Do I need a lift plan?

Yes. LOLER 1998 Regulation 8 requires every lifting operation involving lifting equipment to be properly planned by a competent person, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner. Neither requirement is qualified by the size of the load or the value of the job. The question is never whether to plan — only how much detail the operation demands.

A lift is complex if any one of the BS 7121-1 triggers applies: two or more cranes lifting one load (tandem lift); lifting people — man basket or personnel carrier; load is close to the machine's rated capacity; blind lift — operator cannot see the load or landing area; lifting over a live road, railway, waterway or occupied building; working near overhead power lines or live services; load weight or centre of gravity is unknown or awkward; ground conditions unproven, made ground, or near an excavation; multiple machines with overlapping working radii; lifting in exceptional wind, or outside the manufacturer's chart. One is enough — they are not weighted or scored. A modest load can be a complex lift because of where and how it is being lifted.

A basic lift is routine and repetitive, and a generic plan or schedule of common lifts may be used — provided it is reviewed against the actual site first. A standard lift needs a site-specific written lift plan by an Appointed Person, briefed to the whole lifting team before work starts. A complex lift needs a detailed, lift-specific written plan prepared by an Appointed Person with competence appropriate to the lift, commonly CPCS A61 Advanced. A generic plan is never sufficient for a complex lift.

Establish that LOLER Regulation 8 applies and appoint a competent person to plan the operation. Everything else — the load weight, the machine, the radius, the ground — follows from that appointment, because the plan is only valid if the person producing it is competent to produce it.

No. It categorises a lifting operation so you know what level of planning the law expects. It is not a lift plan, not a risk assessment, and it does not replace the judgement of the competent person planning the work. The category is ultimately theirs to assign.

Only for a basic lift, and only once it has been reviewed against the actual site. A schedule of common lifts is not a lift plan until somebody has stood on the ground and signed it off. For a complex lift a generic plan is never sufficient.