When the Standard Method applies
Under 29 CFR 1926.1419, paragraph (c)(1), hand signals to a crane operator must follow the Standard Method in Appendix A. Other hand signals are allowed only where the Standard Method can't be used or doesn't cover an attachment operation. In that case paragraph (c)(2) has the signal person, the operator and the lift director (where there is one) meet before the operation and agree on the signals.
29 CFR 1926.1422 requires a hand signal chart to be posted on the equipment or in plain view near the hoisting work. A signal person who uses hand signals must know and understand the Standard Method, and shows it through an oral or written test and a practical test (29 CFR 1926.1428, paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(5)).
Stop and emergency stop work differently from the rest. Under 29 CFR 1926.1419, paragraph (j), anyone who notices a safety problem uses the stop or emergency stop signal to warn the operator or signal person. A separate rule, 29 CFR 1926.1417, paragraph (y), puts the duty to obey that signal on the operator.
This drill follows OSHA's Appendix A only. ASME B30.5 is the consensus standard for mobile and locomotive cranes, cited here by number only; if your site or employer works to it, check your own copy for its signal chart.
Pairs that are easy to mix up
- Raise boom or raise the boom and lower the load. Both have the arm out and the thumb up. The second adds fingers opening and closing for as long as the load should move. The same split applies to lower boom and lower the boom and raise the load, with the thumb down.
- Hoist or lower. Both trace small circles. For hoist the forearm and finger point up; for lower they point down.
- Extend or retract the telescoping boom. Both fists sit at the waist. Thumbs pointing away from each other mean extend; thumbs pointing at each other mean retract.
- Stop or emergency stop. Stop swings one arm with the palm down; emergency stop swings both.
- Swing or trolley travel. Swing points with the index finger. Trolley travel points with the thumb of a closed hand and jerks the hand sideways.
- Crawler travel on both tracks or one track. For both tracks the two fists roll around each other in front of the body. For one track, one fist is held up on the side of the locked track while only the other fist rotates in front of the body.
- Use main hoist or use auxiliary hoist. A tap on top of the head selects the main hoist; a tap on the elbow of an upright forearm selects the whipline. Either way, the normal motion signal follows.
The score is correct answers ÷ 19 × 100, rounded to a whole percent. It measures how well you recognize these drawings, not how you will do on any exam.
Related practice
Signals are one part of crane operations study. For the load chart side, work the load chart practice problems on invented charts. For the written exams as a whole, see the NCCCO written exam prep page.