Handling materials carelessly is one of the top causes of injuries and accidents in the construction industry, often leading to lifelong conditions and in certain cases death! It is therefore vital that you know your responsibilities and carry out best practise when using lifting slings. Knowledge of the correct sling selection, appropriate sling maintenance, safe lifting procedure and especially a thorough grasp of the latest Regulations are key when it comes to being safe on site.
Lifting Gear UK, a ‘one stop provider’ of lifting and handling equipment throughout the UK, comes across many instances where slings are used incorrectly for lifting purposes. They have taken the time out to share with you some essential good practises and meaningful tips to ensure you’re safe on site.
The Regulations
There are various Regulations which govern the use of slings and lifting equipment when used on site. If these are not adhered to this can lead to prosecution, injury or a serious accident. The main Regulations are:
Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007
The CDM Regulations, re-introduced in April 2007, were put in place to help reduce the number of work place incidents by implementing proper planning and management. The Regulations place a duty of care on all those involved within a construction project; including clients, designers and contractors.
As a contractor, it is your responsibility to:
- Plan and manage your own work in a safe manor
- Make any sub-contractors aware of how much time they have to prepare for onsite work
‘The CDM Regulations 2007 Regulations apply to most common building, civil engineering and engineering construction work.’ – http://www.cdm-regulations-uk.co.uk/
This means that before you enter on to any site you must make sure you have planned accordingly and have appropriate provisions in place for the load you plan to lift.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998
According to the HSE lifting equipment includes ‘any equipment used at work for lifting or lowering loads, including attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it.’ This means using slings for lifting purposes!
These Regulations apply to all contractors who are either an employer, self-employed or in control of using the lifting equipment. Before using any form of lifting equipment the requirements of LOLER must be met.
All lifting equipment must be:
- Visibly marked up with the appropriate load information for safe use, this ensures that any contractors using the equipment are familiar with the maximum safe loads. Also, any accessories used with the equipment should be appropriately marked.
- They should be positioned in such a way that should a load fall it will not cause injury e.g. from equipment falling or striking a person.
- The correct type of equipment must be selected, being ‘sufficiently strong, stable and suitable for the proposed use.’
How often should the equipment be inspected in line with LOLER?
If the type of equipment you are using is an accessory to lifting equipment (such as a sling) or the equipment is used to lift a person, it must be inspected every 6 months, this is statutory! If it isn’t inspected every 6 months, it must not be used. All other lifting equipment is required to be inspected every 12 months.
The implications of not having lifting equipment inspected in line with the stated requirements could mean faulty equipment, general deterioration or worse death caused by damaged equipment.
All lifting gear must contain a Certificate of Conformity, which states it is fit for purpose within the UK. The guidelines, throughout Europe, are extremely thorough and as such are resulting in the UK having the best safety file on record.
All lifting equipment must also have in place an ‘examination scheme’, this involves:
- Inspection prior to the equipment’s first use – if it’s assembled on site it must be inspected by a competent person to ensure it’s safe for use. If it’s assembled offsite, but has an ‘EC Declaration of Conformity’ less than one year old, it is safe for use.
- Before and after assembly – equipment that is required to be constructed and dismantled must be inspected before each use.
- If used regularly – if your equipment is subject to conditions which may cause excessive wear or deterioration, it must be inspected either every 6 – 12 months, dependant on what it is used for.
Practical tips – which sling for which load?
When selecting a sling, it’s not just the weight, size, shape and temperature of the load, you need to bear in mind but also the amount of stress caused to the sling legs. For a level lift the crane must be directly above the centre of gravity of an object. If it’s too far over to one side tilting will occur. The result of this is an unequal stress on the sling legs, which could cause damage to the sling and jeopardise the safety of the lift. Also take into account that the sling capacity decreases as the angle at which it is used to lift increases. This means that as the angle between the sling leg and the horizontal decreases, so does the size of the load it can support. A smaller angle means more stress caused to the sling legs. Heavy loads must be distributed between more sling legs. Use a manufacturer’s chart to help you decide what the rated capacity of a given sling should be. However, don’t forget that age of the sling should also be taken into account. The older the sling, the less strength it may have. A full inspection of a sling should be made before every lift. If some wear in the sling is detected, make sure that the sling is discarded and replaced. Modification to slings should only be carried out by those authorised to do so. Never tie knots in the sling legs or use makeshift devices to shore up a sling. To do so, would be a breach of the LOLER Regulations.
Here’s some tips for picking your sling-type:
For the regular lifting of very heavy loads, chain slings are usually used, but please note alloy chain slings are susceptible to damage when exposed to sudden shocks. Overhead cranes use chain slings because they last longer than fabric slings. They are also a good sling choice for the lifting of hot materials as they are designed to be exposed to high temperatures. They are sometimes used alongside round or webbing slings, which will help protect the load from scratching and denting. You can help prevent damage to the chain sling by protecting the surface from sharp corners.
There are a few varieties of wire rope sling, which have different purposes according to how the strands in the rope are laid. Regular lays are particularly resistant to twisting and kinking, as well as being able to cope well with being crushed or distorted. They can be used for many different loads. Lang lays have greater flexibility than regular lays and are often used in excavating and mining. Left lays are frequently used in the oil industry.
Loads that are delicate, fragile or cost a lot of money are best moved using fibre ropes. This is because they grip the load really well and won’t damage the surface. However they can only be used for lightweight loads.
Synthetic rope slings are relatively cheap and have a long life. They can handle loads of up to 135,000 kilos and can absorb shock without damage. As well as handling loads with a temperature of up to 180 degrees, they can conform to any shape, they’re resistant to mildew and bacteria and they are unaffected by abrasion. Round slings are another sling-type that won’t damage the surface of the load. They’re best used for items like tubes or pipes that require a choke position.
Sling inspection and maintenance
The LOLER Regulations state specifically that all lifting equipment must be inspected by a ‘competent person’. By this they mean someone who:
‘(has) enough appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment so that they can detect defects or weaknesses, and assess how important they are in relation to the safety and continued use of the equipment;’
Usually this is an impartial person from a specialist member organisation who is certified to carry out such works, and make objective decisions.
It should not be carried out by the same person who carries out the ‘routine maintenance’ as they should not be held responsible to inspect their own work.
Without using a competent person you are putting yourself and others at risk, if the equipment is certified safe for use but found to be otherwise, it can lead to prosecution for negligence or worse mortality.
Inspection tips
Having selected your choice of sling, you will need to inspect it, before and after every lift. Each sling-type has its own individual strengths and weaknesses and you’ll need to be aware of what damage or deterioration is most likely to occur to each different sling, it is your responsibility to know what these are before using any sling for lifting purposes.
Dirt or oil on a chain may hide any damage, a chain sling should be cleaned before it is inspected. Dirt or grit itself may be the cause of some wear at the link bearing points. You should check the entire length, looking for signs of wear, stretching or binding. Once a chain sling has been stretched so that it’s total length is 3 % longer than its original length, it is no longer safe to use. It may also prove to be unsafe if one leg of a double or triple chain sling is longer than the others. Neither slings, nor hooks should be forced into position as this does not guarantee that the equipment is safe to perform the lift.
For the same reason, wire rope slings should also be cleaned before inspection. When inspected you should be looking for bends or stresses, abrasion or corrosion. If there are three randomly broken wires in one strand, in one rope lay, the sling is unsafe to use. The same goes for wire ropes that have wear or scraping on a third of the original diameter of the outside of the wires. Keep an eye on the strength and the wire rope’s ability to bend without distortion. Beware of loading the sling beyond this point because its strength will fail.
To maintain wire rope slings, they should be frequently lubricated and the heavier the loads, the more lubrication they will require. Also, given that small cracks may be caused when they make small radius bends, it may be an idea to use padding or blocking to increase the radiuses of the bends and protect the wire rope better from the repeated bending it receives. To prevent rusting, these slings should not be stored on the ground. They will ideally be stored in a well-ventilated shed.
Fibre rope slings should not be used with loads of high temperatures, loads which have sharp edges or acids. An inspection of this sling should focus on a search for brittle or scorched fibres and any discolouration. It’s also important to look for snags, cuts, tears and punctures in synthetic slings. Worn or broken stitching a bad sign. To make any wear obvious, it’s a good idea to incorporate a red wear cord into the sling. This will give a more accurate idea of whether or not the sling is stretched.
Prior to the lift, some basic, but often forgotten checks will help keep you on the right side of the law. -Hands and fingers should not be placed between the sling and the load while the sling is being tightened.
-Never attempt to shorten a sling by yourself in some way.
-The load should not be fixed to the floor.
-All equipment should have been thoroughly checked. Any equipment that looks like it may be unsafe should not be used and discarded off properly.
-On top of that, employees should be wearing the correct safety equipment for the job. Once the lift begins, the slack in the sling should be taken up slowly, guarding against shock loading. Exercise caution when applying power to avoid jerking the load. Once the load is slightly raised from the floor, check that the load is properly balanced and that the travel path of the load is clear. No person should ride on the load. The load should not be lifted higher than necessary and it should never be left suspended for longer than needed. For obvious safety reasons. Never let anybody stand or work underneath a suspended load! Keep the load balanced to prevent overloading the sling. A recognised signalling system should be in place, with the understanding that only one person will be making the signals. Deliberately distracting an operator is unlawful.
For further reading on legal lifting guidelines, have a look at the Government’s guide to using lifting equipment at work: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg290.pdf
