Lift planning

Crane lift planning software that recalculates when the configuration changes

A critical lift plan is the written documentation for a lift carrying elevated risk. It records the load, crane configuration, rigging and capacity margin before the pick. OSHA's cranes and derricks standard, 29 CFR 1926 subpart CC, requires equipment be used within rated capacity, and there are roughly 21,000 US crane and rigging establishments. Neurobird computes against the real load chart and versions the plan when configuration changes.

neurobird / lift plan
Unassigned (5)
Lift director
Rigger Danjuma
Operator Vasquez

Drag a job onto a rigger to assign it.

Crane rigging supervisor reviewing a lift plan on a construction site with a mobile crane boom raised behind, used to illustrate critical lift planning
The chart is a PDF. The arithmetic is manual.
21,000US crane and rigging establishments
1926OSHA subpart CC standard
75%typical critical lift threshold of chart capacity

Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning in short

  • Compute capacity against the real load chart for the configuration actually rigged
  • Version the plan when radius, counterweight or boom configuration changes
  • Capture the rigging: slings, angles, spreader bars and their rated capacities
  • 1926 CC OSHA's cranes and derricks in construction standard, subpart CC, governs operation within rated capacity and competent supervision. OSHA
  • 21,000 Approximate US establishments in crane, rigging and heavy lift services carrying this planning duty. US Census County Business Patterns
  • Pricing runs 95 to 340 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
The daily reality

What crane and rigging contractors actually deal with

Lift plans are drawn in a spreadsheet plus a PDF load chart, and the arithmetic is checked by whoever is free.
A configuration change on site means the plan is now wrong and the paperwork does not know it.
When something goes wrong, the plan is the first document requested and the hardest one to produce.

Why it stays broken

Lift planning is engineering arithmetic being done in a spreadsheet next to a PDF. It works because the people doing it are experienced, which is exactly why it fails silently when a configuration changes and the paperwork does not follow.

A plan computed at 60 feet radius can be 3,000 pounds wrong at 75 feet, and a 40,000 pound pick leaves little margin for that.

A Critical Lift Plan is a step-by-step plan or work instructions and shall contain all approved documents and information required to execute the lift.

hanford.gov, source
What it does

Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning Dispatch Platform

Hold the load chart as data, compute the margin from it, and make the plan version itself when anything that affects capacity changes.

  • 1Compute capacity against the real load chart for the configuration actually rigged
  • 2Version the plan when radius, counterweight or boom configuration changes
  • 3Capture the rigging: slings, angles, spreader bars and their rated capacities
  • 4Hold the signed plan and the pre lift checks with the job, retrievable years later

What changes with Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning?

The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.

Crane rigging lift planning: current practice compared with Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning
TodayWith Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning
Lift plans are drawn in a spreadsheet plus a PDF load chart, and the arithmetic is checked by whoever is freeCompute capacity against the real load chart for the configuration actually rigged
A configuration change on site means the plan is now wrong and the paperwork does not know itVersion the plan when radius, counterweight or boom configuration changes
When something goes wrong, the plan is the first document requested and the hardest one to produceCapture the rigging: slings, angles, spreader bars and their rated capacities

Who is this for?

Same plan, three different risk profiles.

Single crane operator

You plan your own picks

You know the machine. You need the arithmetic to be consistent and the plan to exist as a document when someone asks for it.

Rigging contractor

Several crews, several cranes

Consistency across planners matters more than individual speed. You need one method and versioning when site conditions change.

Heavy lift specialist

Engineered lifts, client scrutiny

Your plans are reviewed by engineers and owners. You need documentation that stands up to that review without being rebuilt for it.

How does Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning work?

  1. Define the load and configuration

    Weight, rigging, boom length, radius, counterweight and quadrant, entered once as the basis of the plan.

  2. Compute against the real chart

    Capacity comes from the manufacturer chart for that exact configuration, so the margin is calculated the same way every time.

  3. Sign and keep

    The signed plan, pre lift checks and any versions stay attached to the job, retrievable long after the crane has left.

What the crane standards actually require

Useful if you write lift plans or audit them. Each source links out.

1926 CC

OSHA's cranes and derricks in construction standard, subpart CC, governs operation within rated capacity and competent supervision.

OSHA
21,000

Approximate US establishments in crane, rigging and heavy lift services carrying this planning duty.

US Census County Business Patterns
75%

A common threshold at which a lift is treated as critical, being load weight as a share of rated chart capacity.

OSHA cranes and derricks
2010

Year OSHA's modern cranes and derricks rule took effect, setting current operator and planning expectations.

OSHA

Crane rigging lift planning software questions, answered

Key terms

What is a critical lift plan?
A critical lift plan is written documentation for a lift that carries elevated risk, typically because the load approaches chart capacity, involves multiple cranes, lifts personnel, or takes place over occupied areas. It records the load, the configuration, the rigging and the capacity margin before the pick happens.
What does OSHA require?
OSHA's cranes and derricks standard, 29 CFR 1926 subpart CC, requires that the equipment be used within its rated capacity and that operations be planned and supervised competently. Many owners and contractors additionally require a written plan for critical lifts.

Why do configuration changes matter?

Because rated capacity depends on boom length, radius, counterweight and quadrant. A change in any of those makes the previous chart reading wrong, so a plan that was safe at 60 feet may not be at 75.

Does this replace the load chart?

No. It reads the manufacturer chart for the crane and configuration in use, and does the arithmetic against it consistently, so the capacity margin is calculated the same way every time.

Why we are building this

Lift planning is one of the highest consequence calculations on a construction site, and it is routinely done in a spreadsheet next to a PDF load chart.

That works while the configuration holds. When radius or counterweight changes on site, the plan silently stops matching the lift, and the paperwork is the last thing to find out.

We would rather build this with lift directors than guess. Tell us how your plans get produced, and where we have got it wrong.

Neurobird Team neurobird.com

Where the requirement comes from

The federal standards that govern crane operation and planning.

How much does Neurobird Crane Rigging Lift Planning cost?

Priced per crane because the chart and configuration belong to the machine. Planners are unlimited.

Single crane
$95
per crane, per month
  • Load chart library
  • Capacity margin calculation
  • Rigging capture
  • Signed plan storage
  • Email support
Request access
Contractor
$190
per crane, per month
  • Everything in Single crane
  • Plan versioning on configuration change
  • Tandem and multi crane lifts
  • Pre lift checklists
  • Named contact
Request access
Heavy lift
$340
per crane, per month
  • Everything in Contractor
  • Engineered lift documentation
  • Client submission packs
  • Long term plan retention
  • Onboarding included
Talk to us
First 15 contractors get early access pricing locked for three years

Get free early access

If you plan lifts, tell us how the plan is produced today and what happens when configuration changes on site.

Straight answer on where this is: In development. Early access gets the working preview, influence on what ships first, and early access pricing. It does not get you a login today.

Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.