## DNV Standards NR526

Ch 3, Sec 1
Lifting of personnel
1.2.1 When in addition to lifting operation at sea, the lifting appliance is intended to perform
lifting of personnel, it shall comply with Sec 3 in addition to the present Section.
1.2.2 The lifting appliance must be able to operate at a speed equal to the ratio of the wave
height to its period,
when a consistent system of units is used.
1.2.3 Operational procedure for lifting of personnel are to be included in the operating manual
described in [1.4.1].
1.3 Reference codes and standards
1.3.1 The technical provisions of the following codes and standards are recognized for the
purpose of the present Section:
EN 13852-1 - Cranes - Offshore cranes - General purpose offshore cranes. Other code or
standard may be recognized subject to Society agreement.
1.4 Document to be submitted
1.4.1 The following documents are to be submitted in addition to those listed in Ch 1, Sec 2:
• Load chart including de-rating of the SWL with respect of the environmental conditions (sea
states, wind) for approval
• Dynamic amplifications factors for information
• When a motion compensation or rope tensioning system as specified in [3.4] is fitted, the
following is to be submitted for information:
- description of the system
- operational limitations
- FMEA report.
• For information, operating manual with instructions for:
- the controls and systems specified in Articles [4] and [5]
- the verification of the environmental conditions prior to use the lifting appliance.

Ch. 3, Sec 3
1 General
1.1 Application
1.1.1 The present Section provides additional requirements for the certification of lifting
appliances intended to personnel lifting applications, at sea or in harbor conditions.
1.1.2 The present Rules do not deal with life-saving appliances and rescue boat launching
appliances.
1.1.3 Personnel lifting is not permitted in combination with cargo lifting.
1.2 Lifting appliance used at sea
1.2.1 When the lifting appliance is intended to personnel lifting at sea, it shall comply with the
relevant requirements of Sec 1 in addition to the present Section.
1.2.2 Where overload protection systems (MOPS and/or AOPS) are used, they are to be
overridden and locked out when personnel lifting mode is selected.
1.2.3 Where active heave compensation systems, active rope tensioning systems, passive heave
compensation systems and passive rope tensioning systems are used, they are to be overridden
and locked out when personnel lifting mode is selected.
Note 1: Motion compensation systems specifically engineered for personnel lifting may be
accepted when duly justified and documented. A Failure Modes and Effects Analysis may be
required.
1.2.4 In general, the lifting appliance shall be able to operate at a speed equal to the ratio of the
wave height to its period, when a consistent system of units is used.
1.3 Document to be submitted
1.3.1 The following documents are to be submitted in addition to those listed in Ch 1, Sec 2:
• load chart including de-rating of the SWL for personnel lifting
• description of the winches and their braking systems
• operating manual with instructions for lifting of personnel.
2 Safety principles
2.1 Communication
2.1.1 The crane operator shall remain in continuous direct communication with the personnel to
be lifted or with a person who has direct visual contact with the personnel being lifted.
2.2 Environmental conditions
2.2.1 Unless otherwise stated in the instructions of use, personnel lifting operations are to be
normally restricted to:
• sea conditions where the significant wave height does not exceed 2,0 m
• conditions where the wind speed does not exceed 10 m/s
• visibility conditions: daylight or equivalent.
3 Design loads
3.1 General
3.1.1 The Safe Working Load considered for personnel lifting shall not exceed 50% of the Safe
Working Load considered for the design of the appliance used for cargo lifting.
Note 1: When a lifting appliance is designed solely for personnel lifting, the design load is to be
the double of the SWL.
3.2 Duty category
3.2.1 When the lifting appliance is intended for personnel lifting and related load is close to rated
load, the duty category as defined in Ch 2, Sec 2, [1.2] is to be ranked to next following category.
Note 1: This would be the case for small capacity offshore supply cranes handling a basket for
which the category would be shifted from III to IV.
4 Equipment and machinery
4.1 Ropes
4.1.1 The wire rope used for personnel lifting is required to have a minimum safety factor of 8
related to the maximum tension that can occur in the rope and the wire rope minimum breaking
load.
4.1.2 In all cases, non-rotating cables are to be fitted.
4.2 Loose gears
4.2.1 Hooks, cargo blocks and other items of loose gear used for personnel lifting shall be tested
with at least twice the proof load specified in Ch 4, Sec 1.
4.2.2 Items of loose gear intended to be used for both personnel & cargo lifting are to be marked
with both cargo &personnel lifting.
4.3 Winch brakes
4.3.1 In addition to normal brake, the winch shall be equipped with a mechanically and
operationally independent secondary/redundant brake with separate control system.
4.3.2 Each brake is to operate directly on the winch drum but other arrangements such as a fully
independent load path may be considered acceptable.
4.3.3 It must be possible to override the self-applying brake system in case of emergency, in
order to operate the lifting hoist, in full safety.
5 Controls, indicators and safety systems
5.1 General
5.1.1 There is to be only one control location of the lifting appliance.
5.1.2 The control station is to be equipped with a switch for the purpose of selection between
cargo and personnel lifting modes, including a continuous warning light indicating that the
personnel lifting mode is activated.
5.1.3 In the case of emergency or power failure both normal and secondary/redundant brakes
are to be automatically activated when controls are in neutral position.
5.1.4 When the personnel lifting mode is activated, overload protection systems & motion
compensation systems, if installed, shall be overridden as per [1.2.2].
5.1.5 Lifting appliances used for personnel lifting shall be fitted with means to luff down and
lower load at controlled speed in case of electrical power failure, rupture of any hydraulic fluid
pipe under pressure or in the event of failure in the control system.
6 Lifting accessories used for personnel lifting
6.1 Baskets
6.1.1 Design of baskets or other specialized equipment for personnel lifting shall be according to
a recognized standard such as EN 14502-1.
6.1.2 In accordance with IMO OSV Code (Code of safe practice for the carriage of cargoes and
persons by offshore supply vessels), personnel baskets and all associated riggings are to be
designed to achieve a 10:1 load factor of safety.

1.2 Duty category

1.2.1 General
The nature and the intensity of intended crane duty are taken into account by increasing the
design loads considered in calculations (excluding wind loads) and also by providing minimum
block sheaves diameter. Depending on the nature of their duty and the rate of operation, the
lifting appliances are divided into four duty categories:
• category I: appliances very seldom used at their nominal capacity
•category II: appliances regularly used for loading and unloading cargoes and frequently operated
at less than 75% of their nominal capacity.
• category III: appliances extensively used for loads approaching their maximum capacity.
• category IV: appliances used for heavy duty with loads approaching their maximum capacity or
for special lifting operations.
Examples of duty categories and associated duty coefficients for harbor lifting and offshore lifting
are given for guidance in [1.2.2] and [1.2.3]. When the lifting appliance is granted with several
categories of duty, the category if duty associated to a particular hook is defined according to the
type of service of this particular hook.
1.2.2 Duty categories and coefficients for harbor lifting (still water)
Examples of duty categories for harbor lifting are provided in the following list:
• category I: cranes intended for the handling of spare parts, stores or equipment.
• category II: multi-purpose cranes, appliances intended for the handling of flexible hoses
onboard oil tankers or
of discharging equipment onboard gas carriers or onboard ships carrying dangerous chemicals.
• category III: appliances intended for the handling of containers when their lifting capacity is
approximately that of the weight of containers handled.
• category IV: grab appliances used for handling of loose or granulated products.
The associated duty coefficients Ψ0 are given in Tab 1.
 Table 1 : Coefficient Ψ0 (harbour)
Duty categories Ψ0
I 1,00
II 1,03
III 1,06
IV 1,25

1.2.3 Duty categories and coefficients for offshore lifting

Examples of duty categories for offshore lifting are provided in the following list:
• category I: gantries handling Blow Out Preventers (BOP).
• category II: main cranes of offshore work units, main and auxiliary hooks.
• category III: whip hook, supply cranes on fixed or mobile platforms.
• category IV: grab appliances.
The associated duty coefficient Ψ0 is given in Tab 2.

Table 2 : Coefficient Ψ0 (offshore)

Duty categories Ψ0
I 1,00
II 1,06
III 1,12
IV 1,20