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Hoisting and lifting machines

This information is provided by:Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVONetherlands Enterprise Agency, RVONederlandse versie

If your employees work with hoisting and lifting machines, you must meet the requirements of the Working Conditions Decree (Arbeidsomstandighedenbesluit). You must adhere to safety requirements and your employees need to be registered.

Safety requirements

If you use hoisting or lifting machines for your business you must keep to several safety requirements, including the following:

  • Hoisting and lifting machines must be approved before they are used for the first time.
  • They must be inspected annually by an expert and every other year by a Conformity Assessment Body (Conformiteits Beoordelings Instantie, CBI, in Dutch).
  • Construction site hoists intended for lifting persons need to be inspected when being set up and again after 6 months. They may only be used with a certificate of approval. Inspection must be done by a Conformity Assessment Body.
  • Each proof of approval must be available at the work site.
  • Hoisting and lifting machines that are intended for moving goods must not be used to transport people.
  • The maximum permissible load must be clearly indicated on the machines.
  • Weights in excess of the maximum permissible load must not be lifted, except in a test situation to determine whether the machine is in proper working order.

Registration and certification

Operators of hoisting and lifting machines must be sufficiently skilled to operate them. To operate

  • mobile cranes
  • automatic loading cranes with hoist function
  • earthmoving machines with hoist function
  • telescopic handlers with hoisting function
  • fixed or mobile tower cranes
  • small and large foundation rigs

Your employees need to be registered with the Foundation Supervising the Certification of Vertical Transport (TCVT, in Dutch). Foreign crane operators who have received their professional qualifications in another EU member state, an EEA state or Switzerland, also need to register. If they intend to work temporary or occasionally in the Netherlands these professional qualifications may be assessed before starting work for the 1st time. If they are not found to be eligible for registration, they may need to take an aptitude test. They must also have sufficient command of the Dutch language to be able to do the work safely and to prevent serious accidents.

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