Just completed a HIAB course today, and wanted to ask a few questions of those more experienced HIAB lads. (It was interesting but I need plenty of practice 
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Instructor scared us to death about the damage to property & people that can happen if the hydraulic fluid leaks and comes into contact with skin or gets on the floor etc. Was it all bull or is it really that dangerous?
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Can I use any type of attachment now I have the ticket? Instructor said we could but I’m sure someone on here mentioned you need extra tickets for bucket grabs etc?
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What are the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ items to lift with a HIAB i.e what might cause the most problems etc?
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We practised on a ‘sit on’ Atlas Hiab. Do you prefer this type or are the ones where you stand on the floor better (if at all)?
Appreciate any advice. Cheers 
Your hiab ticket covers lifting whether rota for bricks or blocks, tiles, slabs, kerbs etc or bucket. Remember it is a lorry loader or unloader not a tower crane.
What I mean by that is customers will always want you to put it somewhere beyond your safe reach. Dont lift over your head or anyone else, dont lift over cars or things of value. When I was an owner driver I use to offer the crane service of off loading for free,therefore I got no legal problems with damage or what the crane could or could do. Dont lift brick, tiles or blocks onto scaffording they will ask if they think your green to save their backs from moving them. oh I always use to put a sock over the grab lever on the older hiabs but not the multiblock control .Take your time do not rush. Good luck.
the oil can cause damage to property and people,you need a seperate licence for brick/block as far as i know as ive got this as well as my hiab certificate,i personally prefer the remote control hiab or the sit down crane(mostly brick/block grab)just take it nice and steady on the handles and try not to cut corners 
Here’s a mythbuster for you, it is not a requirement to hold any certifcation to operate any crane or attachment. However some companies, organisations or sites will insist on either a basic cerificate of competence or a formally recognised course such as a CPCS card.
If you do the CPCS course and your ticket says sling hook that is what you can use, start using a brick grab or clamshell bucket and you are unticketed. There are separate categories for those attachments, there are also separate ones for slinger / signaller, appointed person, crane supervisor etc.etc. Technically with a CPCS card you are only there to operate the crane as guided by someone else, doing what they have planned and are not responsible for attaching the load to the crane. In the real world however…
Whilst you wouldn’t want to get covered in hydraulic oil it’s not that much of an issue, there are plenty of fitters who get a fair amount on them often. Just be careful if you have cuts and scrapes etc. I’d not recommend wearing gloves whilst operating the levers.
Containers and cabins are a pain in the arse to lift as it is difficult to see whether you have the hook positioned centrally when you start the lift, they also act like a sail and will spin easily. Also with cabins etc. to unload you need to climb on th roof to attach the chains, that means you are 14’ or so up in the air. HAving another pair of hands is handy but often you end up working alone.
I hate doing cabins just when youve got it lined upto drop on the bed the wind picks up and it moves , boats are another thing I hate lifting everytime I have one to do I always get soaked or covered in weed while chaining it down
Always used a spreader board under the stabalisers {spelling 
) even if the ground looks good, and always have a good look around skywards before unloading .
Prefer the stand on platform method personally and those remote control ones seem too jerky/ all or nothing for my liking.
8wheels:
If you do the CPCS course and your ticket says sling hook that is what you can use, start using a brick grab or clamshell bucket and you are unticketed. There are separate categories for those attachments, there are also separate ones for slinger / signaller, appointed person, crane supervisor etc.etc. Technically with a CPCS card you are only there to operate the crane as guided by someone else, doing what they have planned and are not responsible for attaching the load to the crane. In the real world however…
im thinking of doing my lorry loader ticket as quite a lot of ads in my area. however they never specify what type of attachment they require you to have. so in theory you only havea 33.3% chance of having the right ticket and i could be wasting my time and money. how gay
Containers and cabins are a pain in the arse to lift as it is difficult to see whether you have the hook positioned centrally when you start the lift, they also act like a sail and will spin easily. Also with cabins etc. to unload you need to climb on th roof to attach the chains, that means you are 14’ or so up in the air. HAving another pair of hands is handy but often you end up working alone.
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We use bottom lifting gear for 98% of our jobs now,obviously cant do it with 32x10 offices but they do make the job a hell of a lot easier.
If you do have to go on top to attach chains,always make sure you use a safety harness and some form of fall arrest system,some think its a bit soft but after you’re first slip you’ll be glad you had it on,believe me 
Simon. 
Getting your HIAB ticket is a great idea imo, specially if your new to driving, gives you more opportunities, especially with builder merchants like travis perkins as theyre always taking on drivers and dont mind newbies
My work mostly involes bricks, blocks and tiles and my truck has a altas sit on hiab, with the two levers either side and foot controls for the boom and the grab, my fav personally as its very easy to operate, have a great view and i can offload very quickly (not so good in winter though lol) have used remote control hiabs and theyre good too. If you stick with one type of grab you’ll soon get used to it.
As said before dont lift over cars and stay clear of overhead cables, use spreader boards on all surfaces unless its the road, beware when delivering in busy streets as there will alway be some clueless numpty trying to walk under your crane so look out for them. When unloading try to keep what your offloading close to the ground, especially if its tiles, if the grab fails or the pallet breaks they wont have far to fall and you wont make a mess.
joedwyer1:
8wheels:
If you do the CPCS course and your ticket says sling hook that is what you can use, start using a brick grab or clamshell bucket and you are unticketed. There are separate categories for those attachments, there are also separate ones for slinger / signaller, appointed person, crane supervisor etc.etc. Technically with a CPCS card you are only there to operate the crane as guided by someone else, doing what they have planned and are not responsible for attaching the load to the crane. In the real world however…
im thinking of doing my lorry loader ticket as quite a lot of ads in my area. however they never specify what type of attachment they require you to have. so in theory you only havea 33.3% chance of having the right ticket and i could be wasting my time and money. how gay
It depends on where you’ll be delivering to, in theory a certificate from ABC training saying that you are a competent operator of a lorry loader would cover you for most jobs. However if you start getting involved in big construction sites then chances are they are going to insist on a CPCS skills card. It’s a CITB qualification and involves a theory test with loads of questions that have to be answered verbally in a taped interview followed by a pratical test which involves doing a full check of crane and host vehicle, 3 lifts (1 max weight, 1 unbalanced and 1 blind lift under direction from a signaller) these items must be loaded together, secured and unloaded into a differentlocation with some precision. Pass all that and you’ll get a competent operator’s card, to change that to an experienced operator’s card you’ll need to pass an NVQ. It’s a lot of old ■■■■■■■■ but, if you can pass this test it does go to show that you know what you’re doing. Some of these training courses taking half a day are not teaching you much and certainly not going to class you as experienced. That said there probably quite cheap and may get you a foot in the door whereas a CPCS course will cost you or your employer over £1000
Thanks for the great advice and pointers fellas Very helpful
Must say that will probably cack myself when I have use a HIAB the first few times in the ‘real world’. It’s one thing doing it in training yard, but with pedestrians and traffic moving passed me , now that’s a whole new ball game…
Can imagine it will take a while to unload a full wagon to start with as well. But safety first was drummed into us and was advised to “take your time, however long it takes”
Cheers again
Just a couple of pointers if you don’t mind,legs out and never over drains or BT boxes and such like if you have to spread both your legs be sure to put a cone or marker by your offside leg and keep clear of marble as a load, well till you are more savvy with cranes and securing loads… Have fun and position your wagon correctly to load/offload
