Chain Sling Inspection

Designate a qualified person to inspect slings and all fastenings and attachments each day before use for damage or defects.

This qualified person also performs additional periodic inspections where service conditions warrant, as determined on the basis of:

• Frequency of sling use,
• Severity of service conditions,
• Nature of the lifts being made, and
• Experience gained during the service life of slings used in similar circumstances.

Make periodic inspections of alloy steel chains slings at intervals no greater than 12 months.  A good guide to follow includes:

• Yearly for normal service use,
• Monthly to quarterly for severe service use, and
• As recommended by a qualified person for special and infrequent service use.

Develop a system to make sure that these inspections are conducted.  To do this, you can use a recordkeeping system, such as logs or marking the inspection date on a tag attached to the sling.

Make a thorough inspection of slings and attachments. Items to look for include:

• Wear;
• Defective welds,
• Nicks, cracks, breaks, gouges, stretch, bends, discoloration due to excessive heat,
• Excessive pitting or corrosion,
• Throat opening of hooks,
• Missing or illegible sling identifications, and
• Other conditions that cause doubt as to continued safe use of the sling.

Where any such defect or deterioration is present, remove the sling or attachment from service immediately.