A 40-ton stamping press does not move itself. Somebody has to work out how much it weighs, where the weight sits, what will lift it, what it will roll on, what the floor will hold and where every person stands while it is in the air. That person is a rigger.
The short definition
A rigger is a tradesperson who plans and carries out the lifting, moving and placing of heavy equipment. In an industrial setting, that means machinery: presses, CNC machines, injection moulders, transformers, generators, conveyors, tanks and anything else too large or too heavy to move by forklift alone.
Riggers select and set up the lifting equipment, attach it to the load, direct the lift, guide the load along its path and place it in its final position. On a machinery move, the rigging crew is the crew doing the physical work.
What the job involves
Calculating the load
Every lift starts with weight and centre of gravity. Riggers read the equipment data plate, the manufacturer drawings and the machine itself to find both. A machine with an off-centre gearbox or a full hydraulic reservoir does not hang the way the spec sheet says it should.
Choosing the equipment
Slings, shackles, spreader bars, chain falls, hydraulic jacks, machinery skates, gantry cranes and rigging dollies each have a rated capacity. Riggers match the equipment to the load, the lift height, the path and the floor. Under-rating anything is not an option.
Planning the path
The route from the truck to the final position is measured before anything moves. Door openings, ceiling height, floor loading, column spacing, ramps, pits and live production lines all shape the plan. Where the job and the site call for a written lift plan, the rigger builds it.
Executing the lift
One person directs the lift with hand signals or radio. The rest of the crew tends the load, the rigging and the path. Nothing swings, nothing is rushed and nobody stands under the load.
Placing the equipment
The machine is lowered onto its footprint, onto anchor points or onto a prepared foundation. On a full installation, millwrights take over from here to level, align and set the machine to the manufacturer specification.
The equipment riggers use
- Gantry cranes. Portable A-frame lifting systems set up over the load. Hydraulic gantries handle very heavy machinery inside buildings where a mobile crane cannot reach. ReadyForce Machinery Movers runs gantry capacity to 600 tons.
- Forklifts. For loads within forklift range, and for handling rigging and cribbing around the job.
- Machinery skates and rigging dollies. Low-profile rollers that carry the load across the floor once it is lifted a few inches.
- Hydraulic jacks and toe jacks. Lift the machine just enough to get skates or dollies underneath.
- Slings, shackles and spreader bars. Connect the load to the lifting equipment and spread the lift points so the machine hangs level.
- Cribbing and steel plate. Spread the load across the floor and bridge gaps, drains and ramps.
- Mobile cranes. When the lift calls for one, a crane partner supplies the crane and the rigging crew manages the load.
Rigger vs. millwright vs. crane operator
The three roles work side by side on a machinery installation, and the line between them matters.
- The rigger lifts, moves and places the equipment.
- The millwright levels, aligns, assembles and sets it to spec, then maintains it.
- The crane operator runs the crane. The rigger directs the load.
On a ReadyForce job, Machinery Movers rig and place. Industrial Millwrights install and set to spec. One call covers the whole scope.
What to expect when a rigging crew arrives
A site visit before the move, to measure the path and confirm floor loading and access. A scope that lists what moves, from where, to where, and in what sequence. A crew that arrives with its own equipment, cribbing and rigging. A lift that is directed by one voice. A machine placed where the drawing says it goes.
