307A rigging, hoisting and lifting practice questions.

Five free practice questions on rigging, hoisting and lifting: block C of the Red Seal 307A Steamfitter/Pipefitter exam, about 15 of its 130 questions. They are in the exam's format: four options, one correct answer. Answer each one before opening the explanation. No account, no email.

01The questions

1. Recall · Inspects rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning equipment

   On inspection, a crane hook's throat opening is wider than the manufacturer's allowed limit and the latch no longer bridges the gap. What is done?

   1. The hook is derated by half and kept in use
   2. The hook is heated and bent back to its size
   3. The gap is moused with wire in place of the latch
   4. The hook is removed from service and replaced
   Show the answer

   D. Correct. An opened throat means the hook has been overloaded or tip-loaded and has yielded. Throat opening, twist and cracks beyond the manufacturer's limits are removal criteria; the hook is replaced, never repaired in the field.

   Why not the others

   A. Field derating of a deformed hook is not permitted; its remaining strength is unknown. Remove and replace it.

   B. Heat destroys the steel's heat treatment and hides the damage. Hooks are never heated, bent or welded to restore their shape.

   C. Mousing can close a hook opening in some uses, but it cannot fix a hook that has yielded. An opened throat is a removal criterion.

2. Procedural · Performs calculations for complex and critical rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning

   A 10-ft (3.05 m) pump skid carries a 1200 lb (544 kg) pump centred 2 ft (0.61 m) from the left end and a 600 lb (272 kg) motor centred 8 ft (2.44 m) from the left end. Ignoring the light skid frame, where is the combined centre of gravity?

   1. 4.0 ft (1.22 m) from the left end
   2. 5.0 ft (1.52 m) from the left end
   3. 2.0 ft (0.61 m) from the left end
   4. 6.0 ft (1.83 m) from the left end
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. CG = Σ(weight × distance) ÷ total weight = (1200 × 2 + 600 × 8) ÷ (1200 + 600) = (2400 + 4800) ÷ 1800 = 4.0 ft (1.22 m) from the left end. Rig so the hook sits over that point, not over the skid's middle.

   Why not the others

   B. 5.0 ft is the skid's geometric centre. The pump is twice as heavy as the motor, so the centre of gravity sits nearer the pump: 7200 ÷ 1800 = 4.0 ft.

   C. This is the pump's position alone. The motor pulls the centre of gravity toward the right: (1200 × 2 + 600 × 8) ÷ 1800 = 4.0 ft (1.22 m).

   D. This swaps the weights (600 × 2 + 1200 × 8 = 10 800; ÷ 1800 = 6.0 ft), putting the CG on the motor side. The heavier pump is at 2 ft, so the CG is at 4.0 ft.

3. Procedural · Selects rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning equipment for common lifts

   At a food plant, a forklift is the only machine that can reach a 400 lb (181 kg) stainless valve that must hang from a sling. What is required?

   1. A manufacturer-approved fork attachment and its capacity plate
   2. A sling draped over both tines, with a spotter below the load
   3. A sling choked around one fork tine, lifted slowly
   4. The standard capacity plate, since the load is light
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Hanging a load from a forklift changes its load centre and stability, so it needs an attachment (fork-mounted hook or jib) approved by the truck manufacturer (or certified by a professional engineer where the regulation allows) and a capacity plate showing the derated capacity with it. Do not sling directly off bare tines.

   Why not the others

   B. Draped slings can slide off smooth tines, and nobody may stand under a suspended load. Use an approved attachment and keep everyone clear of the load path.

   C. A sling on a single tine can slide off the tip and side-loads the fork. A slung load needs an approved attachment with its own rated capacity.

   D. The standard plate rates a load sitting on the forks at a stated load centre. A hanging, swinging load further out is outside that rating; the attachment's derated plate governs.

4. Recall · Selects rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning equipment for complex and critical lifts

   Which rigging device pivots so that two sling legs or two hoist lines share a load in a set proportion?

   1. Beam clamp
   2. Equalizer beam
   3. Spreader bar
   4. Cable grip hoist
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. An equalizer (equalizing) beam pivots on a pin, so the loads on its two ends stay in the designed proportion even if one line takes up faster. It is used in tandem lifts and for loads rigged from uneven points.

   Why not the others

   A. A beam clamp attaches a hoist or sling to the flange of a steel beam as an anchor point. It does not balance loads between lines.

   C. A spreader bar holds sling legs apart so they hang vertically, which removes the squeeze on the load and the angle loading. It does not pivot to share load between hoists.

   D. A cable grip hoist pulls wire rope through gripping jaws by hand lever, for pulling and positioning. It does not balance loads between lines.

5. Recall · Sets up rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning equipment for common lifts

   Compared with the same sling used in a vertical hitch, about how much capacity does a choker hitch have at a normal choke angle?

   1. 50 % of the vertical WLL
   2. 100 % of the vertical WLL
   3. 200 % of the vertical WLL
   4. 75–80 % of the vertical WLL
   Show the answer

   D. Correct. The choke point bends and crushes the sling body, so a choker is rated at about 75 % (wire rope) to 80 % (synthetic, chain) of vertical, per the manufacturer's chart. Capacity drops further if the choke angle is under about 120°.

   Why not the others

   A. A choker is not rated at half its vertical capacity at a normal choke angle. The rating is about 75–80 % of vertical, and it falls further when the choke angle is less than 120°.

   B. 100 % is the vertical hitch. The bend at the choke reduces capacity, so a choker is rated lower, about 75–80 % of vertical.

   C. 200 % applies to a basket hitch with vertical legs, where two legs share the load. A choker is rated lower than a vertical hitch, not higher.

02Answer key

03What block C covers

This block covers moving pipe and equipment safely. It includes load weights from nameplates and calculations, sling types and hitches, sling angles and capacity, wire rope, synthetic and alloy chain slings, shackles and hooks, inspection and removal criteria, knots and tag lines, hand signals, power lines and wind, crane set-up, and complex lifts such as tandem lifts, load transfers and engineered lift plans.

The Red Seal Occupational Standard names this block “Performs rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning”. It carries 11.5% of the exam, about 15 of the 130 questions, split across two tasks. The share column is each task's weight within the block, as the standard publishes it.

04What the questions turn on

Sling angle raises leg tension

Leg tension is each leg's share of the load times the angle factor: 1.155 at 60°, 1.414 at 45° and 2.000 at 30° from horizontal. A basket hitch loses capacity by the same factor. Longer slings steepen the legs and lower the tension.

Finding the centre of gravity

The combined centre of gravity is the sum of each weight times its distance, divided by the total weight. A load hangs with its CG under the hook, so if one end drops on the test lift, land it and shorten that end's leg.

When slings leave service

Red core yarns showing through a synthetic sling, birdcaging in wire rope after a shock load, or a missing rating tag all mean the same thing. The sling is tagged, removed from service and reported, not used for one more lift.

Check the largest radius

Crane capacity falls as radius grows, so check the load chart at the largest radius the load will reach, often the set-down point. The hook block and rigging are deducted from the chart figure before it is compared with the load.

05The other blocks

The 307A exam has seven blocks. Each has its own page of free questions:

The 307A Steamfitter/Pipefitter practice exam page describes the full question bank. How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.