Chain Slings and Shackles Inspection

Chain slings and shackles are critical lifting accessories — their failure during a lift drops the load and kills people below.
LOLER 1998 requires all lifting accessories to have a current thorough examination certificate, renewed at least every six months.
Pre-use visual inspection by the user must be carried out before every single lift, regardless of the examination certificate.
Chain links must be checked for wear, stretching, distortion, cracks, corrosion, and signs of heat damage before each use.
A chain link that has stretched by 5% or more of its original pitch must be taken out of service immediately.
Shackle pins must be the correct type for the shackle body — never substitute a bolt, wire, or incorrect pin.
The safe working load marked on every sling and shackle must never be exceeded, accounting for the sling angle used.
Multi-leg slings have reduced capacity as the angle between legs increases — at 90 degrees, capacity drops to 70%.
Colour coding systems help identify slings due for thorough examination — typically changed every six months.
Defective lifting accessories must be removed from service, clearly tagged, quarantined, and reported to the lifting supervisor.

Prevent dropped loads	A failed chain sling drops the full load weight — pre-use inspection catches damage before it causes a catastrophic failure.
Legal requirement	LOLER 1998 requires six-monthly thorough examinations and user pre-use checks — both must happen for every lifting accessory.
SWL awareness	Exceeding the safe working load or using slings at excessive angles causes sudden failure without warning.

Do

Don't

Inspect every chain sling and shackle visually before each use, checking for damage.
Check the thorough examination certificate is current — renewed within the last six months.
Verify the safe working load marked on the sling is adequate for the load being lifted.
Account for sling angle when calculating capacity — wider angles reduce the SWL.
Check chain links for wear, stretch, distortion, cracks, corrosion, and heat damage.
Ensure shackle pins are the correct type, fully tightened, and secured with split pins.
Remove any defective sling or shackle from service, tag it, and quarantine it.
Follow the colour coding system to identify accessories due for thorough examination.
Store chain slings hanging on a rack, not on the ground where they can be damaged.
Report all defects to the lifting supervisor and record them in the inspection log.

DON'T use any chain sling or shackle without a visual inspection before the lift.
DON'T use lifting accessories without a current thorough examination certificate.
DON'T exceed the safe working load marked on any sling, shackle, or lifting accessory.
DON'T ignore sling angles — capacity reduces significantly as the angle increases.
DON'T use chain links that are stretched, distorted, cracked, or visibly damaged.
DON'T substitute shackle pins with bolts, wire, or pins from different shackle sizes.
DON'T return defective accessories to the store — quarantine and tag them immediately.
DON'T use slings past their colour code expiry without a new thorough examination.
DON'T store chains in piles on the floor where they get damaged, muddy, and corroded.
DON'T assume a sling is safe because it was fine yesterday — inspect before every lift.

See also: Lifting Operations Awareness (LOLER) | Lifting Accessories Pre-Use Checks

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