DEFINITION
A personnel basket is a platform suspended from a crane hook to hoist workers when no safer means of access exists. OSHA 1926.1431 permits it only as a last resort and requires the crane to be derated to 50% of its rated capacity for the lift, among other strict controls.
ALSO KNOWN AS · man basket · personnel platform · suspended work platform · OSHA 1926.1431
OSHA 1926.1431 governs hoisting personnel with a crane or derrick. The rule's threshold is that personnel hoisting is prohibited unless erecting, scaffolding, ladders, aerial lifts, or other conventional means of reaching the work would be more hazardous or are not possible due to structural design or worksite conditions. It is explicitly a last-resort method.
When a personnel platform is used, the controls are stringent. The crane's rated capacity must be derated so the total weight of the loaded platform and rigging does not exceed 50% of the chart capacity for the configuration. The platform must be designed by a qualified engineer, have a guardrail system and a grab rail, and the rigging must be capable of supporting at least five times the maximum intended load. A trial lift, a proof test, and a pre-lift meeting are required before workers ride.
During the lift, anti-two-block devices, a controlled-descent capability, and continuous communication between the operator and the platform occupants are required, and occupants must use a personal fall-arrest system tied to the lower load block or overhaul ball. The operator must remain at the controls whenever workers are on the platform.
Because of the life-safety exposure, a personnel-platform lift is universally treated as a critical lift. The pre-use inspection of the crane, the platform, and the rigging gear is non-negotiable, and any deficiency found is an automatic stop — there is no acceptable-risk margin when the load is people.
AUTHORITATIVE · SOURCE
29 CFR 1926.1431 — Hoisting personnel (OSHA.gov)RELATED · CHECKLIST
Personnel Basket (Crane) Inspection Checklist
FREQUENTLY · ASKED
OSHA 1926.1431 caps the total weight of the loaded platform and rigging at 50% of the crane's rated capacity for that configuration. The large safety margin accounts for dynamic loads and the catastrophic consequence of a failure when people are the load.
Only when conventional means of access — scaffolds, ladders, aerial lifts, elevating work platforms — would be more hazardous or are impossible because of the structure or site. The crane-suspended platform is a documented last resort under 1926.1431.
RELATED · TERMS
A critical lift is a crane lift that carries elevated risk and therefore requires extra planning, engineering review, and a written lift plan. Common triggers include lifts exceeding roughly 75% of the crane's rated capacity, multi-crane (tandem) picks, and any lift hoisting personnel.
OSHA 1926.1412 is the construction-crane inspection standard within Subpart CC. It mandates three inspection tiers: each-shift inspections by a competent person, monthly documented inspections, and a comprehensive annual or 12-month inspection by a qualified person.
A MEWP — Mobile Elevating Work Platform — is the current term for aerial lifts such as boom lifts and scissor lifts that raise workers to elevated work. The ANSI/SAIA A92.20 standards govern their design, safe use, and required pre-use inspection before each work shift.
A load chart is the manufacturer's table of a crane's rated lifting capacity for every combination of boom length, lift radius, and configuration. It defines the maximum weight the crane may safely hoist at each geometry and is the reference for determining percent-of-capacity on any lift.
PUT · IT · TO · WORK
DigiDocs ships free inspection checklists built to OSHA, FMCSA, ASME, and ANSI. Download the PDF, or run it digitally on any phone — photo capture on failures, automatic deficiency logging, and a signed audit-trail record.