Appointed Person - Person In Charge - Lift Director - Verantwoordelijk Persoon

Any type of lifting operation can be hazardous if not performed in accordance with regulations from European and national legislation, such as European Directives and country specific legislation.
Article 3.2.5 of the European Directive 2009/104/EC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment reads as follows:

“all lifting operations must be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in such a way as to protect the safety of workers.”

European Directives must be incorporated into the legislation of the individual EU member states. By consequence planning and supervision of lifting operations is an identical legal requirement in all member states of the European Union.
Compare L.O.L.E.R. regulation 8 article 8.1. in the UK; Arbeidsomstandighedenbesluit Article 7.18a paragraph 8 and 9 in the Netherlands; Betriebssicherheitsverordnung Anhang 2 Article 4.2.3 in Germany and Codex boek IV titel 4 Arbeidsmiddelen voor het hijsen of heffen van lasten Art. IV.4-16 in Belgium to name some examples.

In summary: to ensure that all lifting operations conducted in the workplace are safe, the law in all countries of the European Union requires that any lifting operation be planned and overseen by an Appointed Person.

In this guideline, we look into the definition of the Appointed Person for lifting operations, explain what this individual does, his duties and responsibilities, how to become Appointed Person, what training is required and outline some other common roles involved in lifting operations.