Lifting machinery: load tests and certificates

What counts as lifting machinery?

The Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (Government Notice R.540 of 24 June 2015, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993) define a lifting machine as a power-driven machine designed and built to raise or lower a load or move it in suspension. Elevators, escalators and hand-powered lifting devices are left out of that definition, but hand-powered devices are covered by the same regulation 18.

Lifting tackle is everything between the hook and the load: chain, wire rope and webbing slings, master links, hooks, shackles, swivels, eye bolts, spreader beams and lifting clamps. It has its own rules, below.

Lifting machinery entities (LMEs) and inspectors (LMIs)

Registered lifting machinery entity

An LME is a legal entity approved and registered by the chief inspector under regulation 19. It applies on the form in Annexure A to the regulations, must have the competency and operational ability to examine and performance-test lifting machines, and gets a certificate of registration that is entered into the national database. An LME must produce that certificate on request to an inspector or to anyone it intends to test for (reg 19(4)), and report any change affecting its registration within 14 days (reg 19(5)).

Lifting machinery inspector

An LMI is a person employed by an LME and registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa under the Engineering Profession Act, 2000. The inspector must know the erection, load testing and maintenance of the type of machine being tested (reg 18(5)(b)). So when you check a load-test certificate, look for three things: the LMI's name and ECSA registration, the LME's name and registration, and a serial number that is the same as the one on the machine's plate.

Operator certificates

Regulation 18(11) says every lifting machine must be run by an operator trained for that type of machine. For machines listed in the National Code of Practice for Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators, nobody may operate one without a certificate of training from an accredited training provider. The current code is Notice 5588 of 2024 (Government Gazette 51657, 29 November 2024), which replaced the 2015 code published as R.539.

• The certificate shows the operator's name and ID number, the machine code, its capacity and any restrictions, the training provider's accreditation number and the assessor's registration number (clause 14.1).
• The licence (carry) card is valid for up to 24 months; a temporary licence lasts up to 6 months and is marked "under supervision only" (clauses 14.2 and 14.3). Nobody may operate a listed machine without a valid certificate and carry card (clause 14.5).
• Who can be trained: people of at least 18, physically able to do the work, with a medical fitness declaration and an eye test or a valid professional driving permit (clause 12). New entrants for mobile jib cranes and tower cranes also need a driver's licence for the vehicle and Grade 12 or NQF level 4 (clause 12.3).
• On construction sites: the operator of mobile plant also needs proof of competency, a medical certificate of fitness from an occupational health practitioner (Annexure 3) and written authorisation to operate (Construction Regulations, reg 23(1)(d)).

What to ask for before a crane arrives

1. The load-test certificate: dated within the last 12 months, signed by an LMI with an ECSA registration, issued by a registered LME, for the serial number on the machine's plate.
2. The LME's certificate of registration, if you want to check it: the LME must show it on request.
3. The service record, for your register of leased machines.
4. The operator's certificate and carry card: the right code (C33 or C35 for a mobile crane, C32 for a crane truck, C53 for a cherry picker), a capacity at least as big as the machine, and an expiry date after your job. On a construction site, also the medical certificate of fitness and your written authorisation.
5. Lifting tackle records: slings and shackles marked with their safe working load and ID, examined in the last three months.
6. On the day: the load chart in the cab, a working load indicator on cranes over 5,000 kg, and the operator's daily inspection recorded.

Every Basalt crane, crane truck and cherry picker is load-tested and comes with a certified operator; copies of the load-test and operator certificates come before the machine, on request. See safety and certificates, or price a lift on mobile crane hire. Prices for every machine are on plant hire rates, and booking step by step on how hiring works.