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Crane Lift Utilisation Calculator

Total lifted load against the rated capacity from your load chart, as a utilisation percentage with the rigging and block included.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented in United States units and terminology, and each formula’s basis is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-27 · v1.1.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax

Chart utilisation

70.8 %

Check your inputs

Within capacity for the chart figure entered. This is arithmetic, not a lift plan.

Gross lifted load
12485 lb
Rated capacity
17635 lb
Margin remaining
5150 lb
Load alone as a share of capacity
56.25 %
Rigging, block and allowance
2565 lb
Gross load in tonnes
5.66 t

With the figures above, the chart utilisation comes to 70.8 %. Behind that figure, load alone as a share of capacity is the biggest single quantity at 56.3 %; start there if the total looks wrong. The method behind this is well established, though site conditions and material batches will move it somewhat. This is presented for United States. Building in another market? Change the selector above and the units and terminology follow.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.

Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • Rated capacity is read from the crane's own load chart for the specific configuration, radius and boom length — it is not derived here
  • ASME B30.5 and common practice: gross load includes the load, all rigging, the hook block, and any jib or auxiliary head, whether in use or not

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Frequently asked questions

Why does this not calculate the crane's capacity?
Because capacity comes from the machine's own load chart and nothing else. It changes with radius, boom length, counterweight, outrigger extension, whether the machine is on outriggers or on tyres, and the specific model. There is no formula that produces it, and a site that generated one would be inventing the single number the entire lift depends on. Read it from the chart for the machine you actually have.
What gets forgotten in the gross load?
The spreader beam, most often — several hundred kilograms of lifting frame that nobody counted. Then the hook block, which most charts deduct rather than include. Then a jib or auxiliary head that is stowed but still hanging on the boom. And water: rain collected in a vessel, or trapped in a hollow section, has overloaded more than one lift that was calculated correctly on the dry weight.
Is 75% a rule?
It is a common threshold in lift planning schemes above which a documented plan and an appointed person are required, and it is a sensible point to stop and verify the load mass independently rather than trusting a drawing. It is not a universal legal limit — check the scheme that applies to your site. What is universal is that above 100% the lift does not happen.