OSHA 1926.1431 governs hoisting personnel with a crane — only allowed when conventional access is unsafe or impossible. The 50% capacity derating, proof test, and trial lift are non-negotiable; this template enforces them before the operator can even document the basket weight.
Sections
4
Fields
25
Equipment
Personnel Basket
FREE PRINTABLE SAMPLE · NO EMAIL · THE FULL, CUSTOMIZABLE INSPECTION RUNS IN-APP
WHAT IT IS
The personnel basket (crane) inspection checklist is the per-lift personnel basket inspection built to OSHA 1926.1431. It runs 4 sections and roughly 25 pass / fail / N A checkpoints — covering Basket Attachment & Capacity Derating, Trial Lift & Proof Test, Anti-Two-Block & Comms, and Occupant Briefing. Download the free printable sampleto put on a clipboard today — it's a basic quick-reference. The real power is running it in the DigiDocs app, where this becomes a fully customizable, 25-point digital inspection: every failure auto-creates a deficiency routed to your mechanic, photos attach on the spot, the operator e-signs, and each completed inspection becomes a signed, timestamped audit-trail record your auditor will accept without a fight.
CHECKLIST · STRUCTURE
This template is organized into 4 sections totaling roughly 25 Pass / Fail / N/A items. Clone it and tune fields to match your exact equipment configuration.
AUTHORITATIVE · STANDARD
OSHA 1926.1431
Basket Attachment & Capacity Derating
SECTION · 01 · OF · 4
Trial Lift & Proof Test
SECTION · 02 · OF · 4
Anti-Two-Block & Comms
SECTION · 03 · OF · 4
Occupant Briefing
SECTION · 04 · OF · 4
CREW · WHO RUNS THIS
Bridge contractors hoisting riggers to inaccessible connection points, refinery turnaround crews placing welders inside tower internals, wind-turbine maintenance teams reaching nacelle work — any contractor whose access need can't be met by a scaffold, MEWP, or fixed ladder. Personnel-hoisting is a last resort under 1926.1431, not a routine method.
FIELD · INTEL
Pulled from competent-person write-ups in the field — not from a regulation digest. These are the items that fail the per-lift check more than any others.
50% capacity derating not applied at the radius — basket-plus-occupants weight exceeds derated capacity
Trial lift skipped before live personnel — required by 1926.1431(g) without exception
Proof test (1.25× capacity) not documented within the past 12 months
Anti-two-block disabled or the warning system bypassed
Pre-lift briefing not delivered — occupants don't know hand signals or emergency procedures
OSHA · ENFORCEMENT
OSHA Serious: up to $16,131 per violation (2026 maxima). Willful or Repeat: up to $161,323. Personnel-basket fatalities almost always draw Willful — the 50% derating, trial lift, and pre-lift briefing are explicit and non-negotiable; skipping any of them is a documented violation. Citation packages on basket fatalities routinely exceed $200K.
Read OSHA 1926.1431 on osha.govSERIOUS · MAX
$16,131
PER · VIOLATION · 2026
WILLFUL · OR · REPEAT
$161,323
THE PAPER SAMPLE VS · THE REAL THING
A printable checklist still relies on someone remembering to do it, store it, and find it when an auditor or insurer asks. The same personnel basket (crane)inspection in DigiDocs runs on the phone already in your operator's pocket — and turns a checkbox into a defensible compliance record the moment it's signed. Every field is yours to customize.
Every line item, not just sections
The full template carries all ~25 checkpoints with the OSHA / FMCSA / ASME citation on each — the sample only shows the section headers.
Photo proof on every failure
Operators attach a photo the instant something fails, so the defect is documented at the point of inspection — not reconstructed later.
Failures become mechanic work orders
Every Fail auto-creates a deficiency routed to your mechanic dashboard, with repair notes and auto-verify on the next inspection.
Red-tag / operability built in
Operator marks Operable / Non-Operable per OSHA 1926.1417; critical fails can lock the asset out of service automatically.
Signed, timestamped, permanent
Operator e-signature on submit; every completed inspection becomes an audit-trail PDF and a shareable, revocable customer link.
Make it yours
Rename fields, add sections, set conditional logic, schedule recurrences, and white-label it — no two fleets inspect exactly alike.
NO CREDIT CARD · ALL 44 CHECKLISTS INCLUDED
RELATED · CHECKLISTS
Boom or scissor lift pre-shift — controls, tilt sensors, guardrails, emergency descent, tires.
Material/personnel hoist daily — car/cage, doors, governors, safeties, communications.
Quarterly/periodic aerial lift — hydraulic system, structural welds, controls calibration.
Each-shift pre-operation inspection by a competent person — boom, outriggers, hydraulics, anti-two-block, load chart.
Lattice boom crawler daily — undercarriage, swing system, boom sections, wire rope, structural welds.
Flat-top tower crane daily — slewing ring, trolley, cathead, climbing collar, hoist drum.
FREQUENTLY · ASKED
Only when 'the erection, use, and dismantling of conventional means of reaching the worksite, such as a personnel hoist, ladder, stairway, aerial lift, elevating work platform, or scaffold, would be more hazardous, or is not possible because of structural design or worksite conditions' per 1926.1431(a). Convenience or speed is not a justification.
1926.1431(b)(1) requires the load not exceed 50% of the crane's rated capacity at the radius and configuration of the lift. This is a structural safety factor — personnel-suspended loads tolerate zero overload, so the derating bakes in the margin.
Yes — even with the same basket, occupants, and location used five minutes earlier. 1926.1431(g) requires a trial lift before the first personnel lift of each shift and any time the basket is moved to a new location, with all controls operated through the planned lift cycle without personnel in the basket.
No. 1926.1431(d) requires the basket be attached using a structural attachment specifically designed for personnel hoisting, with primary and secondary attachments. Slings are not allowed as the primary connection. The shackle and master link must be rated and inspected before each shift.
1926.1431(c)(2) — proof test the basket at 125% of intended load before initial use and after any structural change. The test is documented; the documentation has to be on-site. Annual proof-testing is the typical schedule even when no structural changes occurred.
READY · TO USE
Download the free PDF, or start a 14-day Professional trial — no credit card. All 44 inspection checklists included; clone, customize, and deploy to your crew the same hour.