Prohibited and Restricted Conditions for Operating Lifting Equipment According to Technical Regulations and Vietnamese Law

Lifting equipment has long been an indispensable, powerful solution in heavy industry, construction, logistics, and manufacturing. Despite delivering outstanding performance, the operation of these devices always carries significant mechanical and dynamic risks. An incident can not only cause severe damage to infrastructure and stall production lines but also directly threaten workers' lives, especially in confined workspaces.

To ensure absolute safety and strict compliance with legal regulations, in the article below, Vietmani will provide a detailed summary of the prohibited and restricted conditions for operating lifting equipment according to the QCVN and TCVN standards. This information will help factory managers, safety engineers, and direct operators easily cross-reference and accurately apply it to actual procedures within their enterprises.

Legal Basis and Technical Standards as Benchmarks

To assess the legality and safety level of operations, all prohibitive and restrictive regulations for lifting equipment are built upon a system of strict legal documents and technical standards. This is the mandatory benchmark that enterprises and factories must base their standard operating procedures on. Specifically, this article is compiled based on the following three core documents:

• QCVN 07:2012/BLĐTBXH: This is the National Technical Regulation on Occupational Safety for Lifting Equipment issued by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. This regulation is mandatory, clearly specifying strict requirements for occupational safety throughout the design, manufacturing, market circulation, installation, operation, and periodic technical inspection stages.
• TCVN 4244:2005: Vietnamese Standard for Lifting Equipment - Requirements for design, manufacture, and technical inspection. For equipment with stringent safety requirements, this document serves as the core technical benchmark. TCVN 4244:2005 provides detailed parameters for evaluating load limits, allowable physical wear margins, and mandatory technical conditions for discarding individual components (such as cables, hooks, and brakes).
• QCVN 18:2021/BXD: National Technical Regulation on Safety in Construction. This regulation supplements and clarifies specific operational prohibitions related to the field environment, including requirements for safe workspaces, the load-bearing capacity of equipment placement grounds, and operational limits during extreme weather conditions.

Mastering and strictly complying with this legal foundation is the first fundamental step to building a safe and professional industrial working environment.

=> Read more: Lifting Equipment Standards – Mandatory regulations businesses must know

Absolute PROHIBITIONS in Operating Lifting Equipment

Below are cases where operating lifting equipment is strictly prohibited, aiming to eliminate the risks of severe accidents. Compliance with these prohibitions is a mandatory requirement and holds the highest level of enforcement in lifting safety.

Serious Violations Regarding Inspection Status and Equipment Structure

The safety of lifting equipment must first be established based on the legal framework and the actual technical condition of the main load-bearing components:

• Lack of legal documents: Operation is strictly prohibited if the equipment has not undergone a technical safety inspection, lacks a valid certificate, or has an expired inspection stamp.
• Wear and tear of load-bearing parts: * Hook assembly: Operations must stop immediately if the hook mouth is deformed or worn beyond 10% of its original cross-sectional height.

  • Load cable system: Prohibited from use when the number of broken wire strands reaches 10% of the total strands over a surveyed length (equal to 8 times the cable diameter), or when the cable is twisted or structurally deformed.

• Braking system: The equipment is not allowed to operate if the brake pads are worn more than 50% or the brake wheels are worn more than 30% of their original thickness, as this is a vital component for holding loads and stopping the equipment in emergencies.

=> Read more:

• Lifting Equipment Safety Regulations: Latest Updates for 2026
• Lifting Equipment Safety Standards: Comprehensive Compilation of the Latest QCVN and TCVN

Violations of Operating Principles and Load Capacities

Errors in operating procedures are often the direct causes of equipment tipping or load dropping:

• Exceeding Safe Working Load (SWL): It is strictly prohibited to lift objects with a mass exceeding the rated and inspected safe working load.
• Incorrect lifting methods: The law stipulates that loads may only be lifted vertically. Using the equipment's kinetic energy to drag loads along the ground or lift at an angle is strictly forbidden, as this generates massive horizontal inertia that destabilises the system.
• Unsafe load conditions: It is prohibited to lift a load when the object is still buried underground, frozen, pressed down by other materials, or has mechanical connections that are not fully detached from other structural components. Intentionally lifting in these situations will cause sudden overloading, leading to the collapse of the lifting mechanism.

=> Read more: What is the Capacity of Lifting Equipment? Detailed Deductions of Payload Components You Need to Know

RESTRICTED Conditions and Requirements to Suspend Operations

Besides absolute prohibitions, laws and technical standards also stipulate cases of restricted operation or requirements for operators to suspend work immediately. These are preventive measures aimed at stopping potential risks from human and environmental factors.

Deficiencies in Control Procedures and Personnel

Coordination and personnel preparation are key factors in ensuring a safe lifting cycle:

• Missing operation logs: The equipment must not be operated if the shift handover log is missing. This log records the results of pre-shift inspections and any incidents or abnormal signs from the previous shift, giving the current operator a comprehensive view of the machine's condition.
• Failing to meet minimum personnel requirements: Occupational safety regulations strictly prohibit the operation of lifting equipment without an adequate number of workers. Specifically, for each shift, the number of directly involved personnel must absolutely not be less than 2 people to provide mutual support and supervision in emergencies.
• Absence of a signal person: In any situation involving load lifting, if a dedicated signal person is absent, the equipment must stop operating. The signal person plays a crucial role in helping the operator handle loads accurately in areas with limited visibility.

Adverse Impacts from the Environment and Workgrounds

Even when the equipment is in perfect technical condition, external factors can still lead to unsafe situations:

• Severe weather and poor visibility: Operations must be halted immediately when wind speeds exceed permissible limits (usually level 6 or higher for outdoor equipment like cranes and hoists). Additionally, during heavy rain, thunderstorms, or dense fog that limits the visibility of both the operator and the signal person, continuing operations is extremely dangerous.
• Unstable operating ground: During operation, if the ground where the lifting equipment is placed shows signs of subsidence, tilting beyond permissible angles, or failing to ensure rigidity under load pressure, the operator must lower the load to a safe position and suspend operations to address the foundation.
• Violation of safe distances: Equipment must be paused if people are detected standing under suspended loads or moving into the equipment's dangerous operating radius. Lifting operations are only permitted to resume when the hazardous area is completely cleared.

Early identification and compliance with these restricted conditions help businesses proactively control risks, preventing minor errors from turning into severe accidents.

Mandatory Conditions for Management and Operating Personnel

Safety in lifting operations does not just stop at the quality of the equipment but is also directly impacted by human factors. According to technical standards and current laws, the personnel team involved in this process must meet strict professional and legal standards.

Requirements for Direct Operators and Support Staff

The law strictly prohibits assigning untrained individuals to operate lifting equipment. Personnel, including the operator, the rigger (load hooker), and the signal person, must meet the following conditions:

• Professional Training and Certification: Must complete the corresponding vocational training program and possess a valid lifting equipment operator certificate.
• Occupational Safety Training (Group 3): This is a job group with strict occupational safety and health requirements. Personnel are required to attend initial training for a minimum of 16 hours and be issued an Occupational Safety Card. Annually or when there are technological changes, personnel must receive updated training.
• Health and labour discipline: Operators must have adequate health as certified by medical authorities, particularly regarding vision and hearing. It is strictly prohibited to operate equipment while under the influence of alcohol or stimulants.

=> Read more: Regulations on lifting equipment operators under current law

Responsibilities of Technical and Operational Management Teams

Enterprise management plays a supervisory role and ensures the legal compliance of equipment operations:

• Safety training for management: Personnel in technical management and operational management must receive initial occupational safety and health training before taking on duties, and participate in annual periodic training courses.
• Process control: Management is responsible for verifying the validity of documents such as equipment inspection results, shift handover logs, and employee safety cards. Operational orders are only approved when all personnel and equipment factors meet standards.
• Minimum personnel deployment: For each work shift, it is strictly forbidden to deploy fewer than 2 people for the operation to ensure coordination and timely handling of arising situations.

Standardising the personnel team is not only a requirement to comply with the law but also a core solution to prevent human errors – the cause of most accidents in the lifting industry.

=> Reference: Safe and technically sound procedures for operating lifting equipment

Safe, Technically Standard Lifting Equipment Solutions from Vietmani

Safety in lifting operations does not just stop at complying with prohibitive regulations but also stems from investing in modern technology systems. Understanding the potential risks and strict standards from QCVN and TCVN, Vietmani delivers next-generation industrial lifting solutions, specially designed to eliminate unsafe factors right from the operational phase.

Vietmani focuses on providing advanced equipment lines such as pneumatic manipulators, vacuum lifters, and zero-gravity lifting technology. These solutions not only optimise labour productivity but also integrate outstanding safety features, perfectly meeting technical requirements:

1. Smart automatic braking system: In the event of a sudden loss of compressed air or a power outage, Vietmani's braking system will automatically activate to lock the equipment's position, completely preventing free-falling or uncontrolled load dropping.
2. Anti-drop valve mechanism: This is a critically important feature integrated into vacuum lifters and manipulators. Even when a system failure occurs, the anti-drop valve ensures that the gripping force is maintained long enough for the operator to lower the load to a safe position, eliminating the risk of sudden dropping objects causing accidents.

Besides providing equipment that meets technical standards, Vietmani also accompanies businesses through a comprehensive support process. Vietmani directly conducts on-site surveys, installs according to proper technical procedures, and organises detailed operational training sessions for factory personnel. This ensures that employees not only know how to control the machines but also master core safety principles, thereby minimising errors caused by human factors.