Toolbox Talk · Cranes & Rigging · English
Migna Safety Solutions
Hoists and Material Lifts
About 8 minutes to deliver · 29 CFR 1926.552
A hoist is a lift that was built fast, on a schedule, on a structure that is still changing shape. 1926.552 governs all three kinds — material hoists, personnel hoists and elevators — and the differences between them matter.
Material hoists do not carry people
This is the line that gets crossed, always for a good reason, and always by somebody in a hurry.
"NO RIDERS ALLOWED" must be posted on the car crosshead or, where there is no crosshead, on the gate. A material hoist is not engineered, inspected or interlocked for people, and the ways it fails are the ways that kill riders.
If people need to go up, that is a personnel hoist — a different machine, with different requirements, and it does not become one because the job is behind.
Capacity and the manufacturer
- Comply with the manufacturer's specifications and limitations — 1926.552(a)(1). Where they do not exist, the limits come from a professional engineer competent in the field, not from experience.
- Rated load capacity, recommended operating speeds and hazard warnings must be posted on cars and platforms — 1926.552(a)(2). If you cannot see the plate, you do not know the limit.
Wire rope has a retirement number
1926.552(a)(3) removes rope from service when any of these exist, and they are worth knowing because people run rope well past them:
- six randomly distributed broken wires in one rope lay, or three broken wires in one strand in one lay
- abrasion, scrubbing or peening that cuts the outer wire diameter by more than a third
- evidence of heat damage, kinking, crushing, birdcaging, or corrosion
Every day
- Gates and enclosures closed. Hoistway doors and car gates are the fall protection, and propping one open turns the shaft into an open hole.
- Load inside the car, nothing overhanging, nothing on top.
- Nobody under the car or in the shaft, and no reaching into it.
- Look before you signal, and use the agreed signals — the operator often cannot see the landing.
- Report anything that runs rough, drifts, or stops out of level. A hoist that lands two inches low is telling you something.
Ask the crew
- Has anyone ridden the material hoist on this job?
- Is the capacity plate readable, and does anyone know the number?
- Are the gates being propped open at any landing?
This is a toolbox talk, not a course. It is general awareness on one topic — not site-specific, not a hazard assessment, and not a substitute for assessment of your workplace by a competent person, your written programs, or manufacturers’ instructions. It does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. Regulations change; verify against the current standard. Whoever delivers it is responsible for deciding it is suitable and sufficient for the work. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, not a substitute for professional medical care or certified emergency-response training, and it confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. Migna Safety Solutions · training.mignasafetysolutions.com
Attendance Record
Form supplied by Migna Safety Solutions
Hoists and Material Lifts
29 CFR 1926.552
I delivered this talk and determined it was suitable for this crew and this work.
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Keep this sheet with your training records. This form is supplied blank by Migna Safety Solutions — we did not deliver this session, were not present, and make no representation about what was said or who attended. A toolbox talk is general awareness on one topic and does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. The employer remains responsible for site-specific hazard assessment and for the training its workers are required to have. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, and confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. training.mignasafetysolutions.com