains the three options, what each typically costs, and how to choose between them.

The three ways to get a lift plan

Whoever writes the plan, the law is the same: under LOLER 1998 every lifting operation must be planned by a competent person — normally a CPCS A61 Appointed Person. What differs is how you buy that competence:

• From a crane hire company, bundled in with the crane you are hiring.
• As a contract lift, where a provider takes on the whole operation and the risk.
• From an independent consultant, who writes the plan without supplying any equipment.

Option 1 — A crane hire company (Appointed Person bundled in)

Most crane hire firms will supply an Appointed Person and a lift plan as part of hiring their crane. If you are hiring their crane anyway, that is convenient and the plan comes as part of the deal. The catch: the Appointed Person works for the company selling you the equipment, so the advice on what crane you need is not independent; the plan is tied to their fleet; and you usually cannot buy the plan on its own if you are not hiring the machine.

Option 2 — A contract lift (the full package)

Under a contract lift the provider takes responsibility for the entire operation — crane, operator, slinger/signaller, the plan, and crucially the lifting risk. It is the right choice when you want someone else to carry that risk and manage the lift end to end, for example a one-off heavy or complex lift. It is also the most expensive route, because you are paying for the equipment, the crew and the risk transfer, not just the planning.

Option 3 — An independent lift planning consultant

An independent consultant writes the lift plan and acts as your Appointed Person without supplying any equipment. This is the right route when you already have your plant and operator arranged — under CPA crane hire, or using your own excavator, telehandler or lorry loader — and you need the planning competence, not a crane. Because the consultant has no fleet to keep busy, the equipment advice is impartial, the plan works with the kit you already have, and the fee is fixed rather than buried in a day rate. It is also the route for an independent review of a plan a subcontractor or crane hire firm has produced, because the reviewer has no stake in the equipment.

Quick comparison

• Crane hire AP: best when you are hiring their crane anyway. Convenient, but not independent and rarely sold separately.
• Contract lift: best when you want the provider to own the risk and run the lift. The fullest service and the highest cost.
• Independent consultant: best when you have the plant, or need an objective plan or review. Impartial, fixed-fee, works with your existing equipment.

Questions to ask before you appoint

• Is the Appointed Person CPCS A61 qualified — and will that named person actually write your plan?
• Are they independent of the equipment supplier, or tied to a crane fleet?
• Is the fee fixed, or an open-ended day rate?
• What is the turnaround, and is a site visit included if one is needed?
• Will the plan be specific to your site and machine, or a template with the name changed? (Generic plans are the most common reason principal contractors reject lifting documentation.)

So which should you choose?

If you want the crane company to carry the lifting risk, take a contract lift. If you are already hiring their crane, their bundled Appointed Person is the convenient option. But if you have your own plant or a CPA crane hire arrangement and simply need a competent, compliant, site-specific plan — or you need an independent set of eyes on someone else's plan — an independent consultant is usually both the most economical and the most objective choice. For a sense of the numbers, see our guide to how much a lift plan costs.

How RMT Solutions fits

RMT Solutions is the independent option: a CPCS A61 Appointed Person with 35 years in UK construction, no crane to sell you and no fleet to keep busy. We write site-specific lift plans for excavators, telehandlers, lorry loaders and mobile cranes, provide independent Appointed Person cover, and review plans others have produced — fixed prices from £200, with a quote inside four working hours. New to lift plans? Start with what a lift plan is and when you need one.