OSHAD Code of Practice 34.0 Explained: Safe Use of Lifting Equipment in Abu Dhabi

If a crane, hoist, or lifting accessory is being used on a construction or industrial site in Abu Dhabi, it falls under Code of Practice 34.0, Safe Use of Lifting Equipment, published by Abu Dhabi’s occupational safety authority. The code sets out the high-level framework for planning lifts, inspecting equipment, and defining who is responsible for what. It was originally issued under the OSHAD-SF (Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health System Framework) brand and now sits under ADOSH-SF, following the Abu Dhabi Public Health Center’s (ADPHC) restructuring of the emirate’s occupational safety and health system. The content and intent of the code have not changed with the rebrand; the administering body and naming convention have.

For contractors, developers, and crane rental companies working in Abu Dhabi, understanding this code matters for a practical reason: project safety teams and main contractors routinely ask subcontractors and equipment suppliers to demonstrate compliance with it before mobilizing equipment to site.

UAE Crane Safety & Compliance Guide

Key Takeaways
– Code of Practice 34.0 was originally published under OSHAD-SF (Abu Dhabi’s safety and health framework) and now falls under ADOSH-SF, following ADPHC’s restructuring of the emirate’s occupational safety system.
– It covers the safe use of lifting equipment and lifting accessories, from planning through inspection and operation, at a system level rather than as a piece-by-piece technical spec.
– Compliance in practice means a competent person developing a lift plan, current thorough examination records for equipment, and clearly assigned roles (appointed person, lift supervisor, rigger, operator).
– The code’s inspection expectations align with internationally recognized methodologies such as those used by LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) members, which is why many Abu Dhabi lift plans reference LEEA-based inspection intervals and documentation.

What Code of Practice 34.0 Actually Covers

Code of Practice 34.0 addresses the safe use of lifting equipment and lifting accessories used in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Rather than functioning as a technical manual for a specific machine type, it works at a management level: it describes the controls, documentation, and competencies that should be in place wherever lifting operations happen, whether that involves mobile cranes, tower cranes, hoists, or the slings, shackles, and other accessories used to attach a load.

That framing matters. The code does not replace manufacturer manuals, equipment-specific standards, or the detailed technical criteria used by inspection bodies. Instead, it sits above those documents, setting expectations for how lifting activities should be organized, supervised, and recorded so that risks are identified and controlled before a load ever leaves the ground.

Who the Code Applies To

The code applies to lifting operations carried out within Abu Dhabi, which in practice means it touches a wide range of parties: contractors running lifting activities on their own sites, subcontractors and specialist lifting companies brought in for specific tasks, and equipment owners and rental providers who supply cranes, hoists, and lifting accessories for use on those sites.

Because Abu Dhabi’s OSHAD-SF/ADOSH-SF framework generally places duties on employers and site controllers to manage risk for anyone affected by their operations, a company hiring a crane does not fully offload its safety obligations by outsourcing the lift. The hiring party still needs to confirm the equipment and its operating team are set up to work safely, which is part of why documentation from the rental company becomes so important on Abu Dhabi projects.

crane rental compliance requirements

What Compliance Looks Like in Practice

Compliance with Code of Practice 34.0 is less about a single certificate and more about a set of interlocking practices that should be visible before, during, and after a lift.

A Lift Plan Developed by a Competent Person

Before a lifting operation begins, a person with the relevant training and experience, often referred to as the appointed person, should assess the load, the equipment, the site conditions, and the sequence of the lift, and document that assessment in a lift plan. For routine, low-risk lifts this may be a simple generic plan; for complex or high-risk lifts (heavy loads, tandem lifts, confined access, proximity to structures or overhead lines) a detailed, task-specific plan is expected.

Thorough Examination Records

Lifting equipment and accessories need to be examined at defined intervals by a competent person and the results recorded, so that a chain of documentation exists showing the equipment has been checked and is fit for continued use. On a live site, this typically means being able to produce current inspection or thorough examination certificates for a crane and its rigging on request, not just at the point of hire.

Clearly Defined Roles

The code’s approach reinforces role clarity across a lifting team: an appointed person responsible for planning, a lift supervisor overseeing execution on site, riggers/slingers attaching and directing the load, and a trained, authorized operator running the equipment. When these roles are blurred or informally assigned, gaps in supervision tend to follow.

pre-lift inspection checklist

How It Relates to LEEA Standards

Code of Practice 34.0 sets the “what” (the outcomes and management controls expected for lifting operations in Abu Dhabi), while bodies like LEEA (the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) provide widely recognized technical methodologies for the “how” of inspecting and examining lifting equipment and accessories. In practice, many lifting companies and third-party inspectors operating in Abu Dhabi use LEEA-aligned procedures, training, and record-keeping formats to satisfy the thorough examination expectations embedded in the local code.

This layering is common internationally: a jurisdiction’s regulatory framework defines the duty to inspect and document, while an established technical body’s methodology defines the accepted way to actually carry out that inspection. Contractors evaluating a rental company’s compliance often look for both: alignment with the local code and inspection practices that reference recognized technical standards.

Why Contractors Ask Rental Companies to Demonstrate Compliance

Main contractors carry safety accountability for everything happening on their sites, including work performed by subcontractors and hired equipment operators. Asking a crane rental company to show current thorough examination certificates, a named appointed person for lift planning, and defined operator competencies is a direct way for a contractor to manage that exposure before equipment ever arrives on site.

This is also why compliance documentation has become a practical differentiator between rental providers in Abu Dhabi. A company that can produce organized, current records on request tends to move through a client’s mobilization and vetting process faster than one that cannot.

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FAQ

Is OSHAD-SF the same thing as ADOSH-SF?
They refer to the same underlying Abu Dhabi occupational safety and health system framework. OSHAD-SF was the original name; ADOSH-SF is the current name used following ADPHC’s restructuring of the emirate’s occupational safety and health governance. Documents and codes issued under the earlier name generally remain the reference point for practice until formally updated or reissued.

Does Code of Practice 34.0 apply to all lifting equipment, or just cranes?
The code addresses lifting equipment and lifting accessories broadly, which includes cranes, hoists, and the slings, shackles, and other fittings used to attach loads, not cranes alone.

Who is responsible for the lift plan, the crane owner or the contractor hiring it?
Responsibility depends on the contractual and operational setup, but generally a competent appointed person, who may sit with the lifting company, the contractor, or a third party, needs to produce and own the lift plan for a given operation. Contractors hiring equipment should confirm upfront who is fulfilling that role.

How often should lifting equipment be inspected under the code?
The code calls for periodic thorough examination by a competent person, with intervals depending on the type of equipment and how it is used. Exact intervals should be confirmed against the current published Code of Practice 34.0 and the equipment’s own examination scheme, since requirements can vary by equipment category.

Conclusion

Code of Practice 34.0 gives Abu Dhabi’s lifting industry a shared reference point for what safe lifting operations should look like: a competent-person lift plan, documented thorough examinations, and clearly assigned roles from planning through execution. For contractors, treating this as a working framework rather than a box to check tends to produce fewer surprises during client audits and site inspections. For rental companies, being able to hand over that documentation without delay is often what actually earns a return call.

explore Red Tiger’s site inspection services

Red Tiger Heavy Equipment Rental L.L.C. has supported lifting operations across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the wider UAE since 2008, working within OSHAD-SF/ADOSH-SF expectations on client sites.

Sources

• Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC), Code of Practice 34.0, Safe Use of Lifting Equipment and Lifting Accessories — official PDF. Readers should refer to the current published PDF on the ADPHC website for exact clause language and inspection interval requirements, as code documents are periodically reissued.
• Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC), naming transition from OSHAD-SF to ADOSH-SF under Law No. 14 of 2019 — ADPHC V4.0 Updates.
• Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA), publicly available guidance on thorough examination methodology and technical standards for lifting equipment.

Note: This article summarizes publicly available regulatory framework information at a qualitative level. Always verify current clause numbers, inspection intervals, and specific requirements against the latest official ADPHC-published Code of Practice 34.0 document before making compliance decisions.