For crane assembly directors and crew: who directs the work, which procedures apply, how to brief the crew, and how to control pins, booms, blocking, brakes, outriggers and rigging.
Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1403 through 1926.1406 · about 7 min read
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The employer must follow all applicable manufacturer prohibitions and use either:
Manufacturer procedures for assembly and disassembly, or
Employer procedures, which may be used only where the employer can demonstrate that they meet the requirements in § 1926.1406. Employer procedures must be developed by a qualified person, and the employer must ensure that they: prevent unintended dangerous movement, and prevent collapse, of any part of the equipment; provide adequate support and stability of all parts of the equipment; and position employees involved in the assembly/disassembly operation so that their exposure to unintended movement or collapse of part or all of the equipment is minimized.
The A/D director must understand the procedures and must review them immediately before the work starts, unless the director understands them and has already applied them to the same type and configuration of equipment (including accessories, if any).
Before work begins, the A/D director must ensure each crew member understands:
Their tasks
The hazards associated with their tasks
The hazardous positions or locations they need to avoid
The same requirements must be met again during the job: before a crew member takes on a different task, and when new personnel are added during the operations.
Crew memberBefore going somewhere out of the operator's view that is in, on or under the equipment, or near the equipment or load where movement could injure you, inform the operator you are going there.
OperatorWhen you know a crew member went to such a location, do not move any part of the equipment or load until you are informed, through a pre-arranged system of communication, that the crew member is in a safe position.
While pins or similar devices are being removed, employees must not be under the boom, jib or other components.
Exception: where the employer demonstrates that site constraints require an employee to be there, the A/D director must implement procedures that minimize the risk of unintended dangerous movement and minimize the duration and extent of exposure under the boom.
The manufacturer's limit on how much boom is supported only by cantilevering must not be exceeded. If it is unavailable, a registered professional engineer familiar with the equipment must determine the limit in writing, and it must not be exceeded.
When dismantling booms and jibs (including to change their length), these rules apply to both manufacturer and employer procedures:
Pendant pins: none removed, partly or completely, while the pendants are in tension.
Boom-section pins between the pendant attachment points and the crane or derrick body: none removed while the pendants are in tension.
Boom-section pins between the uppermost boom section and the crane or derrick body: none removed while the boom is being supported by the uppermost section resting on the ground or other support.
Top pins on the cantilevered portion being removed (ahead of the pendant attachment points): none removed until that section is fully supported.
The A/D director must address the hazards associated with the operation. The rule lists: site and ground bearing conditions, blocking material, proper location of blocking, verifying assist crane loads, boom and jib pick points, center of gravity, stability upon pin removal, snagging, struck by counterweights, boom hoist brake failure, loss of backward stability, and wind speed and weather. This page and the next explain several of them, along with the separate rules on capacity limits and component weights:
Site and ground: conditions must be adequate for safe assembly/disassembly and to support the equipment.
Blocking: its size, amount, condition and method of stacking must be sufficient to sustain the loads and maintain stability. For lattice booms or components it must be placed to protect the equipment's structural integrity and to prevent dangerous movement and collapse.
Assist crane: the loads that will be imposed on it at each phase must be verified, in accordance with § 1926.1417(o)(3), before assembly/disassembly begins.
Center of gravity: where there is insufficient information to identify it accurately, measures to prevent unintended dangerous movement from an inaccurate identification must be used.
Capacity: during all phases, rated capacity limits for loads on the equipment, components (including rigging), lifting lugs and accessories must not be exceeded.
Component weights: the weight of each component must be readily available.
Boom hoist brake: each time reliance is placed on it to prevent boom movement, test it first. If it is not sufficient, use a boom hoist pawl, other locking or back-up braking device, or another method such as blocking or an assist crane.
Stability on pin removal: boom sections, suspension systems (such as gantry A-frames and jib struts) and components must be rigged or supported so they stay stable when the pins come out.
Snagging: suspension ropes and pendants must not catch on boom or jib connection pins or cotter pins, including keepers and locking pins.
Wind and weather: address the effect of wind speed and weather on the equipment.
Whenever outriggers or stabilizers are used, these requirements apply:
Fully extended or, if manufacturer procedures permit, deployed as specified in the load chart.
Outriggers set to remove the equipment weight from the wheels (except locomotive cranes).
Floats attached to the outriggers or stabilizers they are used with.
Each outrigger or stabilizer visible to the operator or a signal person during extension and setting.
Outrigger and stabilizer blocking must meet the blocking requirements in the hazards section (size, amount, condition and method of stacking; proper location), and is placed only under the float or pad of the jack or, where there is no jack, under the outer bearing surface of the extended beam.
Locomotive cranes: when using outriggers or stabilizers to handle loads, the manufacturer's procedures must be followed; when lifting loads without them, the manufacturer's procedures on truck wedges or screws must be met.
Rigging: rigging work for assembly/disassembly is done by a qualified rigger. Synthetic slings must be protected from abrasive, sharp or acute edges, and from configurations that could cause a reduction of the sling's rated capacity, such as distortion or localized compression. When synthetic slings are used, the synthetic sling manufacturer's instructions, limitations, specifications and recommendations must be followed. When synthetic slings are used in assembly/disassembly rigging, the employer must follow manufacturer procedures.
Shipping pins: reusable shipping pins, straps, links and similar equipment must be removed, then stowed or stored so they are not a falling object hazard.
After assembly: the equipment must be inspected to ensure the components and configuration comply with the rule on selecting components and configuring the equipment.
Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1403, 1926.1404, 1926.1405 and 1926.1406. It is not an OSHA card or license and does not make anyone an A/D director, competent person, qualified person or qualified rigger; the employer decides who meets those criteria. These four sections contain no training requirement of their own. Your employer must still ensure that assembly/disassembly is directed by an A/D director who meets 29 CFR 1926.1404(a); that the A/D director understands the applicable manufacturer or employer procedures for the specific equipment (1926.1403, 1926.1404(b)) and ensures that crew members understand their tasks, the hazards associated with their tasks and the hazardous positions/locations that they need to avoid (1926.1404(d)); and that rigging work for assembly/disassembly is done by a qualified rigger (1926.1404(r)(1)).
This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.