New guidelines issued on safe slinging
The use of slings for moving goods on and off vessels is less common that previously. But many cargoes in various parts of the world still require individual lifting.
“This is a feature of cargo handling that is often ignored from the safety point of view, yet there are some simple guidelines that can ensure safe cargo handling using slings”, says Peregrine Storrs-Fox, TT Club’s risk management director.
The guidelines explain that all slings, whether made from wire rope, chain, fibre rope and man-made fibres or webbing, are marked with a safe working load (SWL). This refers to the sling being used in a single straight pull, but single slings can also be wrapped around a load in a choke hitch, basket hitch or parallel basket hitch and it is also possible to have two, three or four legged sling assemblies. To determine what the SWL is in each of these slinging applications, a mode factor is applied to the straight pull safe working load.
The guidelines also set out various other principles relating to sling handling: for example, ensuring the sling does not damage the load nor the load the sling, selecting the correct type of sling, and ensuring the sling itself is undamaged.
