I just used a lifting device that's centuries old and is used every day for lifting: a block and tackle. An overgrown tree was blocking my view of the water. Cutting the tree down was the first step, but now I had to remove the stump. I bound up the stump and attached the bitter end of the block and tackle to the front of my car so that I could see what was happening while I backed away.

Now, for every foot-pound of tension applied by backing up my car, I was applying 4 foot-pounds of lifting power to that stump. Of course, I had to travel four times as far. With a few hacks at the roots, the stump was removed. This same principle is used in lifting equipment and material of all sizes.

First, let's look at the custom cranes for material and equipment handling within your factory or yard. Each can be configured to fit the job, whether it's 100 tons or 100 pounds.

Bridge cranes maneuver on an overhead steel structure designed for the hook to cover any location in the maximum area with the fewest obstructions.

Monorail cranes are designed to move material or equipment along a single H- or I-beam to repeat locations along a single line.

Gantry cranes are the alternative to bridge cranes. They ride on the ground rather than on overhead structural steel runways. They can also be used to transport loads outside a building.

Hoists: Chain hoists lift and lower their load with a sprocket drum and wire, and rope hoists wrap around a grooved drum. Depending upon the load, these can be power or hand operated.

Some of the most innovative advances in lifting equipment have been developed in material handling lifts. New dock lifts fit any special application: Some lift the truck to match the dock and some lift the dock to match the truck. Lift tables to save people's backs can lift and tilt and turn to fit any specifications. These can be air powered, battery powered, hydraulic powered, electric powered, or hand powered. I love the new aerial maintenance lifts that can be wheeled through any standard doorway. Just wheel it to the desired location, set the outriggers, raise the platform, and you're ready to go. This certainly beats a stepladder for convenience and safety.

The lifting equipment out on the construction site is what most of us are more familiar with. Again, our lifting requirements can range from 100 pounds to hundreds of tons. A fork-lift can be equipped with a boom attachment to lift and transport building material such as blocks, lumber or equipment such as a pump. Also we can drive past a construction site and see a rough-terrain crane hoisting a 100-ton air conditioning unit 200 feet in the air. The operator checks his portable load meter to determine exactly how much it weighs and checks his outriggers to balance the load.

Occasionally, when the cranes can't do the job, the spectators on the street get to watch a helicopter lift an AC unit to the roof of a skyscraper. For this circus feat, the contractor should charge admission!

Some of the more unique developments in lifting equipment are the attachments for excavator equipment. One of these is the Slab Crab developed by Kenco. Using this unit, concrete slabs no longer have to be demolished by pavement breakers. Slabs can be neatly saw cut into conveniently sized sections of up to 100 square feet weighing up to 10 tons, grabbed by the Slab Crab, hoisted onto a truck, and hauled away. On a bridge deck, the steel diaphragms are not damaged during this operation. On a highway or on a concrete airport runway, the base course is not damaged by this demolition. Also, the saw cuts can be made while the pavement is still in use. New developments in bucket clamps (thumbs), grapples and special buckets are also becoming more popular. It seems that today, there's a special attachment for every use.

When a contractor purchases, leases or rents a large crawler crane, he has several items to consider. In addition to price and dependability, he must consider transportability and erection time. These two items become critical if the equipment is moved frequently from one location to another. For jobs that require hoisting equipment for a short duration, the exact equipment to fit the job can be rented with the operator. The contractor need not rent bare equipment and hire the operator specifically for that job. Sometimes, if another contractor has a crane on the job, a deal can be cut to hoist your equipment onto the roof if that's all you need to have done.

With truck-mounted cranes we have many options. They come in all shapes and sizes: over the road and rough terrain. The three basic items to consider are the maximum height required, the maximum weight to be hoisted and radius of operation. Now, do we want front mount or rear mount? Will the job require us to have an operator's platform that rotates with the crane? Will we need to extend our height and reach with an optional jib? All of the truck-mounted cranes come with "out and down" outriggers to level and stabilize the equipment. Stabilizing a crawler crane in soft terrain may require mats.

Truck cranes are the ones we most commonly see on city streets. They can be in and out in a matter of hours for any specific task. They can maneuver in city traffic, arrive on the job, spread their wings for stability, and hoist their load with maximum efficiency. They come in a wide variety of electric and hydraulic telescopic and articulating models. Here, again, the operator sits in an air-conditioned cab with his ergonomic adjustable seat, excellent visibility and the latest in high-tech controls.

Any crane, of course, is only as good as the operator. We had an operator, Ben, who, it is said, could pick your teeth with a 160-foot boom and a 200-foot luffing jib.

For the unusually heavy, cumbersome or unique hoisting and transporting operations, check the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA). They can advise you on hoisting and transporting anything anywhere in the world. This organization has members in 34 countries.

Always, the considerations are how heavy, how high and how far out.